W212 AMG Discuss the W212 AMG's such as the E63

Left Cross Strut Failure.... Again!

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Old May 22, 2022 | 03:18 PM
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Left Cross Strut Failure.... Again!

Hello,

Replaced the left cross strut to eliminate the dreaded suspension squeak. All was good for a time. Now less than 10K miles here we are again. Any ideas on how to actually fix this?

Pics below are for the left and right respectively.

Thanks,

Joe



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Old May 22, 2022 | 04:39 PM
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Yup, funny timing, my driver side is also the exact same faith, with about 10K miles of non agressive driving and roads, the arm has slide off the boot. This will be my second one since new, 24K miles. Really disappointing.
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Old May 22, 2022 | 05:26 PM
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We ought to get a class action lawsuit going for this.
In the mean time, buy the part from FCP Euro and this way you can get a replacement for free in 10K.
Search for part 218-330-22-00 on their site.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/Parts/?keywords=218-330-22-00
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Old May 22, 2022 | 08:23 PM
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Originally Posted by Rehabguy
We ought to get a class action lawsuit going for this.
In the mean time, buy the part from FCP Euro and this way you can get a replacement for free in 10K.
Search for part 218-330-22-00 on their site.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/Parts/?keywords=218-330-22-00
The procedure for replacing is very explicit about not rotating the bolt while removing the nut on the backside. It has something to do with the nubs sticking out of the rubber hub and their impact on part of the wheel alignment. Haven't quite figured this out.
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Old May 22, 2022 | 08:40 PM
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I replaced mine with a Movtech part, its much larger on the bushing. At 3000 miles on it currently no issues. Obviously thats about 1/10th of the regular failure rate (30k miles) but so far no issues.
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Old May 22, 2022 | 08:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Valvestud
The procedure for replacing is very explicit about not rotating the bolt while removing the nut on the backside. It has something to do with the nubs sticking out of the rubber hub and their impact on part of the wheel alignment. Haven't quite figured this out.
The bolt is keyed, you will want to replace the bolt. You can use a punch to get the bolt out from the back side, but it has to be keyed in a specific way in order to go out.
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Old May 22, 2022 | 09:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Krakenjack
The bolt is keyed, you will want to replace the bolt. You can use a punch to get the bolt out from the back side, but it has to be keyed in a specific way in order to go out.
Hmm, I don't recall any difficulties removing, and I reused hardware. I'll take a harder look this time around. Can I get a little more info on the part you used. I don't find "Movtech".

Thanks.
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Old May 22, 2022 | 10:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Valvestud
Hmm, I don't recall any difficulties removing, and I reused hardware. I'll take a harder look this time around. Can I get a little more info on the part you used. I don't find "Movtech".

Thanks.
Perhaps Mevotech. But I don't find the part on their site. Hopefully you can provide.

Thanks.
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Old May 22, 2022 | 11:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Valvestud
Perhaps Mevotech. But I don't find the part on their site. Hopefully you can provide.

Thanks.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/254608800350

also, the bolt can be reused. It's keyed, you'll see threads missing once you get the nut about 1 inch off. Line those up after you remove it.

Also use a lift and I have a wagon, so I put a trans jack on my diff and held it aswell, I had to crank on my broken arm to get it to get pressure off the bolt. You may have to do that. Also Sawzall the bushing is am option.
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Old May 23, 2022 | 09:36 AM
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Dealer arm 3x my 4th arm from RockAuto

So far it has out lasted the dealer arm. It was under 50 bucks. Dealer was out of stock.
When I have time I am going to take the OEM part and center the bushing and weld the bushing too the arm it self.
Yes Yes...arm was tighten under load not on a lift. Its a simple installation and if need it will also be a rockauto arm going forward.
2014 E63 5 arms at 60k
2014 E550 0 arms at 110k
2014 E350 0 arms at 15k
Its the AMG TQ of the 5.5
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Old May 23, 2022 | 10:22 AM
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Seems like the two best options are:
1. FCP Euro the part. Life time replacement, just pay shipping.
2. Weld the outer housing to prevent it from shifting on the arm. It's what I did on mine.
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Old May 23, 2022 | 10:43 AM
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Originally Posted by AngryScotsman
Seems like the two best options are:
1. FCP Euro the part. Life time replacement, just pay shipping.
2. Weld the outer housing to prevent it from shifting on the arm. It's what I did on mine.
I kind of feel option 2 would be the way to go. Can you elaborate on the process? I assume rubber pressed out first? Any other advice on welding process?

