Suspension noise... NEED HELP
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Joined: Feb 2013
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slk280
Suspension noise... NEED HELP
My car is a 2007 E350 RWD Elegant model. When I bought this car many years ago, I read through the forum and learned all the weaknesses of this car. It has been a decade since I last read those threads regarding the suspension repair. My car from STANDING STILL moving forward or reverses, if the steering wheel is turned all the way to either side, it will make clunking sound. The sound doesn't happen if I go straight or over bump. I also know for sure it is not CV join. From what I remember reading back then, it has something to do with upper or lower arm ball join, or tie rod end, or way bar bushing.... I dont remember exactly. Does anybody know exactly which one is usually a culprit? Does anybody have the part number? or link to part, buy? or do you have links to threads regarding this specific issue?. thank you
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Joined: Dec 2024
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From: 714/949, SoCal
2008 S211 4MATIC
there are many places to check, but since you have your steering wheel fully locked when you hear the noise, i would look around the steering components first such as the tie rods and steering rack.
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slk280
I have learned over year on this particular car (and other MB cars), it has certain weak points like these suspension components, tumble flap, conductor plate...etc... If if failed on other people, it will guarantee fail on you too. And the timing or mileage for failing is quite consistent too!. My car has 90k miles, this noise from the suspension been there for awhile (not very servers but annoying). Since I will keep keep car for a while, I might as well replace those while Im at it. From my research, there are 3 components that are most likely the cause, and need to replace sooner or later, due to normal wear and tear.... 1. Most likely cause is the lower control arm ball joint. 2. front control arm bushing. I think it is much easier to replace the whole arm, instead of having to press in/out the new bushing. 3. The upper control arm ball join. least likely to cause the noise, not much wear and tear on this item, so I will skip this part. Now waiting for deliver....
Last edited by nguyenphananh; Apr 7, 2025 at 06:35 PM.
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Joined: Dec 2024
Posts: 83
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From: 714/949, SoCal
2008 S211 4MATIC
i agree, the experience of folks in the past has paved the way for my maintenance schedule.
i've had a lower ball joint fail on the fwy (on my truck) and it's scary! leading up to the failure, i had a hard time returning the steering wheel to center but had no noise however that was a different car altogether.
in the end, keep us up to date with your findings during replacement!
i've had a lower ball joint fail on the fwy (on my truck) and it's scary! leading up to the failure, i had a hard time returning the steering wheel to center but had no noise however that was a different car altogether.
in the end, keep us up to date with your findings during replacement!
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Joined: Jul 2021
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2006 E280
Just remembered, my car made squeaky sound when turning the wheel, didn't need be full lock though. Didn't have time to look where the sound came, but when I took my car to safety inspection, inspector told that ball joint on the left had some slop. So I ordered both triangulated arms, and when I replaced them sure enough there was some slop on the left, but even more on the right. It was january when I did that, and few months later when I changed tires, I found that left tie rod end, right upper and lower ball joints were bad. So replaced all of them. Though I had over 250k on the clock.
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slk280
Yesterday I started on this project. I read dozen of threads how to do this. Memorized all the tips and tricks. Still, there were hip cups..... I started at 1.30Pm, finished 1 side by 5PM. Will continue today on other side. Turned out the rubber boots on the ball joints and front control arms still in good shape, ball joints feel some resistance, but moveable (cant move on the new parts). It is a matter of sooner or later, so I glad I replaced them. However, I noticed the boot on the tie rod end was totally ripped, dried of grease... most likely this is the cause of noise. Order these parts last night, hopefully will be delivered tomorrow.
Last edited by nguyenphananh; Apr 10, 2025 at 12:36 PM.
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W211 E500
My car is a 2007 E350 RWD Elegant model. When I bought this car many years ago, I read through the forum and learned all the weaknesses of this car. It has been a decade since I last read those threads regarding the suspension repair. My car from STANDING STILL moving forward or reverses, if the steering wheel is turned all the way to either side, it will make clunking sound. The sound doesn't happen if I go straight or over bump. I also know for sure it is not CV join. From what I remember reading back then, it has something to do with upper or lower arm ball join, or tie rod end, or way bar bushing.... I dont remember exactly. Does anybody know exactly which one is usually a culprit? Does anybody have the part number? or link to part, buy? or do you have links to threads regarding this specific issue?. thank you
See l https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w211/851113-w211-swaybar-mount-glue-lube.html
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slk280
thank you for the feed back. I was so frustrated so I gave up for now... may continue on this issue in the near future. So I starting out replaced lower ball joints, front control arms... Noise still present. After more reading, I replaced the outer tie rod ends (and ball joints attached to it). Problem still didnt fix. I ordered the inner tire rod ends, but ended up returned them cuz during replacement of the outer tie rod, I checked and tested, the inner tie rods were solid, tight, and stiffed, no movement at all. I then replace the upper ball joints.... still didnt fix the problem!!. Noted all the parts that I replaced still in perfect condition, tight, no movement, at least 90% of the new parts. Lots of thinking and reading, I was thinking of replacing the steering rack bushings, and maybe the whole lower control arms!!. But Im tired of randomly replace perfectly good parts, without concreted result. I did test the lower control arms, sway bar..etc, they visually in perfect condition without any movement. Took it to couple local shops, and I think those mechanics even more clueless than I am. Some suggest replace all the suspension parts?!, some suggest replace the shocks (which work perfectly, no noise, no leaking). As of right now, the noise is still there, even more consistent than before!!. I will take a look at sway bar mounts...but from my previous inspection, no crack in bushings....
