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I just changed them on mine and it got rid of a mystery clunk on one side when I ran over a sharp bump, like the back side of a pot hole. New Lemforder arms from FCP Euro were $108 for one and $135 for the other. Changing the bushing probably would have been just as good, but this way I got new ball joints, too, and no extra labor pressing the bushings out and in.
in Canada those arms are like double that and then some.
Those "compliance" bushings in the "upper" control arm (that's what MB calls 'em) are probably the most common source of thumps and wobbles. They're fluid filled, so it's not difficult to determine if yours has failed or not - the fluid is helpfully black as ink, so you'll see signs of it running down around the silver control arm, under the bushing.
I did a short (really!) video showing how to diagnose this problem, using my 2012 "project" GLK. Those have both been replaced, but the car is waiting for my daughter-in-law to insure it and THEN take it in for an alignment. My 2011 DD is getting new "upper" control arms as well - they're a LOT better than the ones on the 2012 but I can feel the slightest bit of slop, and can see where at least one of them is leaking the black fluid. So no use putting off replacing both of them, since the new ones will likely outlast the vehicle no matter when I install them.
Those "compliance" bushings in the "upper" control arm (that's what MB calls 'em) are probably the most common source of thumps and wobbles. They're fluid filled, so it's not difficult to determine if yours has failed or not - the fluid is helpfully black as ink, so you'll see signs of it running down around the silver control arm, under the bushing.
I did a short (really!) video showing how to diagnose this problem, using my 2012 "project" GLK. Those have both been replaced, but the car is waiting for my daughter-in-law to insure it and THEN take it in for an alignment. My 2011 DD is getting new "upper" control arms as well - they're a LOT better than the ones on the 2012 but I can feel the slightest bit of slop, and can see where at least one of them is leaking the black fluid. So no use putting off replacing both of them, since the new ones will likely outlast the vehicle no matter when I install them.
this would have saved me sooooo much time and energy lol. not to mention throwing money at parts. I saw the black fluid 2-3 years ago but did know, assumed oily gunk from else where, u can see my inner bushing was bone dry and rusty. I never had any issues except slow sharp bumps. clunk. I typically just country drive, easy. no city
Same story with my sister's 2001 Subaru Outback. You'd never really notice "anything wrong" driving it, but a sharp bump would result in a nasty clank from the suspension. Fortunately (for me, anyway) those compliance bushings are at the rear of the (real) lower control arm, and come off like butter with just two bolts and a nut. Took all of five minutes apiece to swap them out, and a total outlay of around $40. The GLK "upper" control arms are quite a bit spendier, but hey, you end up with a Mercedes that drives even better when you're done!
The ones I replaced are called "Torque struts". They look just like the ones in the photos in this thread. Same one as in the video, too. I didn't know about the black ink, or see any signs of it.
Funny thing, though. A few weeks ago I noticed what looked like grease from the axle CV boot along the rocker panel. Checked the boot and it was intact, so I figured it came from something external.
Same story with my sister's 2001 Subaru Outback. You'd never really notice "anything wrong" driving it, but a sharp bump would result in a nasty clank from the suspension. Fortunately (for me, anyway) those compliance bushings are at the rear of the (real) lower control arm, and come off like butter with just two bolts and a nut. Took all of five minutes apiece to swap them out, and a total outlay of around $40. The GLK "upper" control arms are quite a bit spendier, but hey, you end up with a Mercedes that drives even better when you're done!
And yeah, I'll be doing a video on the swap.
just buy the bushing and press it in, they are $30 each. $80 delivered in Canada for 2 of them. I got the highest quality lemforder ones. IMO. the arms are expensive. local parts store was $300 each arm.
New Lemforder (OEM) control arms were about $240 for the pair. I did consider swapping the bushings (and have done that before on other cars) but figured that I'd rather replace the ball joints as well, so in the end it's really not all that much more money - and a lot less work - to just replace the whole arm.
FWIW - I just got done swapping the "upper" control arms, and I have one very, very important bit of advice...
If you have a 4Matic vehicle, do NOT use the Lemforder control arms. Seriously!
Look at the two control arms below - the Vaico part is the same as the Mercedes OEM design.
The difference in the "housing" around the base of the ball joint makes zero difference in the RWD variant. I did one just a couple months ago (my project 2012) and the Lemforder arms went in like butter. No worries.
