W124 front LCA bushings and ball joint replacement - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Diesel911 · #16 07-08-2016, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spock505

If you get one out you can always use a clamp/threaded bar to pull the other.

Photo from Help- W124 control arm bushings

Thanks for posting the Pic. I have a C press but have never thought to use it to press in Bushings.

spock505 · #17 07-09-2016, 05:19 PM

Cool, one thing that puzzles me (not that difficult

is the use of eccentric washers, can anyone explain their function?

I appreciate the main bolts have to be torqued under load but not sure how this interacts with the washers.

Cheers,

Rick76 · #18 07-09-2016, 05:40 PM

The bolt eccentric and washer move the control arm in and out for adjustment of the camber and caster. The front one mainly affects the camber and the rear the caster.

spock505 · #19 07-09-2016, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick76

The bolt eccentric and washer move the control arm in and out for adjustment of the camber and caster. The front one mainly affects the camber and the rear the caster.

..ahhh that makes perfect sense now, cheers.

Can the washer orientation be marked for re-fitting or is it dependent on torquing procedure, i.e is the washer attached to the nut?

Rick76 · #20 07-09-2016, 06:03 PM

The washer fits into a slot in the bolt so as you adjust the bolt, the washer turns as well.
You can mark the bolt and washer and be pretty close in alignment after reinstalling unless changing parts.

spock505 · #21 07-09-2016, 06:20 PM

Cheers, I guess worn rubber will send the caster of by some margin.

BodhiBenz1987 · #22 07-10-2016, 12:59 AM

All the bushing are out ... on 6 of them was just a matter of tapping enough. When the little metal collar on the outside is loose, then you just have to kind of pry and twist with a combo of screwdrivers until it's a but farther out, then you can stick a long screwdriver in the hole and pry it out the rest of the way.
I did have a struggle with two because the sleeve kind of became a mess and was rusted to the inside. I used an air chisel inside the hole to break up the sleeve until one side of the bushings was free. Always has to be some challenge, heh.
Cleaned up the arms and stuck them in A/C to dry overnight before I paint them tomorrow.

Re: the eccentric bolts, when I took them out I marked where they pointed so I can approximate the alignment when reassembling enough to drive it to the dealer for an alignment, which is definitely needed after replacing these parts. Hopefully my spring perch repairs won't cause any issues with my alignment, very worried about that.

spock505 · #23 07-10-2016, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BodhiBenz1987

Re: the eccentric bolts, when I took them out I marked where they pointed so I can approximate the alignment when reassembling enough to drive it to the dealer for an alignment, which is definitely needed after replacing these parts. Hopefully my spring perch repairs won't cause any issues with my alignment, very worried about that.

I might be wrong, but there's no relationship between the perch and alignment, can't see it making any difference.

Is the caster adjustment covered under standard wheel alignment or do you have to opt for four wheel or similar?

BodhiBenz1987 · #24 07-10-2016, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spock505

I might be wrong, but there's no relationship between the perch and alignment, can't see it making any difference.

Is the caster adjustment covered under standard wheel alignment or do you have to opt for four wheel or similar?

Yes I suppose it wouldn't affect the alignment, but could affect the ride in general if the height or angle is off was more what I was thinking.

I would think you could just get the front done, but might be a good idea to have all four done unless they've been done recently.

spock505 · #25 07-11-2016, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BodhiBenz1987

Yes I suppose it wouldn't affect the alignment, but could affect the ride in general if the height or angle is off was more what I was thinking.

I would think you could just get the front done, but might be a good idea to have all four done unless they've been done recently.

Yup, agreed the whole geometry would be affected if one side higher/lower than the other, good luck, sounds like you have done a lot of work.

I'll post back after changing over my LCA bushes, that's if i don't strike lucky and get a complete arm cheap.

Cheers,

Zulfiqar · #26 07-12-2016, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BodhiBenz1987

Mine is the early 124 with removable ball joint. With the press it was pretty easy to remove. The LCA bushings are rubber but just a bit hard to get a good angle to smack them out. I've got one loose but doesn't seem to want to pop all the way out. Will have to go back to it though, I had to stop last night as it was getting too dark and the vice I as using is outside.

Just a pointer

the right side arm ball joint is a cast item and warrants the whole arm to be replaced if its bad. This joint is seen in the E320, E420 and E500 in standard build or in some other cars with sportline build. It allows the car to sit lower and accept larger brakes too.

Your standard built diesel would have the arms like you see on the left. It is a really good idea to fill that cavity you see on the edge of the ball joint with body cavity wax - it prevents rusting the joint in place, specially in salty states.

BodhiBenz1987 · #27 07-19-2016, 11:31 PM

OK, need a little help and I'm not finding it on search. In each LCA bushing set there are two bushings with two bumps along each side of the circumference and two with three bumps. I can't find which goes where. The FSM describes how to position the flats of the bushings, but does not mention these bumps other than to say they represent the hardness and should match. I can't remember how these were arranged in the arm before I took them out and was not smart enough to take a picture beforehand.

spock505 · #28 07-20-2016, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BodhiBenz1987

OK, need a little help and I'm not finding it on search. In each LCA bushing set there are two bushings with two bumps along each side of the circumference and two with three bumps. I can't find which goes where. The FSM describes how to position the flats of the bushings, but does not mention these bumps other than to say they represent the hardness and should match. I can't remember how these were arranged in the arm before I took them out and was not smart enough to take a picture beforehand.

Not sure the tabs or bumps matter tbh, will they not position themselves if flats are correct origination?

BodhiBenz1987 · #29 07-20-2016, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spock505

Not sure the tabs or bumps matter tbh, will they not position themselves if flats are correct origination?

The tabs just identify two different types of bushings (thought they otherwise look the same). I believe one type goes in the front of the LCA, the other in the rear ... or there may be one of each in each. So I believe there are two things you need to get right: 1) correct bushing type, identified by the tabs, in correct place on LCA 2) correct orientation of flats on each bushing. I don't know the first part and it isn't mentioned in the FSM. It might indeed not matter, but then why would they include two different kinds in each kit?

Phillytwotank · #30 07-21-2016, 10:32 AM

i'm following this thread. looking at doing the exact same job here in the next couple weeks. debating weather to try to tackle swapping the bushings and ball joints myself or taking the control arms to a shop like i have in the past on w123s.