W210 estate Self levelling problem?

[MYFIRSTMERC]

Being a recent new owner of a 2001 E320 CDI estate I am not sure if I have a problem or not, First off I seem to have a dull clunking from the rear suspension and secondly the rear self levelling does not level, I have topped up the reservoir to the correct level but does this need bleeding, No apparent leaks from anywhere, I have replaced front and rear drop links, but when working the rear suspension I get a hissing sound from under the car like an air leak? any advice would be greatly appreciated, also need an indy or specialist near newcastle upon tyne

 

[type49]

How have you checked it & what do you mean "working the suspension". If you mean bouncing the car, then you will get a hissing noise from the struts, this is normal. To check self levelling, engine running & measure the vehicle height. Get at least 3 people to sit in the boot, the car will drop but should slowly raise within about 40 seconds.

 

[MYFIRSTMERC]

Thanks for the reply, I worked the suspension by yes bouncing it, I have also tried loading with me and the wife (equivalent to three normal people) and a dog in the back I thought it would level quicker than that, maybe I should wait for a bit longer to see if it levels.
Still got a bit of a thud/clunk from the rear though.

 

[230K]

Hi

I have that dull thud while going over a jittery surface, cant for the life of me find out what it is, its nearly like the noise a loose parcel shelf would make in a hatchback, i even removed the load cover but made no difference. Forward rear subframe bushings was my only hope but cant be bothered changing them. Was in another 210 Diesel estate and it had the same noise though.

Thanks,

230K

 

[MYFIRSTMERC]

Have also been advised to change forward bushings apparently they arent too difficult, but a bit scared I get it wrong may try an indipendant if I can find one locally, will let you know If I cure it

 

[type49]

Have also been advised to change forward bushings apparently they arent too difficult, but a bit scared I get it wrong may try an indipendant if I can find one locally, will let you know If I cure it

Post where you are & maybe someone could recommend a good indie.

 

[MYFIRSTMERC]

Post where you are & maybe someone could recommend a good indie.

Thanks I am just outside Newcastle upon Tyne if anyone knows a good indie then I would be very pleased to hear about them.

 

[hmang]

hi MYFIRSTMERC
did you ever get to the bottom of this dull thud / clonk issue ?

my 2001 w210 avantgarde 7 seater estate is doing this too
i'm surprised that no one on this forum hasn't found a fix for this yet.
my own investigations and findings so far are:

1/
front springs broken at bottom coil...
not too obvious to detect from just visual check of wheel to wheel arch gap..so get the wheel off, clean away all the crud from the spring seat and have a proper look

malcolm said in a previous thread that the springs broke at the top coil so worth checking this too
i would say that i've replaced 4 broken springs now (front 2 on the estate and rear 2 on my 1999 w210 saloon all were snapped at the bottom)
the rear ones made a metalic clang.

replacing the front springs on the estate didn't sort the thud but needed doing any way. there were various options and supercesions to the spring part no. on my car so i went for genuine springs by chassis no.

good spring compressors are vital for this job as the springs are under A LOT of compression. ..be careful here !

2/
front arb bushes and drop links were replaced using mb parts.
with the weight of the car suspended on axle stands under the lower wishbones.

i did notice here that the paint / powder coating of the roll bar was worn away where both the bushes and drop links fit. thus reducing the diameter of the roll bar.

THIS DID NOT GET RID OF THE CLUNK/THUD...but i thought it might

3/
Rear arb bushes and drop links replaced using mb parts.
with the weight of the car suspended on axle stands under lower control arms.

THIS DID NOT GET RID OF THE CLUNK/THUD...but i thought it might

4/
spherical bearings on bottom rear hub assy replaced using euro parts.

this is a bit of a nasty one but needed doing as the old ones had play and looking behind the rubber boots they were rusty too.

i did the first bearing on my own and finished up removing the whole hub assy from the car. releasing the half shaft near the diff.
so that i could drift the old bearing out, and the new one in, on the bench ...(i have no press)
but on the 2nd one i got the missus (bless her) to brace the hub assy with a big heavy lump of metal while i drifted the bearings with the hub assy still in situ.
it's fiddly and there isn't much room to swing a hammer but it's do able.

guess what...
THIS DID NOT GET RID OF THE CLUNK/THUD...but i thought it might

5/
replaced rear subframe front bushes using mb kit

supported car on jack points, undid the front bush bolts the subframe drops quite a bit and using plenty of squirt (wd40 or similar) you can dig the old ones out and remove ( i did have to lever the subframe down just a bit to finally remove the old bush).
dont expect the bushes to come out intact... i ended up mashing mine to bits in order to remove.

