ball joint tek clarification - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

roky · #1 07-16-2020, 01:42 PM

yes, i know there are many posts re: ball joint r/r, but when it came time to do it, i found many conflicting posts over the years, so i'm writing this to state clearly what worked, just a summary, not the detailed procedure -- this applied to my 81 240d, probably applies to any w123

first, we are just doing the ball joints, so the spring is not going to be removed -- therefore the lower control arm should be supported as a safety measure before removing the steering knuckle

ok, caliper hung out of the way, hub off, support lower control arm, upper ball joint is freed by the "hammer-dolly" trick(striking from opposite sides simultaneously) -- this has the advantage of not destroying the upper bj boot, so if you're real lazy, that bj will not get replaced -- lower bj is difficult access for the h-d trick, had to use a pickle fork with the tips ground off, to separate bj from lower control arm

removing the bj from the steering knuckle easy knock out -- pressing in new one: used the harbor freight tool(big c clamp), modified, see photos -- also, you remove the boot and then the small hf adapter in the kit should just fit, resting on the shoulder of the bj where the ring secured the previously removed boot -- i had to slightly enlarge mine -- which brings up another point: Ball Joints, Differances In Tolerances, 123 -- there is variance in the dimensions on the bjs, one of mine was .3mm smaller than the other, not ok for a press fit

oops, edit: forgot, i wouldn't want to do this procedure without an impact wrench, high-torque -- broke down and finally bought one from hf, electric, $85 w/coupon, supposedly 1000 ft-lbs, but lets say at least 500 -- nice tool

thats all, the rest is in the other posts -- was an easy job

Diesel911 · #2 07-17-2020, 12:59 AM

What companies Ball Joints did you use?

Also some people have had trouble getting the old Ball Joints out of the Steering Knuckle. From what I have read mine were not real difficult but not easy to get out either.

When I installed my Ball Joints (I used Lemforder Ball Joints) I also used the C press but I use one from Autozone just to see how it would work but I also had one form Harbor Freight.
I don't recall any need to do any grinding on the C press (and I would not have done that on the Autozone one) and others that used the C press have not said they needed to grind.

What I would have done different is I would have put a washer between the ball joint and the C press because the Lemforder Ball Joint is rounded in the area that the C Press sits on and it wanted to skid off to the side.

See Post 7 for a picture.
1985 300D Front Driver's popping/ knocking

The lower portion of the Lemfoder Ball Joints are machined so that then fit easily into the hole that means the sink in at least 1/4th of an inch. The other Ball joints I had URO ones (I did not use them) were fatter in that area and would have been tougher to get in.

Diesel911 · #3 07-17-2020, 01:22 AM

In the below pic is how most of the people arranged the C press. (A picture from another member.)
You were speaking of a small sleeve. You can buy a C press with a larger selection of sleeves but I cannot recall my Harbor Freight press having a sleeve that fit the over the Lemforder ball joint itself properly.

I did not use the impact wrench as shown in the pic.

I used the C press but one it the things I did not like is the C Press threaded shaft has lots of clearance and wobbles some.

Also the Harbor Freight C Press cost has like doubled since I bought mine at around $27.

roky · #4 07-17-2020, 01:55 PM

you would ask that! -- i was hoping to hide my stupidity -- i bought some off-brand, i'm sure china, should have bought what you used -- its taking me a long time to realize that i'm not poor anymore

re: the c-press, i bought it from hf about 7 yrs ago, so maybe its different, but it came with 3 sleeves, the smallest is almost perfect diameter, but too tall for the press to fit on and clear the knuckle, and so the cut(which was described by another member in an older post, which is where the pics came from) -- all i know is for about 60 for the press, plus 85 for the impact wrench, does a nice job(i was going to do it my old way, say a pipe wrench, couple of cheater pipes, and probably a torn rotater cuff) -- but definitely will go with the higher quality bjs next time

Diesel911 · #5 07-17-2020, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roky

you would ask that! -- i was hoping to hide my stupidity -- i bought some off-brand, i'm sure china, should have bought what you used -- its taking me a long time to realize that i'm not poor anymore

re: the c-press, i bought it from hf about 7 yrs ago, so maybe its different, but it came with 3 sleeves, the smallest is almost perfect diameter, but too tall for the press to fit on and clear the knuckle, and so the cut(which was described by another member in an older post, which is where the pics came from) -- all i know is for about 60 for the press, plus 85 for the impact wrench, does a nice job(i was going to do it my old way, say a pipe wrench, couple of cheater pipes, and probably a torn rotater cuff) -- but definitely will go with the higher quality bjs next time

Well the Chinese Ball Joints seem to hold up well except if it has rubber boots as they may crack in a year or 2. It is the Tie Rods that people have issues with longevity.

You want to put the best quality parts into the Car but you really don't know if doing that is worth while because something like a Vacuum Pump failure or an Oil Cooler Hose leak can ruin your Engine and so on. Also my300D has been hit x2 in a parking lot by unknowns and side swiped in traffic by a hit an run driver (My Wife got an excellent pic of the new VW Bug but it had only the dealers temp registration on the rear window and too small to read; no license plate). In short you don't know how long your Car is going to be around.

Thanks for the info. I bought a URO font end kit waay back. Not one of the URO packages had where the items were made. Uro should have copied the dimensions of the Lemforder Joints because they were fat enough that they were going to be harder to press in.

I was using the Autozone C press because I wanted to see if it would work and be something that someone would be able to use for free once it is turned in. Hence would not have been able to do any grinding on it.

The Autozone C press was the better quality one and now own 2 other company's C presses. The mentioned Harbor Freight one and one by Bulldog.

I was going to use the Autozone C press for some other purpose and found someone had damaged it. One if the hazards of rental tools.

roky · #6 07-18-2020, 07:07 PM

good to hear that the bjs might be ok for a bit, and i'll stay away from the tie-rod ends -- and to just do the lower bj wasn't that bad, once i got the info, tools, modified the press, so with about 8k/yr, should give me a while before they crap out -- even if the boots crap out, i've got one of those hypodermic grease guns, so could probably get away with a bad boot for a while -- the hypo is great for the supposedly permanently lubed joints when they dry out, and also for greasing inner wheel bearings -- in a pinch, certainly not what a good mechanic would do

URO Parts Support · #7 07-20-2020, 12:30 PM

Hi guys, we had to change to a new production line so we have a new ball joint 116 333 0927 on the horizon. We have about 200 of the current joint remaining in our warehouse, so once those are gone we'll start shipping the new one. Here's a snapshot of the joint from the new production line.