There is absolutely no reason to use a spring compressor unless the LCA is being removed. (Removal of the LCA is not necessary for lower ball joint replacement.) Just leave the weight of the vehicle on the LCA.

Yup, zactly what tango fox said. You just jack the car up from the control arm to do the lower BJs. As long as the shock is still in place that spring wont go anywhere, There are two stops on the front suspension, one is the shock absorber and the other is a metal bar kinda deal that limits the travel of the upper control arm. I just did my lower BJ and I had the dealer press the old one out and the new one in. It was well worth the $50.

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

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

Mixed signal there

If I am to have the dealer/machinist press out and in the ball joints on the LCA then I have to remove it...
If, however I want to leave the car's weight on the LCA via the jack, how do I get the ball joint in?

Also, anyone have a part number for the NAPA ball joint puller tool?
Most look to be variations on the Pickle Fork except THIS one.
And as to installing the ball joint in the LCA... Did I really grossly underestimate my tool bill This Badly!?! also, which is the right one?
-nB

__________________
'83 300D Turbo
Current: ???K mi - 19.2mpg -> 17.4mpg -> 22.9mpg ---> ODO Died
bought at: 233.8K mi - 10MPG For $1.00
3.5 cylinders work: 320 320 100 340 280
Got insurance? FarmersReallySucks.Com

That seems to be part of the "cost of doing business" on an internet forum. There seems to be no shortage of folks who are happy to tell you how to do a job that they have never done themselves.

You are probably more familiar with the suspension configuration on a domestic vehicle, where the ball joint is pressed into the control arm and the tapered pin fits into the spindle. On your vehicle, it's the other way around. The control arm can stay on the car; the spindle is what needs to go to the shop.

I'll bet that those "mixed signals" will straighten themselves out once you take a closer look at your car.

Here is one NAPA tool that works well:
http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPages/NOLMaster.aspx?PageId=470&LineCode=SER&PartNumber=3916&Description=Ball+Joint+Separator

This might help you:

Write up - Ball Joints & Lower Control Arm Bushings & Tool Review (PICS!)

__________________
~shell
As of 2/2010:
2001 CLK55 0o\=*=/o0
13.6 @ 106mph
10K mi
1984 300SD
260K mi and going and going...
97 S600
46K miles
1991 Sentra SE-R (extremely dorked with)
www.se-r.net

I did the upper and lower ball joints on my car last summer and after spending money on tools I thought I needed (you can never have enough tools) this is what I did.
I used a ball joint seperator, like you had a link for, for the upper ball joint and I used a pickle fork for the lower and yes you need to cut the end of the fork down. Now comes the part that got me, you HAVE to use the right size pickle fork because if you don't you will spend hours fighting with it. The first side I fought with and then I started using a fork with a smaller space between the forks and it popped apart in three hits and the second side I used the right fork and it took three to five hits. After I got the steering knuckle out I knocked the old ball joint out with a large socket and a hammer (they came right out). I then took the steering knuckle and the new lower ball joints to a local indi and he pressed them in for $30 each.

When I did this job I jacked up the car removed the wheel and then lowered the car on an axel stand (with a block of wood on top to protect the frame from getting damaged). I then put a jack under the end of the LCA and raised it up a little bit and then put an axel stand under the LCA and lowered the arm until it was resting on the stand. I never needed a spring compressor and you only need one if you are removing the LCA. I have read about people removing the spring with out a compressor but that sound like a big risk.

If I knew what tools I would need before I did this job it would have cost less than $250 total for tools, parts and the indi. I got a quote from a shop before I did this and they said $1200 to do it.

__________________
1983 300SD
200000miles

@tangofox007:
Thank you, I now understand
I'll be pulling the spindles off and visiting my local machinist with ball joints in hand (or is there any reason I should drive twice as far and go to my indy's shop?).

@bodyart27:
Cool, I can read more

@Phil:
I think I'm going to buy the napa tool, as it's the same cost as a pickle fork, and if I have to cut it down, then I will need to buy one (something strikes me as rude, cutting down a tool you borrowed... )
I've got to agree, removing a spring that big w/o the proper tools sounds scary


@All SAFETY QUESTION:
currently I have two of the classic strap metal with pin in barrel jack stands, and will be borrowing a pair of "proper" 10 ton stands as well. Assuming I have the car's frame on the heavy stands, is there any worry using the lighter stands to support the LCAs while I am off the the shop to get ball joints pressed in?

Cheers,
-nB

__________________
'83 300D Turbo
Current: ???K mi - 19.2mpg -> 17.4mpg -> 22.9mpg ---> ODO Died
bought at: 233.8K mi - 10MPG For $1.00
3.5 cylinders work: 320 320 100 340 280
Got insurance? FarmersReallySucks.Com

That's the tie rod separator. I've heard it will work. They have a beefier ball joint separator tool that looks almost identical. I think their online catalog might have confused the pictures for the two. My store had both in stock, so I went with the beefier, balll joint version. The two prongs on the bottom on it are not as thin and don't come to a point like on the tie rod popper though, they're just blunt, rounded ends which I couldn't get past the boot, so I ground them as so:



Sorry I can't provide part num since I can't figure out which is which. What was boxed in the store as a ball joint separator looks like their catalog picture of the tie rod separator and visa versa.



The w123 has guide mounts and rod, etc. It looks a bit different, but is pretty much the same. I've heard the guide rod mounts can be replaced without removing the LCA, and therefore without a spring compressor. IIRC it was something about using the vehicle jack in the wheel well to provice clearance for removing the shaft. I'm thinking of doing mine this summer, but since I already have the spring compressor, I'm not banking on those instructions being correct or even safe -- I'll "just" pull the spring if I need to.

The guide mount is bolted to the car so I'm not sure why you'd want to take them along to the indie? Looks like you unbolt the old and bolt in the new. Am I missing something?

Answered my own question. On the 1995 300SD in the article, the guide rod mount is separate from the bracket that bolts it to the car, necessitating pressing the old one out of the bracket and the new one in. On the w123 (or, at least my 1983 300Dturbo), the mounting bracket is integral with the guide rod mount, so it should be a swap replacement.

__________________
'83 300DTurbo http://badges.fuelly.com/images/smallsig-us/318559.png

Broadband: more lies faster.

Lots of pics, but too big by a couple KB to upload to the forum, posted on http://networkboy.net/merc/index.shtml
It's currently very rough, doesn't even render correctly (I'll be fixing that in a couple days) but I wanted to get the pictures up ASAP, and couldn't just upload them here as they were too big .


Basically, this evening I managed to R&R the UCAs and center Tie Rod. Also removed are the wheel spindle assemblies and left and right tie rods.
I'll be off to the indy tomorrow to have the old ball joints pressed out and new ones pressed in, then will be re-installing everything.

One thing is obvious: The AC was installed after the UCA! Man that bolt was hard to clear past the evaporator lines... It was the hardest part of the job

Some of the best pics are in-lined below from my site, tons more there:
Left UCA Ball Joint:


Left UCA Bushing:


Left UCA Mount:


I'm thinking this may be where the "groaning" over speed bumps came from?
It literally fell apart in my hands as I pulled it from between the hard points on the chassis!


Man oh man I can't wait to put it back together, get it aligned, new tires and DRIVE!

__________________
'83 300D Turbo
Current: ???K mi - 19.2mpg -> 17.4mpg -> 22.9mpg ---> ODO Died
bought at: 233.8K mi - 10MPG For $1.00
3.5 cylinders work: 320 320 100 340 280
Got insurance? FarmersReallySucks.Com