SteveE400

Those of you who have been around here longer than I probably remember me grousing about Gonzo (my E400) having the habit of making a creaking noise every time I drive through a dip or over a speed bump that compresses the left front suspension.

The noise has been aggravating me for the entire 3 1/2 years I have had the car. Gonzo has visited the MB Health Spa 6 or 7 times for this noise, at 2 different dealers, racking up 7 or 8 weeks' service time over the years. . . with no solution. He has had his left front strut replaced, as well as the strut bearing and the left anti-sway bar link replaced. At one point, I was able to demonstrate the noise to the service manager, then left the car with them for almost SIX weeks. . . and they couldn't figure out where the noise came from. This was "just" a noise, and the car was over 2 years old at the time, so Lemon Law litigation wasn't even a consideration. I was just cranky about it, even thinking of what car to try next. Only the fact that the first 3 years generate the majority of depreciation for these cars kept me in the chase.

After I picked it up from the most recent visit to the Car Spa with no noise detected once again (It was noisy on cold mornings. I made the appointment far in advance. By the time the appointment date arrived, it warmed up enough to make the car quiet again.) I decided to take matters back into my own hands. I have been a "recovering gear head" for over 50 years, and squeaks and rattles are my biggest annoyance. I have rendered cars silent that the designers never hoped to match. I had a couple of mid-70's Camaro's that were as quiet as Cadillac's. I had an early 70's Vega that did't even rattle when I drove it over a curm. They just weighed a few pounds more than stock, being filled with all sorts of sound deadening material, foam rubber, extra support brackets, etc. So, I am just returning to my roots.

The difference now, though, is that we have the internet to augment our own imaginations. I began a deep-dive into the history of front suspension complaints related to W212 chassis cars at low mileage. I found numerous citations regarding the occasional control arm bushing being defective, as well as anti-sway bars needing to be replaced. Nothing new there, and no help for creaky Gonzo.

But then. . . and I can't even remember where. . . I came across a forum response (not even the main focus of the thread) from around 2010, in which somebody was having a similar noise and was receiving similar hand-waving and shoulder-shrugging from the dealers as to its cause. That person also went off on their own and found that in their case, they needed to lubricate the under-hood contact points where the hood came to rest on its rubber bump stops when closed. A very bright light went on in my feeble little brain. My 1975 Camaro had a similar noise. When I drove over certain road imperfections, the hood of the car would jiggle on its hinges and squeak and creak like an angry creature. I solved that one with a couple of globs of white grease on the bump stops. I had to re-apply the goop every so often, but the hood was quiet.

Well, to make this excruciatingly long story a bit shorter, I then went out to a Corvette board to see what those folks use to lubricate rubber and vinyl parts that rub against other materials. (Corvettes of a certain vintage are known to jiggle and rattle a LOT.) They now use either pure silicon grease or dielectric grease, which is also silicone with no petroleum content, since petroleum would attack rubber.

I promptly ran out and bought a tube of dielectric grease. I lubricated Gonzo's hood bumpers, the weather strips that the hood closes onto around the engine compartment and the strips around the driver's door. These are the ones closest to where I was hearing the noise.

Once I finished this (and spent quite a while scrubbing the excess grease off my fingers. . . will wear gloves next time), I took a deep breath and went out for a drive.

O. . . M. . . G ! ! ! This must be somebody else's car! It doesn't make a sound! After over 3 1/2 years, I am no longer embarrassed to have anyone ride with me! It is like getting a new car, all over again.

I never saw THAT coming. To think that a $4 tube of grease could fix what 7 or 8 weeks at two different service departments could not (to say nothing of the monetary investment). . . simply mind boggling.

So, to the others who have been trying without success to find the cause of front suspension creaks in W212 sedans, try this. It is cheap and easy, and it might work for you, too.

thefisch

Holy cow! So glad you fixed your problem after the dealer wasted so many hours on it. I would love to see the look on their faces when you explain your $4 fix to them.

Mud

That's awesome and a great fix.
Just fyi Syl-Glyde is excellent for that type of lube, I use it on brake caliper pins mainly but also on various hinges etc. Safe for rubber parts.

MBNUT1

Thank you for sharing your fix for a no doubt very annoying problem

S-Prihadi

Thank u Steve

TeeEl

Going to have to try this out. The squeaks I get from going over bumps in parking lots is annoying and even embarrassing, and is one of only two things that I don't like about my car. If a solution is this simple I'll **** myself. Even if it doesn't work at least I'll know that I tried and will probably have to send it to the doctor for diagnosis.

atraudes

Before pulling the trigger on some new control arms I decided to give this a go and all I can say is wow. It's absolute bliss to pull up and down my driveway without hearing that orchestra of creaks and moans. I'm thinking I'll find some thin rubber insulators/feet to stick on top of the bump stops so I don't have to grease them regularly. I'm a little bugged Mercedes overlooked this and apparently still aren't aware of the fix, but I'm glad it's so simple.

SteveE400, thank you for this contribution. It was greatly appreciated.

SteveE400

I also thought about using some rubber insulating pads on the bump stops, but I then thought they could get just as dry, and maybe squeak themselves. If my noises return (which so far has not happened), I think I will try either some adhesive-backed felt or the fuzzy piece of velcro, along with some more silicon grease.

I also found that WD-40 now makes a gel-lubricant. It comes in a spray can, and is part of their "Professional Line" sold at auto parts stores.

I haven't had to be this far into lubricants and sticky felt since I had a mid-70's Camaro. Even when new, it sounded like a pickup truck with a bed full of loose 2X4's. After about a year, I could drive it over curbs and only hear the tires thump when they hit. 45 years later, I have to do it all over again. . .

Khawar Rathore

Hello fellow members. Would somebody please send the bulletin to khawarrathore@gmail.com that would be greatly appreciated.

SteveE400

There was not really any MB bulletin regarding this "fix." I found it in another MB bulletin board when I researched posts from the first couple of years after the W212 was brought to market.

We're on our own, I guess, but mine has been quiet for a while now. The last time the car was in for service I asked the service advisor to have the mechanic go over the bumpers and weather strips again. He used some "magic" MB lubricant and all is REALLY silent now. When I asked if I could buy a bottle of the lube stuff, they checked the part number (yes, an MB part), but it is like $135/tube. Yikes!

TeeEl

What did they lube on the bumper? I've lubed the hood contact points, but that didn't seem to help the creaking. They lubed all of the weather stripping under the hood? The creaking I experience is bad enough that I'm embarrassed to go over a speed bump with anyone around. =\

cetialpha5

So did you get the part number? Maybe there's a generic equivalent. Their sunroof lube is like that, comes in a big container suitable for hundreds of cars. There'a s company that sells a much smaller amount of it for a much more reasonable price.