so far im finding removal of the wheel speed sensor is not necessary, I understand removing it helps you to move the dust shield a little more but just taking the bolts out were fine the lower controll arm slips right past it.
The Spring is nothing to worry about, the only way its gonna fly out of there is if you un do the bolts from the controll arm to the chassis
Im in the house on a break one side almost complete and its too cold out side to take pictures for you folks ....

 

Good info. Thanks.

 

Thanks, I added this thread to the DIY sticky

 

Awesome, thanks:thumbsup:

 

latief, I'm curious what the rationale was for the Peachpart tool rental to be so high? 3 or 4 times and the tool is mostly paid for. It's my understanding that you pay for the tool up front and then when received back, they refund your money short of the agreed on rental fee/shipping? Sounds like that member is seeking profit more than goodwill gesturing. But what are you gonna do....it's the right tool for the job.

As far as Meyle is concerned (and not to cause a flaming war here)....It's a German company alright, but the parts are made in Turkey, China and India. How they get away with calling them 'German parts' are just very shrewd (read fraud), business practices. It's impossible to offer true German made parts at a 'discount'. You get what you pay for and even though they supposedly design their parts to be beefier than original (when necessary), they're still made in the above mentioned places. The tuner, BMW boy racer crowd are not having the best of luck with Meyle suspension parts aging and lasting well under their cars.

Kevin

 

Kevin,

I agree, the rental fee was 30 + shipping both ways + the refundable price of the tool itself. It is kind of steep, but, I guess he has to make money somehow for his trouble shipping, follow-up, and time...etc ..maybe we should start a rental program for tools on this forum.....:thumbsup:

The only thing made in Germany from Meyle is the box logo the ball joint itself is made in Turkey as you said, still i have seen far worse parts such as URO parts which is absolute junk....

Nevertheless, it had perfect fit and feel and looks to be solidly built. as i mentioned in my thread, i am planning to run this setup for a year or so because i will need bushings soon .. so this was more of a temp fix. if i still have the car then i will go for new control arms from a respectable manufacturer...To tell you the truth, i was shocked at how bad the original mercedes ball joints were -even with an intact boot.... the amount of play in both was scary to say the least.....

 

I borrowed a chrysler dodge jeeep removal instal tool from work and it was amazing!

 

Hi guys, just a quick question. Am I correct in thinking that the front lower control arm & ball joint on a US 95 E320 Wagon are 1 piece, and therefore the ball joint can't be replaced? As in you need to replace the entire control arm? I definitely need some new ball joints, and have been just packing them with as much grease as I can from time to time to keep getting down the road until I have some more money. I did find an insanely cheap price on a set of control arms recently though...$150 for the pair from someone going out of business! I might have to make finding the money for that a priority at that price. Usually about that per arm...if not more.

 

Nevermind...found the answer. Need to replace the entire control arm it looks like.

 

You are correct. Late model 320's and all V8 models have welded in ball joints.

 

Hi just trying to diagnose a problem on my w124 260e when i turn the steering wheel to the left and to the right ther is a squeaking or almost scrapeing noise coming from my front right side suspension i thing it might be a ball joint but not sure but it also has a light squeak while driving straight, ihave bounced up and down on the front wing and ther is a squeaky just not sure what it is would be very greatful if anyone knows what it could be cheers

 

Check your sway bar bushings. In our DIY sticky is an animation showing how to check the ball joints.

 

I just changed the lower control arms on the 1993 300CE. I also changed out the eccentric bolt kits and was able to set a punch mark so I could match the position of the eccentrics. It was a lot easier than I anticipated once I decided the caliper, rotor, ABS sensor and steering stop had to come off to be able to move the darn dust shield around. I wrote up something on this...

EDIT- the $99 eBay spring compressor worked okay...
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w12...s/w124-e-ce-d-td-class/1439100-what-did-you-do-your-124-a-199.html#post15389137

 

I have had success in pounding out the old ball joints in my old 1987 300D. A large ball pein hammer did the trick. A dead blow ball pein works even better, but I lost mine. A Harbor Freight press will get the ball joints in straight and tight. A couple of washers may be required as spacers to line things up and keep it pressing at the right angle. I have pounded them in in a pinch as well; this is not recommended as I need to replace them again in ~50,000 miles).

I also seem to remember that removing the caliper and rotor is not really necessary and just make things a little easier to get to and see.

 

Just make sure you orient the new ball joints properly. The notch/dot needs to face away from the hole and toward the A arm.

 

Hi there
Does anyone have any details about renting that ball joint removal press for the 124? Thanks in advance.

 

Wanna good laugh. Watch this.
Oh and before you criticize it or justify it, remember its up to you to do this job safely. Personally I wouldn't be within 20 feet of someone doing it this way.

