Freshening up the 300E

[McLoffs]

Hello everyone. I've been a member of the club for a few years but this is my first time at this forum. I have a '93 300E with nearly 140,000 miles and am looking at rejuvenating it.

Basically, it feels sorta worn out. I replaced the shocks with Bilsteins and replaced the steering damper about 50,000 miles ago and the thrust arms about 30,000 miles ago. Otherwise, the suspension is stock.

I'm really looking to get that tight-handling feeling back; right now the car has difficulty tracking well at freeway speeds, and just feels "loose" for lack of a better term.

Any suggestions for what should be replaced? Where do I start? Thanks in advance for your help.

[Robert Goodwin]

One place to start would be with an alignment by the dealer or a good qualified independent shop. Complete alignment of a Mercedes includes the replacement of bushings and other rubber and hard parts as neccessary. They should provide yiou with a list an a cost estimate. You can take it from there. An alternative is to get the CD for the car and dive into the alignment check proceedures and see what you can find on your own. Other readers may have some additional ideas.

[joelj]

I agree with robert. Changing the bushings really does wonders. If this is the very first time you will do this after 140000 Miles then i would assume that the ride of your car will be tighter. I replaced mine after 70000Miles and the difference is phenomenal. I suggest you stick to the orginal benz bushings. I believe there are some after market ones that are made of urethane instead of rubber. I've never tried them but I've read that the urethane will last longer but will give you a very harsh ride.

good luck

Joelj

[McLoffs]

Sounds like replacing the bushings is the way to go. Thanks for your advice; I'll report back when the bushings are done and we'll see what effect it has.

Thanks again.

[dan holm]

This is what I did to our 91' 300TE at 135K:

-Front shocks, rears are different on wagon's and last longer.
-Sway bar bushings
-Drive shaft flex joints (Two)
-Motor and trans. mounts
-Tie rod ends and center link
-Steering shock
-Lower ball joints
-Nokian NRV tires (no longer avail and replaced, check current STAR)
-Correct alignment

Really tightened things up

On 95' E320 Wagon with 120K:

-Changed to sport springs and shocks
-Sway bar bushings
-17" wheels from 2003 CL500
-Bridgestone RE750 tires, size 215/45

This changed the whole car. No wallowing, quick turn in's. Quite happy. The wheels are close to the shocks and you can't use rim weights or they may hit the shock in certain circumstances. I ended up buying a MB spring compressor. (Not cheap) May rent it out if anyone needs one. It's the only way to do the job.

D