Does anyone remember the old Haynes manuals where they assigned a number of wrenches, (spanners), next to a job description? Used to always crack me up, goofy Brits.
Anyhow, being a cheap bastage and extemely OCD about my vehicles, I decided to save a grand or so in labor and rebuild the front suspension on the old MB w123 wagon I recently bought. This is the one that I flew to N. Carolina to drive back, I paid some shop out there a lot of money to look it over for me and make sure that it was road worthy...what a waste. They mentioned nothing about the front end, which was completely shot as could be expected on a car this old that was never maintained properly. It's very expensive to keep up with major bushings on an old Benz and almost no one does it, TBH. They are all worn to one degree or another.
I'm also checking off a list of other stuff that it needed, which ranges from an incorrectly wired stereo head unit to a bad HVAC fan, other under hood maintenance and a bad driveshaft center bearing. I have the benefit of a parts car that I put a lot of new parts on 3-4 years ago that has not gone many miles since, it unfortunately has a blown engine and is going to scrap soon. Belonged to a lady friend.
I probably should have paid a shop to do all of this and preserved my aging body but too late now. I paid the shop in NC to do a valve adjustment, just checked their work and they must have let a monkey do it...several tight valves and one or two correct ones. They also gave me a car to drive cross country with no functioning cooling system....stuck thermostat and shot fan clutch. This is from a MB specialist shop with a good reputation! Absolutely worthless and I'm an idiot because I could have had it shipped to me in an enclosed trailer for 2022 prices and saved a bundle but here we are.
Not quite a Tim Hancock level surgery but definitely 4 spanners. An engine/trans swap is WAAAY easier and I've done many. Any time you are dealing with springs, extreme care and proper technique is essential.
Before:
After removal:
Parts getting cleaned up and painted:
Next, I bring them to a shop that will press the old bushings out and install the new ones plus new ball joints. I'm replacing all wear items in suspension.
