Three of my lower ball joints on the 98 ML320 are starting to show wear (up and down motion when compressed while truck on the rack). Has anybody here done the ball joints before? I am an "under-the-hood" type DIY'er and suspension stuff is still unfamiliar territory to me. Any DIY advice on this project would be appreciated.

Ball joint replacement on an ML is an easy job! The old ones just KNOCK out with a hammer & the replacements are held in with a LARGE nut at the bottom.

ONLY problem is getting the SPECIAL nut to the correct torque, special tool required!

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So the old ones don't have a spanner nut and shoulder? I saw a picture of a new one - is there enough room to drop the ball joint in and tighten the spanner on the bottom. What is the torque figure on that spanner nut, and what tool is required to tighten it? Could a spanner wrench be cut and welded to a crows foot to tighten with a torque wrench?

ML430 Lower Ball Joint

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=1194381

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99 ML430