This is a pic of the ball joint I installed in my 83 yesterday. The tools pictured are an OTC ball joint press(which is the same as this Harbor freight press kit for $39 and the black receiver cup on the bottom of the steering knuckle which comes in this kit from Harbor freight for $69.99. This item is not absolutely necessary for this job but it's a nice kit to have for other ball joint jobs. Just like the service manual says, the old joint is beaten out of the knuckle from the bottom with a drift and hammer. The joint in mine was solidly siezed and required a lot of pounding. After the knuckle is cleaned, you remove the boot from the new ball joint and install it into the knuckle just like in the pic. The top of the press fits perfectly over the joint flange(where the boot sits) and the joint installs effortlessy with an impact gun. Once the joint is seated all the way into the knuckle, reattach the boot along with the wire clip holding it to the joint and install the knuckle assembly in the car. This sure beats spending close to $400 for a tool you might only use once and can't be used for u-joints like the OTC tool can! By the way, the upper ball joint can be popped without destroying the boot by using one of the tools in this kit from Eastwood. For less than $100 you get a set of 5 quality tools that you can use on any tie rod end or ball joint to quickly pop the tapered stud without the damage a pickle fork does.

....for the lucid explanation. I have to do the job on my 1983 300SD soon and was thinking I would have to pay for the expensive OEM ball joint press.

I'm assuming that you can use a normal ratchet wrench (rather than an impact wrench) when tightening the press? Your thoughts?

Thank you.

No, an air ratchet wouldn't work. You need a really STRONG 1/2" impact like an Ingersoll Rand IR-2131 to seat the joint in the knuckle.

I think you just saved a lot of us a lot of money. Thank you.

Is the c-clamp body of the press made of aluminum or steel? I rented one last year, that looked identical to yours, and it was aluminum. I was afraid it was going to strip-out while installing the ball joints in a Ford truck. Did you buy this ball joint press/ kit in 2 pieces or as an assembly? I have been looking for a ball joint press for the last year and have found 2 OTC kits similar to your picture in pawn shops for $129.00 and $169.00. These have the steel c-clamp and come with 2 different donuts, for the spindle end, and 3 big sockets for pressing in the joints. They haven't flown off the shelf at the shops so I thought they were overpriced.

I just checked harbour freight and the $69.99 accessory kit you mentioned earlier is on sale for $49.99. I could not tell from the picture what their c-clamp was made from. Let me know if the harbour freight c-clamp is steel or aluminum? Sounds like the right time to buy.

Hi, I have the Harbor Fr. press kit, it's not aluminum, it's steel as far as I can tell. (I hope not cast iron! ) I've used mine to press ball joints and U-joints and it works great...and I think it only cost about $39.99 at that time. Unless something has changed, I would recommend this as being worth the money.

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Diesel-guy

What did you do with your spring to remove the steering knuckle? When I had my balljoint done the [very experienced MB] tech simply took the knuckle off and let the shock hold everything together (i.e., no spring compressor). It looked like a pretty scary situation, and despite his assurance that nothing would happen, I high tailed it back to the waiting room.

Ultimately, the nothing bad did happen, but I think I would use some kind of spring compressor just for a little insurance.

GregS
'84 300D, 173k
'90 300CE, 162k

Nice work Diesel, and thanks for sharing the info.............

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Rich

1990 300CE
71 Chevelle SS 454

My power went out last night, sorry for not posting back sooner! As far as what I did with the spring: There is no need to compress the spring to replace ball joints. Here is a pic from when the spindle was removed. You can see a jack-stand is placed under the lower control arm and that is supporting the entire weight of the car. The jack is under the control arm bushing without any weight on it, just a redundant safety measure. The only times you need to compress the spring are to replace the spring or the control arm(or it's bushing). I would NEVER allow a shock to take the pressure produced by the coil spring, it's just not a good shop practice.


With the setup I posted a pic of, it is impossible to put the joint in 'sideways'. When the joint bottoms in the spindle assembly, it is straight. I'm a relative newcomer here so maybe I should tell you guys who you're getting advice from. I'm a diesel mechanic for the state of Connecticut, ASE Master plus L2 electronic diesel engine diagnosis certified. I would never post a repair procedure I wasn't absolutely sure of the safety and professionalism of.

He just said the shock doesn't have any forces exerted on it. The lower control arm (and subsequent spring pressure) is being contained by the jack stand.

Greg

C'mon, theres a jack and a jackstand under the lower arm with all the weight of the car on it. It ain't going anywhere. If you really want to feel safe loop some chain through the spring, around through the engine compartment and padlock it together. Then it definitely won't go anywhere. That or have a seat in the Barcalounger and pay someone else to take the risk. Nothing in life is free and nothing of worth is without risk. RT

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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

I'm going to have to take your word for that, I don't see too many head wounds where I work. I'm not sure if you're busting my balls or if you really don't understand why the spring is not going to fly out of it's perch the way that I have the car supported in the picture. Here's a page from the factory manual, notice the circled text.



Notice that the O.E. spring compressor is not even on the tool list. OK?

I don't get the reason why you think it is unsafe. It is not the jack that is providing the safety factor but the jackstand which is stopping the control arm from dropping down??? Are you afraid that gravity is going to fail and the car fly up into the air causing the spring to decompress? The shock is not carrying the load in the picture.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mpnye
[B]Well . . .

"That spring as shown in the picture, still has enough pre-load to LAUNCH itself if the SHOCK comes apart, as the JACK will SLIDE along the control arm as the SPRING de-compresses. . ."

Unless the garage floor is slick with oil, or the control arm is not resting sqarely on the jack stand, this isn't going to happen. The whole weight of the car is pushing the jackstand into the ground, so nothing is going anywhere.

If you wanted to play it a little safer, just use the jack itself to push up on the control arm. The jack is probably more stable than a jack stand, and the ground surface- area over which it distributes its load is wider.

If you don't have enough experience to feel comfortable doing this kind of stuff, the just don't do it.

GregS
'84 300D, 173k
'90 300CE, 162k