ssonss1

so my car was making a real loud squeeking noise...so i took it to my indy and he recomended to not drive it till he finds out what it is..he just called me and said it was the lower control arm and bushing or ball joint whatever its called...he qouted me 830$ parts and labour after tax...i told him to go for it..is that reasonable?....but heres the problem...he said while he was inspecting it he said the rotor are too small...the width is fine but the diameter is too small..the whole pad is not going on the rotor...he said theres about a 2 finger gap in the caliper where the rotor is supposed to be...he said you shouldnt be able to fit even one finger in there...i got the rotors in april of this year from r1 concepts..could it be they sent me the wrong ones? maybe for an s500 instead of 600? i tried to call but no one picked up becuase they are updating there system...ill try in a little while and see...i dont see how my installer didnt see this..nor did the stealer when it was in for the service B...the car brakes fine but then again i dont drive very hard all the time....sorry for the long read...any input is appreciated...thanks

ssonss1

just got off the phone...they sent me pads and rotors for a s430:sma sh: there sending me four new pads and rotors...should be here by wednesday...

ssonss1

so it's 400$ for the parts and 3 hours labour at 90$ an hour. Plus taxes it comes out to a bit over 800$. Is this reasonable? The car was squeeking like crazy when going over bumps or turning the steering.

my06clk

Surprised you never did anything about this before you went to get an alignment or the Shop didnt say anything. They usually check susp. components before they do an alignment. I guess those days are gone.
Your installer should be whipped for not noticing those tine rotors don;t fit on those calipers.there is a full inch difference in those rotors..R1 should be shot for the big DUH..
Now you have to re align.. that sucks.

ssonss1

it actually started to squeek the morning of the alignment. I went to my Indy and left the car with him. I re booked my alignment for Tuesday. I'm going to call the shop that installed the rotors tom. Unbelievable. And the stealer didn't even notice when they did service b. Some technicians they have.

my06clk

Wow incredible.. that just goes to show how much attention to detail they pay.
out of curiosity I took a look at my rotor to caliper match-up and there is a big difference and very noticeable. This is an old pic before I changed rotors and painted my calipers.

Look how close the fitment is. much different than your setup.

BTW. I think I want bigger brakes and Rotors.. I don't know if its worth the money as its about 90% look and mabey gain 10% stopping power which I'll rarely notice. Plus I will have to find calipers to fit.. AND I want to do all 4 not just the front.

OceanPkwy

Control Arms and bushings doesnt cause Squeeking man..

Plus what kind of control arms is he giving you?

Control Arms about 200 a peice if not more, Plus ball joints thats more.

Here is my old quote

Front Lower Steel Control Arms+ Front Aluminum Control Arms=

$382.50 LABOR and $1044 in part 4 control arms.

MY control arms are still shot , no squeeking nothing.

my06clk

Ha. upper and lower ball joints loose their grease seal take on water, rust, and SQEAK.

Control arms a just solid peices so you are right on that part.


BTW ssonss1, the rotors for the S500 and S430 are the same.
And Ball joints, which is what you need are only 30 bucks each at Autohauz AZ.
So you should tell your local shop that he should do his christmas shopping from someone else's wallet.

ssonss1

so the ball joints are causing the problem? when i turn the wheels it squeeks real loud..also when going over bumps it squeeks real loud...so all i need is ball joints? all he said to me was that something was seizing and that was causing the noise...... the parts coming from toronto or somethign so it wont be here till tomorrow so i can call him right in the morning...so im being ripped off? thanks for your help...and the rotors that they sent he said are for the 430 so they are way smaller then the s600 rotors...they should be here wednesday i called the installer he apologized and said he will not charge for the labour again..

my06clk

Thats a good deal on the the labor. At least you won't have to eat that twice.

If you have to tell your mechanic how to fix your car, don't you think you should be looking for another mechanic?

As far as the control arms go, There are two bolts the go through two bushings on the upper an one for the lower control arm. These bolts secure both control arms to the frame of the car.

At the other end of the control arms are two ball joints. One for upper control arm and one for the lower. These ball joints are sealed with grease and have a threaded shaft that goes into the axle support.

