Hello everyone! About a 3 weeks ago I took my e55 on a road trip. Throughout the whole ride the car was driving normal until I took a very bumpy road after I got off the bumpy road there wasn’t any difference until I pressed it full and when my front lifted and went back down I heard a thump in my suspension (front driver side). I thought I heard road noise but when I did it again it thumped again.

It sounded almost like when you pop a bone or a clunk. When I would brake hard it would make the noise too. It also did the sound when I turned it fully to the right when I was pulling out of a parking spot but it did it only once. So I drove home carefully and jacked it up once I got home. The tie rod on the driver side was moving where inner and outer tie rod connect. The adjusting nut was so loose that I could move it with my hand. The bushing looked pretty bad and the wheel had play in it. So I parked the car and ordered the fcp euro tie rod kit. The tie rods ended up taking three weeks to deliver because of UPS delays. I installed them yesterday and took it for a drive. The alignment was pretty off. My esp malfunction message would show up after driving for a minute.

I searched it up and people said it was due to alignment. So hopefully that fixes that. But the main issue is THE FRICKIN NOISE IS STILL THERE. The same noise was still there. It still does the thump when I accelerate and let off. It also did it once when I was turning at a red light. I didn’t drive much because the alignment was pretty bad (about 4 miles). So I do feel pretty bad that I threw a part at it that wasn’t the issue but at the same time the old tie rod was going bad if not already bad. Do you guys have any idea what it might be. Possibly the top hat? The thing is my e55 is converted to regular springs. So I wouldn’t know if it could be that. All the bushings looked okay. Any input is appreciated. Please ask if you need any clarification I’m not too great at explaining an issue.

 

Rear sub frame bolt has broken on one of the four mounting points or a mount has broken.
PLENTY of threads on this issue.

 

I took it to an alignment shop and they said it’s more than likely your engine mount. The noise is in the front though? Do you still think it might be a bolt in the back subframe?

 

My bad if you are hearing it in the front.

 

It’s all good you just gave me an issue I need to check on before it possibly happens. Man this e55 is becoming less reliable with all these issues popping up😭 Still an amazing car though

 

These are old cars now so to be expected. When I bought mine I did all the known issues before they had a problem just for the hell of it. Brake light switch, Rear sub frame mounts and bolts , crank sensor, transmission conductor plate, alternator regulator and bought a Xentry computer system.

 

what should I look for when inspecting my subframe I’m now planning to change out the two bolts and bushings in the near future but still want to inspect for any damage now?

 

There’s 4 bolts and one or more will be missing the head if it’s bad. Reliable and 20 year old Mercedes aren’t synonymous. Add the Amg part for less reliability

 

Some known issues for front end clunk: obviously ball joints are something you'd want to look at, there are several at the front spindles. Also sway bar bushings are known to go, and will cause a clunk going up and over bumps, but the bushings are part of the sway bar so they're not available separately. Sway bar removal requires lowering of the front subframe, so it's a bit involved.