Thanks!
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Old May 23, 2022 | 10:44 AM
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Originally Posted by sunil517
So far it has out lasted the dealer arm. It was under 50 bucks. Dealer was out of stock.
When I have time I am going to take the OEM part and center the bushing and weld the bushing too the arm it self.
Yes Yes...arm was tighten under load not on a lift. Its a simple installation and if need it will also be a rockauto arm going forward.
2014 E63 5 arms at 60k
2014 E550 0 arms at 110k
2014 E350 0 arms at 15k
Its the AMG TQ of the 5.5
Contacted Mevotech and of course they say the part is not applicable to our cars, or any AMG.
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Old May 23, 2022 | 11:27 AM
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I just checked RockAuto

They are no longer listing the arm for the e63 but when I bought the had it listed same PN as the E550 E350 all the arms were the same, Including the dealer.
if you look at E550 they have the arm listed but remove it from E63
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Old May 23, 2022 | 11:37 AM
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Originally Posted by sunil517
They are no longer listing the arm for the e63 but when I bought the had it listed same PN as the E550 E350 all the arms were the same, Including the dealer.
if you look at E550 they have the arm listed but remove it from E63
Same - I originally found it listed for E63s via Rock Auto and a few other sites, then a few weeks later poof it vanished. I can tell you this much, it fits perfectly, its also significantly more robust, i wish i took more photos, but it is thicker in every location versus the OEM but fits in the exact foot print without issues.
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Old May 23, 2022 | 04:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Valvestud
Can you elaborate on the process? I assume rubber pressed out first? Any other advice on welding process?
Left the bushing in.
low voltage.
clean the area.
tack and let cool. rinse and repeat.

I didn't do it completely around, just in five or six spots so the sleeve wouldn't move within the arm. Also, didn't want to ignite the bushing.
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Old May 23, 2022 | 05:34 PM
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Originally Posted by AngryScotsman
Left the bushing in.
low voltage.
clean the area.
tack and let cool. rinse and repeat.

I didn't do it completely around, just in five or six spots so the sleeve wouldn't move within the arm. Also, didn't want to ignite the bushing.
Great, thanks!
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Old May 23, 2022 | 05:46 PM
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This thread had me curious as I personally replaced mine August 19, 2019. The car has been driven at least 10k, if not a little more. Here's a pic of it at time of installation. The following 2 pics below it are as of today right before this post. It's starting to fail as well.



I'm academically curious if something else failing/wearing out might be aggravating it, or if it happens to be a case of the engineers who designed the car not taking our fat asses into account when designing the suspension.
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Old May 23, 2022 | 06:40 PM
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Originally Posted by WANTED!!
I'm academically curious if something else failing/wearing out might be aggravating it, or if it happens to be a case of the engineers who designed the car not taking our fat asses into account when designing the suspension.

I honestly always noticed the 'its failing' squeak when I was getting in and out of the car... 6'5 330lb... lol and it does always fail on the driver side...🤔.
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Old May 24, 2022 | 01:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Krakenjack
I honestly always noticed the 'its failing' squeak when I was getting in and out of the car... 6'5 330lb... lol and it does always fail on the driver side...🤔.
My wife drives car 90% of the time and she's just a wee lass, so doesn't seem to be a connection, LOL.
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Old May 24, 2022 | 01:46 PM
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14 E63, 05 E55, 03 Evo 8, 08 F250, 06 R6R, 92 Talon TSI, and instability
Originally Posted by Valvestud
My wife drives car 90% of the time and she's just a wee lass, so doesn't seem to be a connection, LOL.
I guess what I was hypothesizing got lost in translation a bit due to my humor. I wasn't saying because of overweight or larger people, I was saying the weight of any driver might not have been accounted for by the engineers. Sounds stupid, but such engineering mistakes have happened.

Last edited by WANTED!!; May 24, 2022 at 02:20 PM.
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Old May 24, 2022 | 03:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Valvestud
My wife drives car 90% of the time and she's just a wee lass, so doesn't seem to be a connection, LOL.
ahahaha amazing well lol there goes that theory
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Old May 24, 2022 | 05:38 PM
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I tack welded beads on either side, mine never moved again.
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Old Sep 5, 2022 | 04:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Valvestud
Hello,

Replaced the left cross strut to eliminate the dreaded suspension squeak. All was good for a time. Now less than 10K miles here we are again. Any ideas on how to actually fix this?
My car (2015 E63S) just started having a horrible squeak, creaking from the front end. Came here to search for a thread and found this.... my car only has 14k miles (yes, 14k miles). Is this typically the cause?
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Old Sep 5, 2022 | 05:06 PM
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Originally Posted by NSnyder996
My car (2015 E63S) just started having a horrible squeak, creaking from the front end. Came here to search for a thread and found this.... my car only has 14k miles (yes, 14k miles). Is this typically the cause?

Age alone and sometimes lack of driving it deteriorates these parts
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