Rear diff bushes

[Uberwagon]

Hi all,

My car is having a full overhaul, 1991 500e.

Merc say the rear diff bush kit is NLA and they don’t have the individual bush part numbers which I find odd. I’m in the U.K. but I don’t think that matters.
Does anyone have the part numbers for all the fitting bolts and bushes themselves?
Kind regards

Dave

 

[gsxr]

The FRONT diff mount kit is NLA/OOS. However you may be able to substitute the W210 rubber pieces.

The REAR diff mounts are available, but require special tools to install, and the depth of the old ones must be measured before removing or you're in trouble.

 

[Uberwagon]

The FRONT diff mount kit is NLA/OOS. However you may be able to substitute the W210 rubber pieces.

The REAR diff mounts are available, but require special tools to install, and the depth of the old ones must be measured before removing or you're in trouble.

So the depth of them in relation to the diff itself ?

Its hugely frustrating how badly Merc are supplying parts for a relatively young car. I think once it’s done I’ll be selling soon after as it’s proving difficult to do big mileages in with so many nla parts.

Where do I start looking for front diff bushes with dimensions ? I currently only have a picture from a pets manual which doesn’t give numbers to go from.

Dave

 

[gsxr]

So the depth of them in relation to the diff itself ?

Depth of the 2 bushings related to the subframe. The factory tool sets depth as shown in the FSM, without that you need to make sure the diff will mount in the identical location as it did originally. As long as you measure before & after, you'll be ok. @IslandMon just did this (click here).

Its hugely frustrating how badly Merc are supplying parts for a relatively young car. I think once it’s done I’ll be selling soon after as it’s proving difficult to do big mileages in with so many nla parts.

If you think MB is bad, there are other mfr's that are far worse. MB used to be the gold standard for decades-long support, but no longer. If you are only maintaining a couple 124's it's not too bad, parts can generally be sourced with some effort.

Where do I start looking for front diff bushes with dimensions ? I currently only have a picture from a pets manual which doesn’t give numbers to go from. Dave

You have two options. Either re-use the old front bushings (they may be serviceable), or try the W210 items (one each 210-351-18-42 and 210-351-19-42). I've had them side by side with the W124.034/.036 items, and it looks like they should be close enough to work. However, I haven't yet installed the W210 bits on one of my cars. See attached photos.

Notes from the last time I looked at them next to each other:

"The W210/W140 mounts are an interesting design change compared to the 500E / R129 mount. The two rubber 140/210 mounts are different, one has 4mm center protrusion, the other has none. On the 500E/R129, the two rubber mounts are identical, and each has a 2mm protrusion. And the 140/210 is fully rubber coated, while the 500E/R129 is bare metal on the flat side, which puts metal vs metal at the subframe. ​

​

The metal cones are also slightly different as well. The assembly measures 1-2mm thicker overall, but that could be compensated for by either grinding the peak of the volcano tips down, or possibly just eliminating the separate shim on the 500E. Additionally... the 140/210 rubber bushings are available separately, instead of in a kit where you may not use the other parts. The rubber bushings are 210-351-18-42 and 210-351-19-42. I think we may be able to use them with the 500E's metal cones/volcanoes, which are re-usable if not rusted. "​

 

[IslandMon]

+1 on Dave’s advice on checking positioning before removal. I followed it myself and have no issues.

I have a rear diff mount tool if you would like to purchase it. Won’t be needing it for another 20 years hopefully.

I got lucky and was able to find a NOS front diff bushing on an online retailer, but was planning on re-using the old bushing (no other choice).