Super Member
Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Southern California
I had a long time clunk that I could not find. Did a similar thing, replacing common worn parts but still couldn't solve it. Turned out to the sway bar bushing. On the 05 E320, the rubber bushing is bonded to the bar. That bond eventually breaks and causes a clunk. Visually, can't see anything wrong. It was only when the bar was removed, that the torn bushing could be seen. Since you are mechanically inclined, you could remove the bar easily to inspect it carefully. I ended up replacing it with an OEM bar. Haven't had any issues since then. Hope this helps.
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slk280
Check front sway bar chassis mounts as well - can cause all sorts of weird noises. The mounts/rubber isolators are molded to the bar so not an easy thing to replace. Bars are not as expensive as you might think. I bought a replacement but thought to try something before going all the way and replacing the bar myself - I loosened the bar mounts and added some of Permatex's finest rtv. It's been a few years and the front is super quiet still.
See l https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...glue-lube.html
See l https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...glue-lube.html
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Joined: Oct 2022
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W211 E500
In my case the rubber was still intact, not torn from the swaybar itself, and visually in good condition.
I suspect it had just softened enough to allow some movement between the nylon/hard plastic shell and the metal bracket + chassis.
If you get a bit of dirt between plastic & metal it start to grab & shudder when moved against each other under pressure - that is what I think causes a lot of strange but load noises in the suspension. Pops, bangs, squeaks that sound very serious, partly due to being directly against the metal of the chassis.
I used RTV between the nylon shell and the chassis + brackets. This (in my opinion) takes up some of the slack, prevents the nylon from moving around and/or provides some lube if it has to move.
Very cheap & easy fix, from what I can see won't damage anything, and rules the mounts out as a source of noise.
Keep us informed with what you find.
I suspect it had just softened enough to allow some movement between the nylon/hard plastic shell and the metal bracket + chassis.
If you get a bit of dirt between plastic & metal it start to grab & shudder when moved against each other under pressure - that is what I think causes a lot of strange but load noises in the suspension. Pops, bangs, squeaks that sound very serious, partly due to being directly against the metal of the chassis.
I used RTV between the nylon shell and the chassis + brackets. This (in my opinion) takes up some of the slack, prevents the nylon from moving around and/or provides some lube if it has to move.
Very cheap & easy fix, from what I can see won't damage anything, and rules the mounts out as a source of noise.
Keep us informed with what you find.
Super Member
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 545
Likes: 87
From: Southern California
I will also add one more thing. The spring control arm has a small ball joint that attaches to the stabilizer bar links. This small ball joint on the control arm wears out and can cause some noise. It's almost impossible to check visually. You need to remove the link to check the ball joint for any play or movement. At that point, its just better to replace the whole arm as it has 2 large rubber bushings.
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slk280
UPDATE:
More Disappointment!. The more I read these posts, the more I convinced the culprit was the sway bar bushings. So I bought the Permatex Black like CS-W211 stated. I started the project today, and to mine dismayed, the sway bar's connections were totally different from online pictures and youtube links!. In order to remove the sway bar's brackets, I will need to lower the subframe!. On the passenger side, the bolts can be access from above, despise they are very close to the frame and the alternator. The driver side, I couldnt see the bolt due to the power steering blockage. Lying on my back, and lacking of tools... It is very difficult to lower the subframe. So I will postpone, again, this project for the later day.
More Disappointment!. The more I read these posts, the more I convinced the culprit was the sway bar bushings. So I bought the Permatex Black like CS-W211 stated. I started the project today, and to mine dismayed, the sway bar's connections were totally different from online pictures and youtube links!. In order to remove the sway bar's brackets, I will need to lower the subframe!. On the passenger side, the bolts can be access from above, despise they are very close to the frame and the alternator. The driver side, I couldnt see the bolt due to the power steering blockage. Lying on my back, and lacking of tools... It is very difficult to lower the subframe. So I will postpone, again, this project for the later day.
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Joined: Feb 2013
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slk280
SEMI-UPDATE:
It is definitely the sway bar bushing!!. Last time trying to work on the sway bar, I wasnt able to do much due to the sub frame need to be lowered. However, I noticed the sway bar's bracket bolts, especially the driver side lower's, were slightly lose. Originally I losen it, trying to retighen with locktide. I noticed inside the bracket, the white "plastic" was totally crumbled, disintergrated. For some reasons I wasnt able to completely remove the bolt... so I retighten it to torque spec. Now the noises were significantly reduced, no longer happened every time like before. Next time I will order a new sway bar and have the shop replace for me.
It is definitely the sway bar bushing!!. Last time trying to work on the sway bar, I wasnt able to do much due to the sub frame need to be lowered. However, I noticed the sway bar's bracket bolts, especially the driver side lower's, were slightly lose. Originally I losen it, trying to retighen with locktide. I noticed inside the bracket, the white "plastic" was totally crumbled, disintergrated. For some reasons I wasnt able to completely remove the bolt... so I retighten it to torque spec. Now the noises were significantly reduced, no longer happened every time like before. Next time I will order a new sway bar and have the shop replace for me.
