I have a 1995 E300 with a squeaky ball-joint. Can anyone answer the following:

1. How do I know if I can replace the ball-joints or if I have to replace the entire control arm?

2. Do I need the special MB spring compressor for the job?

3. While I'm at it, what other bits should I replace while the control arms are being replaced?

4. Can anyone supply a procedure for this task?

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Regards,
Bjoern

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'08 E320 Bluetec - 106k
'95 E300 Diesel - 241k (Sold in 2024)
'92 300D 2.5 Turbo 321k (Rear-ended by negligent driver and totalled)
'06 Jetta TDI (Sold in 2010)

If your inner bushings are aged / cracked and need to be replaced, consider purchasing the entire control arm assemblies new from MB. They are pricey, but they have new ball joints and new inner bushings already installed, saving you a LOT of time and effort. Go ahead and also purchase new eccentric bolts (four needed) because your old bolts may be rusted in place and you'll have to cut out the control arms. Getting the entire assembly eliminates the need for all the other special tools except the spring compressor.


If the ball joints were welded in place in the control arm, you must replace the entire control arm assembly. This should not be the case, as your car did not have ball joints welded in place when Mercedes built it. That was for the E430 and E500 cars (gassers), maybe other gasser models as well.

Yes. There is also a special press needed to INSTALL the ball joints, and if you don't have the special press to REMOVE the ball joints, the job is a real B****.

Inner bushings, and the rubber shim (pad) that goes on top of the suspension spring. They come in three different thicknesses, you need to look at the rubber tabs/nubs hanging from the bottom edges of the pad to determine which thickness is correct for your car.

The factory service manual, free on line but not very user friendly, from the startekinfo site.

STAR TekInfo

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Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC

Most places like NAPA will replace ball joints after making sure you know they dont warranty the work.

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1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

The ball joints are replaceable on your car, autozone tool will not work as is because the recieving cup that butts on the bottom side of the arm is too large.

I have changed them with my DIY press and its not bad of a job.

w124 ball joint press

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

Job is done car is back on the road and riding great

next is my W124 ball joints YUCK haha

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2003 GX470
1998 E300 3.0TD
2002 Dodge 2500 4x4 cummins
1998 Dodge 3500 5 speed Cummins

What's worry some here is the OP blames Mercedes for poor design but eludes to the lower ball joint being seized and is unclear when pressed for details. At one point when pressed for " is the ball joint seized? " the OP stated it was able to be removed, that wasn't the question.

The best we have gotten so far is from post 83
" it is not seized it was moving but not entirely free as in back ball joint "

The "back ball joint" you refer to is unclear. A balljoint that does not have free range of motion in all directions ( stem rotates and will swivel fully in all directions ) will transmit bending forces to the lower control arm causing it to fail. In a case like this, the failure of one part ( ball joint ) is causing another to be damaged ( lower control arm ).

The ball joint was not seized and it was moving free but not free as in a BAD ball joint as in broken like busted or no good no bueno

There was movement in the ball joint but not too free to be considered a bad ball joint, did I make myself clear ?

Here is your answer

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2003 GX470
1998 E300 3.0TD
2002 Dodge 2500 4x4 cummins
1998 Dodge 3500 5 speed Cummins

The spring was broken. That puts stress on everything, rips out the spring perch on top and bends the control arm and ball joint. I had a squeaking front end that I quieted with WD40. Clean, No rust at all. The spring was broken and inspection did not see it. This tore loose the otherwise pristine spring perch in a hundred miles. After This repair - spring perch and springs - the mechanic said we have to watch the lower ball joint. A thousand miles later and the ball joint starts seizing and binds up the steering, which could kill you. Ford, Ferrari or Mercedes, same effect.

Moral of story - replace the ball joints as soon as they get dry and squeak.

This exact same thing happened to mine. After nearly 17 years of owning a car with less reliability than a Yugo I sold it, that was a year ago. Not having to deal with weekly and sometimes daily problems is liberating. Everything that went wrong with the car, and there were many, was "common" to the 210.

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1999 E300 Turbodiesel 169,000 miles
1986 Porsche 944Turbo 20124 miles
1948 Dodge Deluxe 4 door 66521 miles

[QUOTE=gotglasses;3640686 This tore loose the otherwise pristine spring perch in a hundred miles. [/QUOTE]

Hummm, I've seen quite a bit of hidden corrosion and deterioration not directly visible, Having had 201s and 124s with the same issue in a Minnesota salt environment, I'm struggling with "pristine" wondering if there was some unseen degradation or previous stressing of the perch that gave way under the nonstandard load once the spring broke.

Any photos?