WHen this grease goes away, they will start to squeak as they become dry or rust gets in and the metal is touching metal inside.

The have to be pressed out of the control arms normally but they are not very expensive.

If you want new bushings as well, they are sold as a complete kit for 52.00.

He must be eating your lunch on labor.. I'd get an itemized parts breakdown form him. Those parts are not that expensive. Well at least they don;t have to be.

Here is a pic from Autohauz site.

And here is a good pic ( kinda ) of how your suspension is set up Look at post # 3 for a pic. Post #1 is a users car. you can see the lower control arm bushings on the left. The ball joint is on the right under the hub next to the strut.

https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...ront-w220.html

ssonss1

perfect thanks ALOTTTTTT.....so 100% thats the only part that can cause squeeking in the lower control arm?...yea i guess i do need a new mechanic this is ridiculous...thanks

my06clk

One can never say 100% but thats more than likely your issue.

My focus in posting was to alert you about parts and pricing more than anything since your quote seemed so out there.

ssonss1

k well i got my car back...the total was 833$ after tax...i think i might have been played here..heres what the bill looks like...
$339 labour at 90$/hour
$418 (1) control arm-ball joint
$68 (1) ball joint
part numbers are 2153300707 & 2113300435

i attatched a pic of the old arm...he said the center one($418) was the one doing the squeeking and the outside left one($68) had a little play in it....so should i be going there tomorrow morning or did i not get ripped?




thanks guys

OceanPkwy

Ripped off BAD!


Did you see my price quote.

1044/4= $261 a Control Arm.

Now according to RBrenton Mercedes Discount List. Its :

PART# -------------------Dealer-- MBworld Special
2153300707 TRANSVERSE C 302.00 242.00


Now Another Site

Control Arm, LF Lower2153300707
All (with Active Body Control)



2203308907
All (less Active Body Control)





http://germanstar.net/220s.htm


Now Another

http://www.aboveallmotorwerks.com/Pr...3300707_S.aspx


Now Another (OEM PART)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/OEM-Mercedes-W220-Front-Right-Lower-Control-Arm-Genuine_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a570Q7c66Q 3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286 Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem370101913370QQitemZ370101913 370QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

THE S600 has the ABC control arm its a bit different, But I listred the prices. The S500 Control arms are even cheaper.

BUT $418 ? he is F-ING CRAZY!!!

ssonss1

i just checked the invoice..he gave me 10% off on the arm so its 376$...also i am in Canada so the parts are a bit more expensive...if i were to buy online for the prices you posted...i would have to pay exchange rate+duty at the border(6%) plus gst and pst (12%)...so im not too worried about the price i paid for the part..my main concern is did the whole arm need to be replaced? couldnt he have just replace the ball joint on the arm? or could it be that the arm was worn out or something...it just looks like a peice of steel so i dont see what could have been wrong with it? thanks for your reply tho

my06clk

The problem here is the so-called control arm/ ball joint. Those are two ( 3 ) different parts not one. You have the control arm, which you didn't need form the look of it, the ball joint which is the center joint that costs 29.bucks and can be pressed out easily ( see pic # 2 in thread #10 ), and then you have those inner bushings which are sold as a kit for 68.00. Of course if you waste money getting them at the dealer( i don't know why ) they are going to be a lot higher.

In my calculation bushings and joints should have ran you $130 ish in parts total plus labor. But I've already got most of my christmas shopping out of the way.

There's no need to go back, for what a refund? thats what he charged, and that's what you agreed and paid. You should have snatched you car before it was taken apart. Its always better to source all of your parts and have them installed independently if you can. If a shop doesn't want to work like that, you find one that will.

BTW.

German Star sells at discounted Dealer prices and configurations cost of their part numbers are the same as the dealers.This is NOT the best place to get parts if you are interested in getting you moneys worth. They sell the lower control arm With the mid bushing so that's what he bought and installed on your car. Just at double++ the price.

Let it go for Next time...

ssonss1

good looking out yea im jus glad the problems fixed...next time something goes wrong ill look into it myself first...thanks for the help