But with a 4Matic, that extra "edge" that Lemforder added to their arm makes it essentially impossible to get the arm in around the CV axle boot. Worse, it's got a nice sharp edge that is dandy for slicing the boot (ask me how I know), so instead of just unbolting the old one and bolting in the new one, you have to release the lower control arm (the smaller one that runs straight out to the knuckle) so you have room to swing the hub enough to move the axle out of the way (yes, requiring removing the axle bolt with a big honkin' breaker bar with the wheels on the ground, and wrestling the axle around trying not to stress or overextend it).
Here's a closer look at the difference:
Pardon the photo quality, but you get the idea.
With all the jacking around with the axle and lower control arm, I managed to also destroy the boot on the lower control arm, so I'll be swapping those out as well (I'm sure they were fine before this morning).
And FWIW, I will be posting a video on this process that covers both 4Matic (whole video) and RWD (fast forward through the sections marked as 4Matic specific).
And if I didn't mention it before, if you have a 4Matic, don't buy the Lemforder upper control arms. ;-)
FWIW - I just got done swapping the "upper" control arms, and I have one very, very important bit of advice...
If you have a 4Matic vehicle, do NOT use the Lemforder control arms. Seriously!
Look at the two control arms below - the Vaico part is the same as the Mercedes OEM design.
The difference in the "housing" around the base of the ball joint makes zero difference in the RWD variant. I did one just a couple months ago (my project 2012) and the Lemforder arms went in like butter. No worries.
But with a 4Matic, that extra "edge" that Lemforder added to their arm makes it essentially impossible to get the arm in around the CV axle boot. Worse, it's got a nice sharp edge that is dandy for slicing the boot (ask me how I know), so instead of just unbolting the old one and bolting in the new one, you have to release the lower control arm (the smaller one that runs straight out to the knuckle) so you have room to swing the hub enough to move the axle out of the way (yes, requiring removing the axle bolt with a big honkin' breaker bar with the wheels on the ground, and wrestling the axle around trying not to stress or overextend it).
Here's a closer look at the difference:
Pardon the photo quality, but you get the idea.
With all the jacking around with the axle and lower control arm, I managed to also destroy the boot on the lower control arm, so I'll be swapping those out as well (I'm sure they were fine before this morning).
And FWIW, I will be posting a video on this process that covers both 4Matic (whole video) and RWD (fast forward through the sections marked as 4Matic specific).
And if I didn't mention it before, if you have a 4Matic, don't buy the Lemforder upper control arms. ;-)
thanks for the feedback good to know, I was very close to just buying the arms, instead I just did the bushings. I have almost 300,000km on my original mercedes arm and they are still tight. I used my sharp grease needle to give them a little bit of new grease.
Mine is 4matic. Getting the original arms out was extremely difficult. I popped the tie rod ends loose and was able to get it out with a lot of maneuvering, sort of like a puzzle. Getting the new Lemforder arm back in was at least as hard, but possible. No damaged boots and no removing the other control arm. I'm convinced the Lemforders are OEM.
to my future self. lemforder part number 354 0001 or mercedes 204 333 11 14
Those are the bushings. If you're ordering the arms, be sure to tell self that the numbers are different for left and right.
The parts I ordered were Lemforder 3821501 and 3821601. The equivalent MB numbers are 2043308311 (left) and 2043308411 (right) respectively.
Mine is 4matic. Getting the original arms out was extremely difficult. I popped the tie rod ends loose and was able to get it out with a lot of maneuvering, sort of like a puzzle. Getting the new Lemforder arm back in was at least as hard, but possible. No damaged boots and no removing the other control arm.
Be sure to tell self that the numbers are different for left and right.
The parts I ordered were Lemforder 3821501 and 3821601. The equivalent MB numbers are 2043308311 (left) and 2043308411 (right) respectively.
thats incorrect. these are the numbers for the bushings not the arms. about 1/10 the cost here in Canada. bushings are same part number, both sides for the BUSHINGS
Mine is 4matic. Getting the original arms out was extremely difficult. I popped the tie rod ends loose and was able to get it out with a lot of maneuvering, sort of like a puzzle. Getting the new Lemforder arm back in was at least as hard, but possible. No damaged boots and no removing the other control arm. I'm convinced the Lemforders are OEM.
John, it might be a difference in the facelift model. The original arms in my 2011 looked like the Vaico arm (with the rounded ball joint "housing"). Maybe they went to the Lemforder arms in 2013 on? IIRC, the parts catalogs list all of them as fitting 2010-2015 models, but that doesn't necessarily mean they were all the same out of the factory.
06-16-2024, 04:09 PM