When fitting the new ones
i coated them in rubberlube to help them slip into the hole nicely.
also there is a flat on the side which must correspond to a similar flat in the hole in the subframe.

With axle stands under the subframe as close to the bushes as you can get.
if you then lower the car on the jacks the subframe will then rise and push the bushes into their holes some of the way.

then jack the car back up to drop the subframe again and put in packing pieces between car body and upper lip of bush.

lower the car onto the axle stands again and the bushes will be pushed home.
REMOVE PACKING PEICES !!!
fit and tighten bolt and cup washer.
NB my kit came with 2 bushes, 2 washers & 2 new bolts
but the new bolts were at least 10 mm shorter than the originals.
MAKE SURE THERE IS ENOUGH THREAD IN THE CHASSIS MOUNTING.

Guess what..
THIS DID NOT GET RID OF THE CLUNK/THUD...but i thought it might

i'm on a mission now...i'm gonna sort this eventually!!

do you think the harder avantgarde suspension might be a factor here?

any ideas welcome

sorry if i've hi-jacked your thread

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

My 320CDi estate had a similar problem with a dull clunking like a loose parcel shelf sound from the back of the car. I eventually identified the problem as being the spare wheel cover, this was bouncing around over rough roads, so I cut some rubber matting to size and glued it to the metalwork that the cover sits on.

This seems to have solved the problem, the problem being the plastic ribbing that stiffens the base of the cover rattling on the metalwork.

Just to finish the job off I did both sides, although, I don't think the other cover was causing much noise.

 

[hmang]

cheers malcolm210
this hasn't fixed mine though

 

[hmang]

does this problem happen mainly on the estate version ?

and does it matter whether avantgarde or elegance ?

if others have had this please post your car details. any input welcome.

 

[lyndonri]

Sounds like the same here. Haven't tried any of the suggestions provided but the symptoms are the same.

 

[hmang]

how does this self levelling system work ?
and ,
what's with the link thing attached to the rear anti roll bar?
and,
Fluid ? where's that? what's it for?
and,
if the "shock" has 2 mounting bolts at the bottom, where / how does it pivot when the suspension goes through its travel?

only avantgarde estates with this problem ?

 

[ShinyF1]

I had a clunk from the rear of my 210 estate. Tried all sorts of things, then noticed that one of the stiff seat back catches hadn't fully re-engaged since I last folded the rears down. Anyway made sure they were both fully engaged, and hey presto the annoying clunk had gone.

Might be a red herring but worth a try.

 

[hmang]

no such thing as a red herring to me shiny.

this is driving me so mental that i'll try red ones, green ones, pink ones and yellow stripey ones with spots on.

ta for suggestion
phil

 

[television]

no such thing as a red herring to me shiny.

this is driving me so mental that i'll try red ones, green ones, pink ones and yellow stripey ones with spots on.

ta for suggestion
phil

I have all of the how it works and mods,but nothing for your complaint shown

 

[hmang]

the how it works would be interesting.

any chance of a peep malcolm.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

Someone else had that problem here before. Turned out to be an exhaust mounting causing the exhaust to move slightly more han normal and make contact with the body when the engine was moving slightly on the engine mounts [normal] under acceleration.

 

[Blobcat]

Someone else had that problem here before. Turned out to be an exhaust mounting causing the exhaust to move slightly more han normal and make contact with the body when the engine was moving slightly on the engine mounts [normal] under acceleration.

My W210 saloon can do that on cold starts, I've also had the loose spare wheel which took awhile to find.

 

[hmang]

blobcat
keep an eye out for the tinny exhaust heat shield rotting and pulling through its mounting points.

that makes hell of a racket when it starts clanging against the exhaust.

i've had a couple of cars do this at about your car age and miles.
a big "penny" washer is an easy fix