News:

The W116 Library - The definitive W116 resource!

Main Menu

What to Address to Improve Ride Quality?

Started by Hexafluoride, 06 April 2016, 12:30 AM

Hexafluoride

A number of the W116's I've driven, including my own, make quite a bit of noise when they hit bumps or go on rough roads. I can often hear and feel the cars go over even small cracks or shifts in the road. What are the important areas to be addressed when trying to improve ride quality? I assume these cars have rubber dampers and isolators all over the place that get old and brittle, where are the ones I should check and replace?

ptashek

#1
Upper and lower control arm bushings, steering damper - that'd be the minimum.
Lower subframe bushings, front and back, and rear subframe mounts, tie rods would be the extended version.

They're all rubber, or steel/rubber and rock hard at this stage, or just loose in the ball joints if still original.
Here's an example of what came out of my car. You could use these as a hammer, with ease :)

Steering damper


Upper control arm bushings
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

floyd111

Some of these? ;D

rumb

upper control arms
'68 250S
'77 6.9 Euro
'91 300SE,
'98 SL500
'14 CLS550,
'16 AMG GTS
'21 E450 Cabrio

daantjie

#4
On the 6.9 the lower ball joint on the struts can be replaced separately.  But be warned that job is one of blood, sweat and  :'(
Daniel
1977 450 SEL 6.9 - Astralsilber

polymathman

I've pretty much replaced all of the stuff mentioned, and I've still got squeaks, rattles - all kinds  of rock and roll. Once it warms up and goes down the highway for a bit most of it goes away, or it's just masked by some wind noise. My granddaughter tells me it's kinda like me getting up in the morning: starts cranky, sounds like a bag of popcorn walking around but once it warms up it's a sight to behold.

Old cars make noises, that's just a fact of life. I ride in my wife's new car and I am impressed with how quiet and tight it feels! I know I could spend the rest of my life tracking down stuff, but hopefully, as I get older, my hearing will fade.

Big stuff like rumbles, knocks and bangs gotta be addressed, little stuff just call it "charm"!!
190sl 1957 rusting away
250S 1968 long gone
280SE 1976 got hit, parts
280SE 1979 running fine
C320 4Matic 2005 for wife -Mercedes after MIT

Type17

Quote from: polymathman on 06 April 2016, 01:00 PMBig stuff like rumbles, knocks and bangs gotta be addressed, little stuff just call it "charm"!!


After you address the big stuff, the "charm" can be removed by replacing all rubber parts, all bearings, and even addressing things like the seat springs and the front seat adjustment mechanisms.


For example, at work, we restored a 280SL Pagoda (W113) to the greatest degree possible - every moving part was replaced or refurbished to factory specs, and every single nut and washer was sandblasted & re-plated.
The button on the handbrake handle was even replaced as it had a burr, which made it feel old and imperfect under the user's thumb. The car then felt and drove like a new car in all regards, so it can be done.
'76 350SE in Silver-Green

Hexafluoride

Thank you all for the help, this gives me a great starting point for what to address! I needed a lower ball joint replaced on my 6.9 (with converted suspension). After hearing about how bad a job that is, I ended up having a local shop take care of it.

nostat

  If you have replaced all those parts and the ride is still rough sit in a bucket of Novocaine. Helped with my ride quality.

ZCarFan

As others mentioned - replace all of the rubber parts. 

One of the 300SDs I had at one time had fairly fresh Bilsteins on it.  Even with bad bushings in the upper control arms it had a great ride.  Once you spend the time and money on the other pieces, might as well spring for 4 fresh Bilsteins while you are at it.

TJ 450

This was a complaint when the W116 was new, although it can certainly be made worse by worn components. New shocks, bushes and ball joints will help greatly though. It will never be as smooth as a W126 though, as the suspension components are not as well isolated.

Tim
1976 450SEL 6.9 1432
1969 300SEL 6.3 1394
2003 ML500

karmann_20v

Perfect timing, as I am preparing to order all of the suspension and steering bits for my 77. Quick question: what hardware bits would be good to replace when refreshing the steering/susp. systems? I'd hate to receive all the major components and not be able to finish the job because of a locknut or pin that I didn't include in the order.

ptashek

Quote from: karmann_20v on 11 April 2016, 11:01 AM
Perfect timing, as I am preparing to order all of the suspension and steering bits for my 77. Quick question: what hardware bits would be good to replace when refreshing the steering/susp. systems? I'd hate to receive all the major components and not be able to finish the job because of a locknut or pin that I didn't include in the order.

All bits should come with the parts - self-locking nuts, castle nuts with pins etc. If ordering at the dealer, they should see that a certain part number either comes on its own, and needs additional items, or it comes as a repair kit with all that's needed for the job.

If you're ordering non-OEM (e.g. FEBI) parts, opt for the "pro kit" parts, as they'll also include all bits.
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

karmann_20v

Quote from: ptashek on 11 April 2016, 03:13 PM
Quote from: karmann_20v on 11 April 2016, 11:01 AM
Perfect timing, as I am preparing to order all of the suspension and steering bits for my 77. Quick question: what hardware bits would be good to replace when refreshing the steering/susp. systems? I'd hate to receive all the major components and not be able to finish the job because of a locknut or pin that I didn't include in the order.

All bits should come with the parts - self-locking nuts, castle nuts with pins etc. If ordering at the dealer, they should see that a certain part number either comes on its own, and needs additional items, or it comes as a repair kit with all that's needed for the job.

If you're ordering non-OEM (e.g. FEBI) parts, opt for the "pro kit" parts, as they'll also include all bits.

Thanks, that is good to know. I have decided to go OEM for all the bushings, Lemforder for the components and Bilstein for the shocks. I tried to stay away from both FEBI and Meyle - only getting the lower control arm bushings from them as it is USD69/side vs 260 for the MB kit and haven't found Lemforder or Febi equivalents, do you have any input?
Now I just need to make sure that I don't miss anything before I place the orders.

ptashek

Quote from: karmann_20v on 11 April 2016, 05:09 PMI tried to stay away from both FEBI and Meyle - only getting the lower control arm bushings from them as it is USD69/side vs 260 for the MB kit and haven't found Lemforder or Febi equivalents, do you have any input?


I think I have the Meyle bushings in too. They've had good reputation, and I think a number of people here have used these in the past. I haven't put those in myself, so can't vouch 100% for fit etc. but my restorer wasn't complaining, so I'm assuming they're good.

Before the main restoration, I have rebuilt my entire suspension/steering using almost exclusively Bilstein/FEBI parts. The car has done 9000 miles since; no issues whatsoever. Fit and build quality were all good.

BTW: Bilstein and FEBI are just brand names owned by the German "Ferdinand Bilstein GmbH" (which also owns the SWAG brand). They've been making spare parts for decades, and have generally a good reputation.

p.s.: For anyone who's ever wondered who supplies the automotive industry with parts, here's a pretty detailed list of the top 100. https://www.autonews.com/assets/PDF/CA89220617.PDF
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE