Annoying squeak from rear end of W202

[charlysays]

Hi all,
Following lots of wet weather we had earlier in the year I now have a really annoying sproinky squeak from the OS rear wheel going over bumps. The most annoying bit is that if the car is stationary it will only do it a couple of times by rocking the car then is quiet and in any case I couldn't pinpoint the culprit when I crawled under as I guess it's resonating in an arm or whatever and as such is hard to find.
I've had it up in the air and I can't see anything which looks any different/ worse than the side which doesn't squeak. Tyres are wearing nice and squarely and the car handles well, no clonks at all from the rear end.
I sprayed silicone spray on every side of every bush I could get at and it has improved it but still there.
Most of the rear suspension is original by the look of it apart from the springs and the lower most camber/ diagonal arms which I changed a couple of years ago.
Just wondering if anyone is aware of a specific bush or arm which is prone to squeaking on these or anyone who had the same issue and what fixed it? With it generally behaving well in terms of even tyre wear and handling well I'm loath to just start replacing bits willy nilly to eliminate it.
Any tips much appreciated

 

[Uncle Benz]

The sproingy part says to me you have a spring that has broken at the very bottom, hidden away inside the lower arm. If you look very carefully you might see the shiny part where the side of the spring is rubbing the edge where it disappears inside the cup part of the arm. If you have long skinny fingers you can trace the spring down into the recess and you might feel the broken end

 

[grahamcol]

As above. One of my 202's and also my current 209 have had one broken spring exactly as Uncle Benz describes. I'd describe the noise as a clanking sound.

 

[charlysays]

Thanks for the tips guys. I can't feel anything wrong with any of the springs though. The rear ones were new about 30k miles ago. No breaks that I can feel. The squeak has improved massively to the point it doesn't bother me anymore. I guess I'll just sit on it with it improving and nothing obviously knackered.

 

[sweeper]

Thanks for the tips guys. I can't feel anything wrong with any of the springs though. The rear ones were new about 30k miles ago. No breaks that I can feel. The squeak has improved massively to the point it doesn't bother me anymore. I guess I'll just sit on it with it improving and nothing obviously knackered.

It will be the lower pivot bearing, these are very common and cause the annoying squeak, it is the one where the sub axle meets the lower suspension arm, special tool needed to replace it, I fabricated one that allowed the job to be done in situ but they are F tight to get moving and I managed to punch myself in the face doing it!

 

[Abb]

The subframe bushes for sure, even if you can't see them deteriorating by eye, the fact they are original, even more so. Had this on my C43 W202.

 

[sweeper]

Possible but I’d bet on the pivot bearing, problem is you can here them but can’t see they’re gone until you remove the bolt, whip the wheel off and remove the bolt you’ll soon see

 

[Phillbro]

Hi all,
Following lots of wet weather we had earlier in the year I now have a really annoying sproinky squeak from the OS rear wheel going over bumps. The most annoying bit is that if the car is stationary it will only do it a couple of times by rocking the car then is quiet and in any case I couldn't pinpoint the culprit when I crawled under as I guess it's resonating in an arm or whatever and as such is hard to find.
I've had it up in the air and I can't see anything which looks any different/ worse than the side which doesn't squeak. Tyres are wearing nice and squarely and the car handles well, no clonks at all from the rear end.
I sprayed silicone spray on every side of every bush I could get at and it has improved it but still there.
Most of the rear suspension is original by the look of it apart from the springs and the lower most camber/ diagonal arms which I changed a couple of years ago.
Just wondering if anyone is aware of a specific bush or arm which is prone to squeaking on these or anyone who had the same issue and what fixed it? With it generally behaving well in terms of even tyre wear and handling well I'm loath to just start replacing bits willy nilly to eliminate it.
Any tips much appreciated

Hi Charlysays, I don't suppose you have two piece bolt together rims do you? I had an annoying squeak from the back of my CLK for about a year and couldn't find it until a mechanic said the bolts on my two piece rims were slightly loose. He tightened them up and the squeak disappeared! Could it be that?