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Originally Posted by BrierS
I realize this is a DIY project . . . however, w/o the proper tool is this really a job better left to a shop? I have read a number of the threads and the press issue (battle) leaves me thinking unless I want to buy the CORRECT press, I might be better off leaving this to a good shop. What are the current opinions, please.
Steve
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I did this myself 2 weekends ago. Take your time and it's not a bad job at all. The rusted-on bolts were the worst part of the job, not the ball joint. I left the A-arm on the car, blocked it up with wood, and put a chain through the spring for safety just in case.
Check out the instructions at
http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/W124BallJoint if you haven't done so already. They're well written and easy to follow.
To get the old joint out, I sliced it straight across using an angle grinder with a thin cutoff blade. I cut it very close to the A-arm (takes under 2 minutes to cut it off clean), and then used a 2-arm gear puller to press it out (there are little tabs on the A-arm that the gear puller can grab). Cutting it off gave a solid flat surface to press against.
I also heard all of the press-not-fitting-right stories, so to put the new joint in, I made my own press out of a big C-clamp and some pieces of 4x4 drilled out to fit the profile of the ball joint. I reinforced each side of the 4x4 with aluminum plate to provide a more solid surface to press against, and marked the top and bottom of the pieces with center marks so that I could align the clamp to apply pressure evenly. It worked great; see the attached photos - they may explain it better.