Hey there! I am new here and am having an issue with my w211 that I haven't really seen a DIY or repair info for.

The problem is that the front, rear subframe mounts have become so worn and loose that it sounds like there is a dead body in the trunk. The car has 160,000 miles on it as well. The car has airmatic and the sound is the exact same as when one of the self leveling airmatic shocks was completely gone and leaked like crazy after about 107K miles. I actually replaced the shock again thinking it had failed again but then noticed all the split rubber and play when jacking up the rear end.

I know this has been addressed in cases that the bolt shears out of the frame after having dropped the rear subframe before or just having it fail outright. Either way the solution was to just bring it to the dealer because both cars where under warranty still.

Has anyone ever driven a w211 and had the rear subframe bushing fail due to wear? I drove a 1999 e320 up to 225,000 miles and never had this issue. I also went to a few Mercedes specialists in my area and they all told me that they personally had never had someone come in for this problem on a w211, only a w210.

Anyone have any input on how to fix this the least painful way? the WIS calls for complete removal of the subframe and also 2 special tools that I have only seen for 800+ dollars. Sucks this started right after I did a full Alcantara headliner change last week. Thanks in advance!

 

I already have several experiences that rubber quality MB goes down with newer model years.
Father's 1987 MB at 300k miles is still on original bushings and has all the grommets holding, while on our 2004 and 2008 models those things fail in alarming rate.
Coming to the job, you might be first one to post about it on the forum, but generally $800 tools are for "keyboard mechanics" who don't pay for them by personal check.
DIY have been always able to figure out ways to do jobs with common tools.
Post some pictures and wealth of practical knowledge on the forum should figure something up.

 

True,I have seen some get this done without the special mercedes press by just having the subframe and the wieght of the car itself seat them, but this was a w210. But even then how specialized can a rubber press be that warrents 800 dollars.

Here is how the press fits on the mount and frame during install, what general tools do you guys think could also do that job? Links would be great.

 

The pictures are poor quality, but I can't imagine how couple of sleeves and threaded rod can cost $800.
Fact is that I paid MB $150 for small chunk of steel machined to make injector puller.
Anyway, such tools can be substituted by big sockets, washers and heat-treated bolts.

 

On my 300TE i did the subframe by using the weight of the car to my advantage. Remove the bolt, use some wood to space it away from the subframe then use a large socket that fits through the hole and jack up until it's forced out. Then do reverse to install by jacking subframe against some wood to push the new one in.

The procedure should be similar for 211's. no cost for a special tool.