more and more I seem to agree with this...
do any of the MB's out there have zerks?

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

It won't be any surprise to folks that I am completely with Maxbumpo on this.... I was amazed that the thread read like some noise was coming from something benign like a trunk latch... this is your STEERING...
Replace the things. Think :::: Your life/ saving piddling amounts of money/Your family / saving piddling amounts of money/killing someone else in a head on/ saving piddling amounts of money......

So what does a creak when going slowly over bumps and things, that gets worse when it's cold, that is NOT accompanied by any bumps or thumps - imply?

The thing is, we just had the suspension gone through a year ago... it shouldn't be worn out again. They told us everything under there that wasn't okay had been replaced.

The list is around somewhere.

__________________


~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

For me, it was a bad lower ball joint. Boot was torn, and the lubricant was all washed out. No bumps, no thumps, just creaking with any suspension travel.

I replaced upper control arms and bushings, lower control arm bushings, lower ball joints, sway bar bushings and shocks. Tight as a drum now, with no creaks.

__________________
Bob
'82 300D Petrol B-G Metallic

Some have jerks, no zerks on these newer ones. The last one with zerks that I am sure of is the fintail.

Tom W

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

OK, I'll bite -- what's a "zerk"?

__________________
Anthracite 1980 300D -- 64k original miles with a new engine, on the road again!
Silver 300D -- second owner, Sunny's old baby, Ilse, 210 miles,
Having to thin the herd….
Silver 1983 300SD -- second owner, 325k miles
Gold 1981 300D -- well-traveled, solid little car
Beige 1984 300D -- 292k miles, grease machine, parting out
Seafoam green 1981 300SD -- 250k, windshield frame damage
too many assorted w123 & w126 cars, parts cars, and extras

Zerks look like little nipples, they have a rounded tip with a springloaded check ball at the end and the other end has taper threads to screw into a hole drilled in what ever you're greasing. A grease gun snaps onto the rounded part and pumping the gun forces grease past the ball, which then holds the grease inside the joint and keeps contaninants out. (providing you wipe them off before attaching the grease gun). Most modern day cars made since the 80's no longer have them on factory components because it's cheaper to make parts without the extra piece and machining, and it creates a bit of planned obsolescence for the dealer to make some moola on too. One unusual case I ran into when I used to work in a fastlube, was Toyota, they actually had predrilled parts in the vehicles, with a tiny plug in the joint, and you could actually get zerks as an option on the vehicles. It also made it very convenient to add them on later too.

__________________
Chris
64 190D R.I.P.
80 240D W/617 engine -for sale
82 240D -for sale

Thank you for that excellent explanation. Naturally, the car folks got rid of them.

Rats, rats, RATS.

The grease gun is almost extinct as it is, now I know what it's real purpose once was.

__________________
Anthracite 1980 300D -- 64k original miles with a new engine, on the road again!
Silver 300D -- second owner, Sunny's old baby, Ilse, 210 miles,
Having to thin the herd….
Silver 1983 300SD -- second owner, 325k miles
Gold 1981 300D -- well-traveled, solid little car
Beige 1984 300D -- 292k miles, grease machine, parting out
Seafoam green 1981 300SD -- 250k, windshield frame damage
too many assorted w123 & w126 cars, parts cars, and extras

Don't feel bad. That's exactly what the guy behind the counter at Autozone said when I asked to buy some!!!

" One unusual case I ran into when I used to work in a fastlube, was Toyota, they actually had predrilled parts in the vehicles, with a tiny plug in the joint, and you could actually get zerks as an option on the vehicles. It also made it very convenient to add them on later too." Chris

That was an excellent explanation. Just as a tidbit of manufacturing philosophy ( and good mechanic procedure).... many times , if they had the hole drilled and tapped but plugged, it meant they knew that zerk fittings were often a cause of dirt and grit getting into the joint.. so they did not want zerk fittings installed permanently....they wanted the person wanting to grease that joint to take out that plug, put in a zerk , grease the part,take out the zerk and REPLACE the PLUG... this is because if you or your mechanic just puts a grease gun onto the end of that dirty zerk you are going to force grit into the joint... if you have to take out the plug they figure the area will be cleaner. Greg

I agree except with the part about expecting them to remove the brand new grease zerk and putting that plug back in.

Actually the sealed ball joints work really well as long as the parts are as high quality as a benz.

That is why it is possible to add grease to a groaning one and sometimes replace a damaged boot without replacing the ball joint....high quality parts.

Tom W

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

"I agree except with the part about expecting them to remove the brand new grease zerk and putting that plug back in."

Well, I only read it in a Factory Shop Manual.... LOL

"Actually the sealed ball joints work really well as long as the parts are as high quality as a benz."

I do not disagree with that.... and it may be for just the reason I mentioned... having it completely sealed as compared to any idiot mechanic forcing road grime into the socket...

"That is why it is possible to add grease to a groaning one and sometimes replace a damaged boot without replacing the ball joint....high quality parts."

If it was new and you had damaged the boot while working on the car...and just fixed that ... sure... but if it has been subjected to normal road grime and is now so dry it is making a noise then the cost to risk equation does not favor putting time and money into a new boot compared to making sure you have good steering components..

So I went ahead and replaced the ball joint since I had everything apart. $30 for a Beck/Arnley BJ, $50 bucks at the dealership to have the old one pressed out and the new one pressed in properly. Took me about an hour to get the spindle off and hour to get it back on. Alas, the creaking is still there, but oddly enough, it is worse now, I was able to track it down to the guide rod mount. On the bright side, the steering feels much tighter than before and I now exactly what to fix. Next job:guide rod mount.

__________________
"spreading a trail of obnoxious where ever we go"
1981 300sd w/ 341,500 miles

http://www.wecrash.com/pics/ddda_banner.gif

The FSM is written for dealers. They are dealing with issues that the backyard mechanic does not....liability, making a profit...being perhaps the most important.

I save maybe $200 by replacing the boot and lubing a still tight ball joint and buy another three or four years of service and THEN put in a new ball joint and go another ten or fifteen. I always figure doing more than is really required is just not economically the right thing to do. Who knows the car could get totalled tomorrow and the extra $200 spent on a new ball joint when not absoulutely needed is lost.

When you are trying to keep a 25 year old car on the road there is always something else you can spend the $200 on.

But that is the beauty of it, you are free to do as you think best.....and I can too.

Oh, BTW, do you know of examples of folks actually putting in the zerks and removing them and replacing the plugs? It seems unlikely to me that that ever happened............very often.

Tom W

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

tom... ya ever consider that a new ball joint may just keep you from totaling your ride...?
I understand your decisions, just if the ball joint is already having problems, a boot wouldn't really solve them would it?

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!