W126 guide rod mount bushes

Back in September, my 560SEC was at the mechanics to fix a sticking brake caliper and fix the A/C.   At the same time, I asked for the source of two oil leaks to be investigated.   One was from the power steering and one was engine oil.

The power steering leak was confirmed to be from the steering box itself.   I had already changed the leaking low pressure hose.   The engine oil leak was actually quite simple – it was from the oil pressure sender unit.   However, it had been leaking for a while, and had leaked all over the guide rod mount bushes.    My mechanic advised me to change those bushings after fixing the leak.  The small amount of the bushings that are visible looked ok, but prolonged exposure to oil is certainly going to degrade them very quickly.

I sourced the correct parts and the car was back in this week to have them fitted.   I also bought new guide rod bushings themselves.  Even though these were not oily, I figured he would need to remove the mount anyway, so why not replace them while there.   I’m glad I did.    It was clear that these bushings date back to the cars time in the UK, and are probably original.    The guide rod bushings have a sort of housing that had started to rust, and the inner parts of the mount bushes had corroded too.

The bushing that was exposed to oil is obvious, but this one isn’t the worst.   Even though my 560SEC isn’t a rusty car, it did spend time on UK roads, and these parts are a good example of the carnage a small amount of exposure can cause.    I’m glad they are now changed.

The steering leak was fixed by removing and re-sealing the steering box.   This provided an opportunity to adjust the play and fit a new steering coupling.   While the W126 boxes (other than very early ones) automatically take up most of the play, the adjustment still makes a big difference.

Driving the car home, I could really notice the improved steering feel.   It wasn’t a hot day, but it was very humid and the new, uprated A/C was working a treat.    I’ll probably take the 560SEC on next weeks MBCNSW Night Drive.