W210. DROP LINKS LIFE EXPECTANCY?

[HERBIEMERCMAN]

Hello Everyone, I am on my fourth set of front and rear drop links and they usually start knocking about every 40k miles. My car is a seven seater estate but is rarely carrying any heavy stuff.
The roads in Lancashire are very poor, many deep pot holes etc, but like most drivers i try to miss them, can be a bit dodgy though, however what experience is there out there of the life expectancy of the drop links ? Herbie.

 

[Naraic]

Life expectancy...not long. A poorly made part.

 

[Wighty]

Just bourght 2 from MB Grangemouth for £33 each for my CLK , which has done 50k and is 8 years old, the rubber dust covers are starting to go according to last years mot so I will be swapping them over in the next week . My 8 year old E320 on 78k is still on originals .

 

[Flyinspanner]

I wonder if you could make a protective "cover" out of something like bike inner tube, sealed hood (like a balaclava) at top n bottom with rubber glue. It may save it a bit from road salts/grit, which may prolong the life for a modest outlay?

 

[giuseppe]

you could try electrical shrink wrap, it comes in a wide range of sizes

 

[Frontstep]

My fronts are what I call service parts 18 months 2 years that's it.
I packed plenty of silicone grease in to help get them on I suppose you could pull some bicycle inner tube over them for a few months protection and finish with cable ties.

 

[alexanderfoti]

Yup not long on the 210, service part I would call them.

 

[sharjah]

Yup not long on the 210, service part I would call them.

Hello Everyone, I am on my fourth set of front and rear drop links and they usually start knocking about every 40k miles. My car is a seven seater estate but is rarely carrying any heavy stuff.
The roads in Lancashire are very poor, many deep pot holes etc, but like most drivers i try to miss them, can be a bit dodgy though, however what experience is there out there of the life expectancy of the drop links ? Herbie.

seems the 210 is v poor as regards steering/suspension. We purchased a 210 estate 14 months ago with 6 months warranty from a main dealer in Bristol with genuine 35k on clock and FSH. just after six months both front wheel bearings collapsed and caused major damage to housing.8k later car was parked on drive and a loud bang informed me the n/s coil spring had snapped.Derbyshire roads are also bad pot hole wise. Is this to be expected from a 'quality' car? i think I might give Ford my business in future!

 

[television]

210 coils are well known to fail, often one side will knock out the other, Waxoil them and they last a long time.

Some of the 210's did not meet good years.

 

[umblecumbuz]

Quality of drop links makes a difference.
Oem replacements are often of much higher quality than cheaper versions.

On another car, I foolishly 'saved' money by replacing front links with Chinebay ones. Under 10k miles later I had to do the job again.

Umble

 

[Frontstep]

Unfortunately the originals aren't that good that's why we replace them so often.
They aren't that expensive from MB though, under £15 if I remember correctly.