I finally had the idler arm bushing installed. The tech's solution, once the car was on the lift, was to use a tall floor jack of sorts to lift the engine a bit at one of the motor mounts. That provided enough clearance to lift out the bolt.
That did not solve my sloppy steering problem. The culprints were actually my dried-out, creaking ball joints. The temporary solution was to poke small holes in the boots and spray in Wurth lubricant. The noise -- and sloppiness -- are gone. I guess dry ball joints get sticky.
Since I expect to replace this car in the next few months, I see no reason to replace the ball joints. The lubricant, I assume, will eventually dry out. Hopefully by then I'll have my new car.
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2008 E350 4matic / Black/Anthracite
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Gone but not Forgotten:
2001 E430 4matic, 206,xxx miles, Black/Charcoal
1995 E320, 252,xxx miles, Black/Grey
1989 260E, 223,00 miles, Black/Black
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