 

I saw that spring twitch when he was beating on things....I'd be backing up and exiting at that point.

I worked in a gold mill as a journeyman mechanic with guys like that. They beat and hammered on everything;bearings, bushings, sleeves. I had to account for that in everything they worked on. Their work would therefore have a half-life and start to show signs of failure early on. You couldn't tell them anything...only solution was to fire them and I didn't have that authority.

Kevin

 

I know this is an older thread. I’m going to need to do the job on a w124 and 201 car. I’ve found the Baum tools press. Is there another that is better? I’m guessing that’s the one in the photos above…

I don’t really want to play the game with the generic c clamp ones. I’d rather use the proper tool. But is there a better option?

 

I would replace the entire control arm with a good brand unit. At this age, the control arm bushings are essentially fossilized remnants of their original selves.

 

Stick with the Baum.

 

The bushings are easily installed by hand with minimal tools. I would keep the original LCA and replace the bushings and ball joint. If by Baum tool you are referring to the spring compressor I second the recommendation to stick with this rather than some potentially inferior alternative.

 

Oh that’s interesting. So the LCA bushings aren’t like the w123/126 ones then… they’re really hard to get installed.

I have the OE Klann spring compressor, as well as the Baum w123/126 ball joint press. On those cars you beat it out of the steering knuckle, then press the new one in.

I don’t know that there is a c-clamp style press that’s available in the USA that fits the w124 ball joints. Everything always seems to be needing some custom adapter.

So I’ll probably buy the Baum tools w124/201 press since I’ll use it at least four times between my current w124 and 201.

Im not opposed to fully compressing the spring and removing the whole LCA/replacing the bushings, but the car tracks perfect and I get ideal tire wear, no funny patterns. So I’m thinking if it ain’t broke….

 

A good read on bushing replacment

 

I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying tools. It is a wonderful pastime. But replacing the bushings or the ball joint does not employ any "specialized" tools.

The LCA bushings have an aluminum tube that runs between them. The LCA bolt runs through this tube. On both ends the tube is flared to capture the bushings. To remove the LCA bushing, you deform the sleeve on one end enough to remove one bushing. At that point the other side should come out easily. When reassembling, you can re-flare the new tube that comes with the bushings by hammering it with something rounded. It isn't difficult, it is a bit neanderthal.

Speaking of neanderthal, you can hammer out the old ball joint using a combination of very large sockets. This too isn't rocket science. The tool makes the process more civilized but in reality you don't need one. The only thing to watch out for is the orientation of the ball joint as you reinstall it. An excerpt from post #17 by Steve, covers this. "Just make sure you orient the new ball joints properly. The notch/dot needs to face away from the hole and toward the A arm."

 

I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying tools. It is a wonderful pastime. But replacing the bushings or the ball joint does not employ any "specialized" tools.

The LCA bushings have an aluminum tube that runs between them. The LCA bolt runs through this tube. On both ends the tube is flared to capture the bushings. To remove the LCA bushing, you deform the sleeve on one end enough to remove one bushing. At that point the other side should come out easily. When reassembling, you can re-flare the new tube that comes with the bushings by hammering it with something rounded. It isn't difficult, it is a bit neanderthal.

Speaking of neanderthal, you can hammer out the old ball joint using a combination of very large sockets. This too isn't rocket science. The tool makes the process more civilized but in reality you don't need one. The only thing to watch out for is the orientation of the ball joint as you reinstall it. An excerpt from post #17 by Steve, covers this. "Just make sure you orient the new ball joints properly. The notch/dot needs to face away from the hole and toward the A arm."

I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying tools. It is a wonderful pastime. But replacing the bushings or the ball joint does not employ any "specialized" tools.

The LCA bushings have an aluminum tube that runs between them. The LCA bolt runs through this tube. On both ends the tube is flared to capture the bushings. To remove the LCA bushing, you deform the sleeve on one end enough to remove one bushing. At that point the other side should come out easily. When reassembling, you can re-flare the new tube that comes with the bushings by hammering it with something rounded. It isn't difficult, it is a bit neanderthal.

Speaking of neanderthal, you can hammer out the old ball joint using a combination of very large sockets. This too isn't rocket science. The tool makes the process more civilized but in reality you don't need one. The only thing to watch out for is the orientation of the ball joint as you reinstall it. An excerpt from post #17 by Steve, covers this. "Just make sure you orient the new ball joints properly. The notch/dot needs to face away from the hole and toward the A arm."

Thanks, I’m very familiar with the jobs on the w123/126, and this one sounds easier.

Interesting that they went with the flared tube like the 123 design, since the w126 LCA bushings went away from that.