New to us 1998 C280

[Hook]

Hello all, new guy in the forum here. Just recently bought our first Benz. It's a 1998 C280, that is in absolutley immaculate condition. The car only has 22,000 miles on it. It drives like an absolute dream. I took the car to the dealer for an oil change, get a copy of the VMI and have them check it out. The report back was generally good, but they did note a lot of things in the front suspension that needed to be replaced. I have not yet crawled around under the car to see this stuff for my self, but they said the following should be replaced.

Front Control arm bushings (Dealer estimate $680)
Lower Ball Joints (estimate $210)
New Drag Link (estimate $550)
Motor & Transmission mounts (estimate $590)

There was also a recomended coolant and brake fluid flush.

I find it hard to believe that all of that stuff could be bad, but since the car probably sat around a lot, I would imagine that the rubber deteriorated. Fortunately, I have done extensive work on cars, and should be able to get all the parts I need for about $750. I'll probably tackle it in chunks, doing the ball joints, control arm bushings first (then getting it aligned). Then the motor and transmission mounts.

What are your collective thoughts? Granted the car is new to us, but it drives and handles perfectly. There are no squeeks, or bump noises, or vibrations. Got it up to 95 and it felt like it was at home. It tracks perfectly. I'm thinking the dealership may have been a bit "over thourough". But maybe the rubber has deteriorated.

I have found some posts on the LCA and Ball joints. Seems realtively straight forward. Any tips or tricks on the motor and transmission mounts?

[1995c280]

your ball joints are probably bad. that is around the milege. benz wants almost zero play in them and they go bad all the time. they were a bad design from the beginning. as for the the rest of the things, i find it hard to believe but they are all things that go bad on 202's with higher milege especially the LCA bushings. but you have low miles. put your car on a lift and stick a long pry bar in the gap next to the control arm bushing. the rear bushing on the arm. the front one will never go bad!!! while prying the control arm out, shine a light and check the rubber to see if it's actually broken. it will have stress marks and slight cracks, they all do. only replace it if its actually broken though. and you said you have no vibrations...a broken control arm bushing will cause slight to major vibrations so check this out before replacing anything.

Jason

[audiophile]

Motor & Transmission mounts (estimate $590)
are they crazy!!!:mad:
if you buy the parts seperatly they'll cost no more than $150 with shipping:eek:

[1995c280]

Originally posted by audiophile
are they crazy!!!:mad:
if you buy the parts seperatly they'll cost no more than $150 with shipping:eek:

the prices he quoted at the top are including labor. that's why they are so high!

Jason

[zzDragonzz]

welcome to club202, a lot of nice people on here that will provide you with a lot of information, but first use the search tool if you are looking for something, things get really repetitive here, and some people just don't know wtf they are talking about, so if you have a problem then ask someone who has had that problem before, or others will just provide guesses that wont do a damn thing but waste your time and money. I too have a 98 c280 sport and finally got one of the major problems fixed after just buying it. Is it only me or these cars full of bugs? Looking to replace my balljoints soon too, so any information you recieve pass it along and I'll do the same, cheers

Anyways, welcome to club deuce o deuce.:cool:

[audiophile]

Originally posted by 1995c280
the prices he quoted at the top are including labor. that's why they are so high!

Jason
but still $440 for labor thats nuts.

[1995c280]

you could consider that nuts, but depending on where you are it could be cheap also. for instance we charge $105/per hour at our shop and customer pay flat rate is 2.4 hours for ball joints. parts are $62 each side. that's $376+tax JUST to replace the ball joints. and we sell them like crazy over here all the time! that's alot more than he was quoted!!!

so i say he got a good quote considering a benz dealer but in your area that may be a high quote, LOL!

Jason

[zzDragonzz]

do you know of a good write up on changing this? I need to change mine soon too cause when i turn I hear clank clank at times, and when I go over speed bumps can hear it as well. thanks.

[Hook]

I've been checking out parts for these repairs. All in all, Autohaus Arizona has the best prices (granted I have not checked out shipping at every place). I've done pricing at:

German Parts Online (http://www.germanpartsonline.com/)
All OEM Parts (http://www.alloemautoparts.com/)
Autohaus Arizona (http://www.autohausaz.com/)
Buy MB Parts (http://buymbparts.com/)
Auto Parts Warehouse (http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/)
MercedesShop.com (http://catalog.mercedesshop.com/)
and
Importec (http://www.importeccatalog.com/)

For these steering and suspension parts Autohaus Arizona has the best prices, up to about $30 less for the drag link assembly.

Everybody carries Ball Joints by Lemfoerder at somewhere around $50 a pop. I did see Ball joints made by Karlyn/Mehle for only $19.85 ea. I'm not about to put cheap crap in the Benz, but what a price difference!

[Vodka G]

Originally posted by Hook

Front Control arm bushings (Dealer estimate $680)
Lower Ball Joints (estimate $210)
New Drag Link (estimate $550)
Motor & Transmission mounts (estimate $590)

There was also a recomended coolant and brake fluid flush.

I find it hard to believe that all of that stuff could be bad, but since the car probably sat around a lot, I would imagine that the rubber deteriorated. Fortunately, I have done extensive work on cars, and should be able to get all the parts I need for about $750. I'll probably tackle it in chunks, doing the ball joints, control arm bushings first (then getting it aligned). Then the motor and transmission mounts.



man the stealership is smokin' some serious stuff.......680 for control arm bushing parts and labor???

parts...goto www.benzbin.com and you can get the full kit for less than $100....goto any good shop can do a lower control arm bushing for no more than $200

ball joint??? part at the stealership was $80 for the pair....labor should be no more than $100 for both side at any shop....is actually very simple...you would need an alignment after that

dunno whatz....a new 'drag link'

motor and tranny mount...are you sure you need that???

[Denlasoul]

Parts resource. Click me. (http://www.club202.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7035)

[1995c280]

Originally posted by Vodka G
man the stealership is smokin' some serious stuff.......680 for control arm bushing parts and labor???

parts...goto www.benzbin.com and you can get the full kit for less than $100....goto any good shop can do a lower control arm bushing for no more than $200

ball joint??? part at the stealership was $80 for the pair....labor should be no more than $100 for both side at any shop....is actually very simple...you would need an alignment after that

dunno whatz....a new 'drag link'

motor and tranny mount...are you sure you need that???

you do not need an alignment after replacing ball joints. also if you mark the old bushings and press the new one in the same direction and point...your alignment will not be off. i do this all the time and never sell alignments unless the customer request it.

Jason

[irieite]

Originally posted by 1995c280
you do not need an alignment after replacing ball joints. also if you mark the old bushings and press the new one in the same direction and point...your alignment will not be off. i do this all the time and never sell alignments unless the customer request it.

Jason

Right, from what I understand, so long as the car has not had an alignment done, with the worn parts, then you'll actaully be bringing it back in spec by installing the new parts. Still an "alignment check" would'nt be a bad idea if it's already at the shop.

[Proven Guilty]

I've had an excellent experience getting all my parts from:
http://www.alleurasianautoparts.com/

I purchased a MAF, Brake pads+rotors, plug wires, K&N air filter, mann fuel filter, mann oil filter, replacement cabin filter and other parts.

They usually carry 2 OEM brands, as well as some alternative off-brands. Go OEM always, and you'll be much happier.

Best part was that they offer free shipping for orders over $75.

- While you're doing the suspension, wouldn't hurt to setup Eibach Pro Springs and Swaybar kit with some Koni Yellow Adjustables imo ;)