General Information
General and significant notes for individual repair procedures are listed here. These would otherwise be listed many times at various points throughout the Service Information. They apply to this Service Information.
CAUTION:
There is a risk of damaging the threads in the vehicle body.
- The bolts and nuts at all suspension parts must not be loosened or tightened with an impact wrench.
- Always install the bolts and nuts by hand for the first few turns.
- When installing waxed components, contact surfaces must be cleaned. Contact surfaces must be free of wax and grease.
- Welding or adjustment procedures are not permitted on load-bearing or wheel-controlling components.
- Always avoid exposing the coil springs to the following: Hammer strokes, welding beads, applying subsequent color codes.
- Do not perform any welding or grinding (separating work) near the coil springs or suspension struts. Cover coil springs or suspension struts if necessary.
- When loosening or removing and installing hydraulic, pneumatic lines or wires, draw sketches or take pictures. This ensures installation is the same as the original.
- If the cable ties, brackets or mounting elements were removed during the repair procedure, they must be installed at their original location that corresponds to the series production.
- Apply a thin coat of assembly paste to the splines on the outer joint before installing the outer joint in the wheel hub. Refer to the Parts Information.
- Never allow the drive axle to hang loose under the vehicle or to bend them at the joints during repair procedures.
- Vehicles without a drive axle must not be moved, otherwise the wheel bearing will be damaged. If a vehicle must be moved, be sure to note the following:
- Install an outer joint in place of the drive axle.
- Tighten the outer joint to 200 Nm.
- Bonded rubber bushings have a limited range of rotation. Only tighten the threaded connections for the suspension when the vehicle is in curb weight position.
- Lift the wheel bearing in curb weight position. Refer to WHEEL BEARING IN CURB WEIGHT POSITION, LIFTING VEHICLES WITH COIL SPRING .
- If the vehicle must still have an axle alignment, only tighten the bolts and nuts that were loosened when making adjustments to the tightening specification. Tighten the bolts and nuts to the specified additional tightening angle after the alignment/adjustment is complete.
WARNING:
Risk of accident!
- If the vehicle will be driving on the streets, all bolts and nuts must be tightened properly according to the guidelines.