Lower Ball Joint Rubber Boot
 

I found out both of the lower ball joint rubber boots are torn. The ball joints are still good and tight. I put extra lithium grease on them.

Is there any replacement part just for the rubber boot?

Is it easy to replace?


Thank you


David

________________
1985 300D Turbo

I bought one from a dealer some time ago. Have you looked at Fastlane or Partsshop?

P E H

It's a PITA to get the ball joint to disengage from the lower control arm but that's about all there is to it. You might discover that it's not so tight when you have it in the open.

P E H, I thought you left on your annual sojourn?

Sixto
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

Look here:
 

I had exactly the problem you have, heres what I did....
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/52783-ball-joint-tie-rod-boots.html?highlight=ball+joint+boots

Works fine and its cheap. RT

Sixto,

I did. I was gone for 7+ weeks. I got back last SAT. (8 MAR).

Did you get the 300SDL runnung yet?

P E H

Thank you for all the replies.

rwthomas1:

Thank you for the link. That was very informative.
If I am using the boot from Energy Suspension, do you think I can make a cut then slide it in the ball joint so that I don't have to remove any parts. I want to make the replacement as easy as possible. But do you think that will work?




David

_________________

1985 300D Turbo

Yes you can buy the cover from the Dealer
 

You are going to need a Good Tie Rod puller to get to the thing

David,

DO NOT cut the new rubber boot. They won't be much better than old ones because they won't protect the joint from dirt and water.

P E H

Uh I wouldnt cut the boot
 

There are no short cuts in this business..in fact I believe in long cuts. I would change the ball joints because you will have to change them sooner or later..I know I may be sounding impolite but i got 34,000 miles on my 83 and 85 last year...

dc88168
Go back and read my post. There is a cheap tool available at Autozone that makes separating the ball joint a snap. Its really quite simple a job to do. RT

Thank you everybody for your advices.

However, I don't think I am ready for the task of changing the ball joints myself.

For the meantime, I will clean the joints and grease them every 1-2 montns. Eventually I will take it the shop do the ball joints.



David

_______________
1985 300D Turbo

Okay, heres how you do it...
 

1. Jack up car on subframe just behind front wheel, support with jackstand.
2. Remove wheel
3. Remove caliper, two bolts, place on milk crate or hang by coat hanger to support it.
4. Use "import car pitman arm puller" to separate outer tie-rod from spindle.
5. Place jack under lower control arm and jack up to preload the front spring. Jack up only enough to take the suspension out of the "full drop" position. Support lower control arm with jackstand at this point.
6. Take off retaining nut on top ball joint and separate it with the "pitman arm puller" used above.
7. The spindle/rotor assembly will now tilt out enough for you to remove the lower ball joint retaining nut and separate the ball joint from the spindle using the "pitman arm puller"
8. The spindle/rotor assembly will now be completely removeable, place it carefully in a safe place.
9. Clean out old balljoint and remove remnants of the old boot including the boot retaining springs.
10. Pack the area around the ball joint with a high-quality suspension grease, not white lithium and the like, they are too light. Mobil1 works well. Work balljoint stud around to get grease down into the pocket and get debris out.
11. Pack some grease in the new replacement balljoint boot and install. Wipe off excess grease.
12. Reassemble the reverse of disassembly.

Doing this will allow the joint to last quite a bit longer than it will if you leave it exposed. This is a easy job to do and should take about 45 minutes a side if you don't have any problems. I am not responsible for injury following these instructions. I trust you will be prudent in the use of jacks, stands and use good judgement when messing with things like coilsprings. I highly recommend the above repair. It will allow you to get by for months even years before the balljoints actually need to be replaced. Hope this helps. RT
Don't wait to

Hi RT
Thank you so much for the detailed instructions.
I may give it a try.
One more question please:
During reassemble process, do you still need to use the "pitman arm puller" to put back :
(1) ball joint and spindle
(2) outer tie rod and spindle

Thank you again

David

______________
1985 300D Turbo

Dave,

During reassembly you don't need the puller. You just put the ball joint and tie rod end threads thru their respective holes start and tighten the nuts. Tightening the nuts will set the tapered joints in place.

P E H

Sure did. Sorting out a problem with the ACC blower and either a dead lifter or bad tensioner but everything's a-okay otherwise.

Sixto
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD