S212 Front Suspension question

[Candellara]

We replaced all the front control arms on our E Class estate about 10,000 miles ago and the suspension top mounts and springs not long after, but the car has developed a clunk when travelling over potholes.

Not alot left to change but the ARB drop links were last done in 2018 - 30,000 miles ago. Do these wear out this quickly?

I also note that the car has never had any engine mounts changed and we're on 100k miles now. Is this a relatively easy swap out?

[snotrag]

Its incredible how noisy even the tiniest bit of play can sound in the drop links, had them on my S212 and my current S204. they are not that much for genuine ones from Merc.

Remember if your jacking up to check, you must get both wheels off the ground and unloaded for anything to do with ARB as otherwise the joint is loaded.


They are about as straightforward to change as they get. 16mm spanner and 5 mm allen socket if i recall perhaps...

Edited by snotrag on Tuesday 7th May 12:54

[Candellara]

Still on this problem :-(

Changed the drop links, rear trans mounting and also the front lower ball joints (again, only done 20,000 miles ago). Rattle still there.

I've had the car on a ramp and everything looks ok. All the control arms were replaced a couple of years ago along with a pair of new front coil springs and the top mounts. No rattles or knocks over sleeping policemen, it only rattles when traversing rough road surfaces. The car has done 100k miles.

Could front shock absorbers be the culprit? although it damps ok on a bounce test.