OK. I took a look at the front suspension today. I found that I could rock the right front wheel, just a slight bit, when pushing against the sidewall at the twelve-o-clock position while on the ground, and while grabing the wheel at the twelve and six-o-clock positions in the air.

I checked the wheel bearing for proper adjustment (it had never been touched in 190k mi) and it wasn't far enough off to make a real difference. So I suspect it must be the lower ball joint. Again, the strut mounts are new and tight.

I did go ahead and replace the idler arm bushings, since they had never been replaced and I already had them on hand (plus it's a cake job on these 2.3 litre cars ) That seemed to have tightend up the steering just a bit, but did not solve my original problem.

Can anyone tell me if it's possible to R&R the lower ball joints without removing the entire lower control arm? I'd like to advoid having to take her in for an alignment if possible.

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2000 c280 Sport (looks like an upgrade, feels like a downgrade)
1991 190e 2.3 (sold)