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What suspension components should be replaced on the W124 at ~150,000km/90,000mi?

Funny Bunny

Active member
Member
What should be replaced and in what order of priority? Currently have no sounds or vibrations or any issues. Shaking the wheel while jacked has no play in any direction. But the bushings on the LCAs look like they're starting to degrade. Everything is original still and never replaced. No corrosion/rust.

I want to refresh everything ahead of time, so what should my list of parts be and in what priority?
 
The problem is often not the kilometers or miles, but the age of the rubber mounts.

The first thing I did was replace the front stabilizer rubbers and the strut mounts. Steering dampers are usually due for replacement after all these years, too.

So, I'm tackling all the issues one by one.

Classic cars are a hobby, and sometimes they cost a bit of money.

Good luck with replacing the parts👍💪👌
 
Consider the rear wheel carrier bushings and the sub-frame mounts. All these are in the rear of the car and take some special tools but not terribly expensive. If you do a search you will find HOW-TO writeups for these. The idler arm bushing is an easy job.
 
TLDR: At only 90kmi there may not be a lot of components with excessive wear. Sure you can replace everything but don't expect much noticeable difference besides a much lighter wallet. Inspect each component and replace if required.

emerydc8 is correct, the rear lower support joints are very likely bad - this is a very common failure. See the forum HOW-TO for details. If the seals are cracked, replace the joints. This would be high priority, and relatively low cost.

I also agree about the rear subframe mounts, in particular the rear mounts may be collapsed. Search the forum for photos showing good vs bad, if the mount is resting on the round stop plate, they have failed and need replacement. OE/OEM rear Sportline bushings are NLA but there are aftermarket replicas that seem cromulent. The front subframe bushings tend to last longer, and OE/OEM tall-tab style are NLA. You can still get OE short-tab bushings. I'd avoid any aftermarket brands. Medium-high priority, low cost as DIY, fairly high cost paying a shop (lots of labor).

Front swaybar bushings, if original, are pretty likely toast (deformed). Relatively easy and cheap to replace. OE/Genuine bushings ONLY. Rear bar bushings are probably fine, but aren't expensive.

All 4 or 5 rear subframe links are low priority unless you find visible wear/damage. Fairly high cost / lots of labor. Some or all of these links are all made in low-cost countries now, the original German-made parts are mostly gone. I usually replace all this stuff at 200kmi/300kkm or beyond.

Front LCA bushings can look kinda bad from the little bit of visible rubber, but are often OK internally. At 90kmi they may be fine, unless oil-soaked from fluid leaks. If they are oil soaked, first fix the leaks, then replace the bushings. This would be pretty low on the priority list for me. High cost / lots of labor, alignment required afterwards.

Check each individual steering joint for sideways play, if they are tight and the boots are intact, they are still good. You didn't mention if your car is a 500E or if it has early vs late LCA's, the late LCA's in particular should have the ball joint boot monitored closely so it can be replaced at the first sign of failure (see forum HOW-TO). You can measure the idler arm play with a dial gauge, there's a HOW-TO on this as well. If you can't detect any play, this is also low priority.

Dampers are a wildcard. If original the front struts may have low gas pressure. New OE are made in Turkey now with questionable lifespan. Bilstein Sports are an option if you want something firmer. Rear SLS shocks are NLA (some available on eBay at high cost) so if they aren't leaking you can skip those. Fronts strut mounts may be tired by 90kmi, new OE are made in Turkey now, Jono likes Meyle HD for this application despite COO being China. Don't forget new foam stop buffers with new front struts (OE only), replace the accordion dust boot if damaged (OE only).

Part numbers for everything are on the forum, search for details.

:spend:
 
This is my favorite website for figuring out part numbers.
That site is a web extract of the Mercedes EPC. It's good in a pinch and/or if you don't have access to the full, official EPC or newfangled ISPPI (EPC replacement). However, the "unofficial" online EPC lack the hyperlinked footnotes with additional information required for certain parts. For the hardcore MB enthusiast, get the full EPC on your computer... you won't regret it.

:gsxrepc:
 
Just for reference, this is what I replaced on my 93 500E @ 127,500 miles in 2012. I did this on my back in the driveway then got it alined. It made a huge difference in my ride. At the time these parts cost around $250.00 plus an alinement at around $160.00. The prices are probably double by now.

At the top of the photo are the sway bar bushings the rest is I think is self explanatory. Part numbers are all showing but are for a 124036 500E I'm sure the 140 parts would be the same parts with different part numbers.
 

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Hello, I’ll join the party here with my own question.
My car been sitting for way too long and I might as well do all the suspension.
The mechanical part is done apart from leaking hydraulic, just washed the engine and waiting to see if it’s the reservoir or the pump.

Is there a list of all suspensions parts?
Are the fcp euro kits good enough to this group standards?
Visually I can say that steering is bad from one side to another but other than that is better than one might think, I just don’t want to do steering and alignment then jump on control arms and again aligment.
Or if I may ask, what can I do that involves doing alignment so I can do the other later on as I go.

I hope I somehow made my issue clear 😅
Thanks
 

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If I recall correctly the shop manual specifies a max of .5” of play for the steering wheel with it centered. You might be able to tighten it up through the steering gear box. There are posts on this and changing the lower steering gear box seals which are a common leak point.
 
If I recall correctly the shop manual specifies a max of .5” of play for the steering wheel with it centered. You might be able to tighten it up through the steering gear box. There are posts on this and changing the lower steering gear box seals which are a common leak point.
These steering boxes have quite a bit of play anywhere off center, which is normal... be very, very careful to make sure the box is centered (check the marks at the input shaft, see photos below) when measuring play.

99.44%+ of 124 chassis steering boxes have zero play in center position. It's bloody rare to find a 124 box that needs adjustment. (By comparison, the 123 steering box needed adjustment as often as the mechanical valvetrain, lol.)

:banana2:

1742320491507.jpeg 1742320498043.jpeg
 

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