380sl Upper Ball Joint Replacement

[mbboy]

Hey guys,

Anybody happen to know whether the riveted ball joints (BJ) on the front, upper control arm (UCA) of an 81 380sl can be grinded off and replaced with the screw-on versions? If so, do the holes in the UCA and/or BJ have to be redrilled, or will the supplied screws fit right into both?

Thanks in advance for the info.

[Strife]

I bought these also, and HOPE that they will fit. I don't know if they will come with or without bolts (grade 8!). I've read mixed reviews on these, some say they wiggle in the bolt holes and that permanent accurate alignment is impossible, but we shall see.

[mbboy]

Originally Posted by Strife

I bought these also, and HOPE that they will fit. I don't know if they will come with or without bolts (grade 8!). I've read mixed reviews on these, some say they wiggle in the bolt holes and that permanent accurate alignment is impossible, but we shall see.

Hey Strife,

Although I managed to grind the tops off the rivets, it was still a ***** getting the rivets out because the grinder flattened the heads out, and I didn't want to grind the UCA down along with the rivets. So I ended up having to take the UCA off the car, and shearing the undersides of the rivets off with a coal chisel and some heavy-duty hammering.

After that, the new BJ bolted on very easily. BUt getting the UCA back on the car was also more difficult than I had anticipated, because you have to line the holes in the bushings up with the holes in the brackets before those long bolts will go through both. The problem is that there isn't much room for your hands back there, and you can't really see the alignment if you're looking at it from the side, as I was.

If I had it to do over again, I'd probably try cutting the rivet tops off with a dremel or grinder and a metal cutting blade while the UCA was still on the car. Or I might even buy a new control arm with the BJ already on it, to avoid having to do that.

The irony is that after all this, I must have misdiagnosed where the croaking was coming from, since I'm still getting it. So now I have to replace the lower BJ, too . Oh well, as the car has over 200k on it, I guess it's about time for that anyway. So any advice on the best way to do do the lowers would be appreciated.

Take care