Ball Joints on 190E
 

I have a 190E 2.3.

My front end is too stiff and I have continually correct my steering. I have been told it is because the ball joints dry-up and stiffen just before they go bad.

I need a press to press the old ball joints out and the new ones in. I have a large C-Clamp the I use for rear brakes. Has anyone done this job before? What did you use as a press?


Thanks for the help
John

1992 190E 2.3 140,000miles

My opinion is that you NEED to use the ball joint press removal tool. They are hard to get out without a lot of work and damage without a ball joint removal tool. The good news is that I have done the job at least twice with the free rental tool from autozone and a place called Advance auto parts. Advance had a nicer tool. They were both universal tools, both took a large deposit that was 100% refunded when the tool came back and I did not buy the ball joints at their store. My advice is the job is not too bad, can be done with the control arm on the car, but get the ball joint press tool. It presses them out and presses the new ones back in and it is much safer and less irritating.
Good luck

Excellent.

I had forgotten about Autozone & Advance Auto's loaner tools.

Thanks for the tip
John

Plenty of descriptions on how to do the job on this excellent forum. Visit http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/W124BallJoint or do a search on this forum. Very important that you know what you are doing as uncontrolled springs can cause major harm to you (and others in the vicinity).

Loaner tools
 

SOmetimes the replacement parts you get at autozone and others are not as good, but the loaner tools they have are typically very nice. I had to leave a $120 deposit on the ball joint tool kit they had, but it was very nice and would do for most any car. Also, I got the job done easier and got all my deposit back on my credit card 2 days later. No busted parts or knuckles either.

i'd add: might as well replace the tie rod ends completely, not just ball joints. i got left and right ends (not center tie rod) for $38 shipped from eBay, and it's the same one the dealer would have charged me $150+ for! course if you do this you will need to adjust the new rods to the same length as the old ones (count threads) or get an alignment done afterwards.

The press is the way to go. I have used a large hammer on a properly supported control arm, but didn't like doing it. Either way, proper retention of the spring is rather important :D . Even with the press, I had to tighten almost as much as I could (in stages) until the joint "popped" and broke loose.

Also, save some time. Only the ball joint bolt needs to be removed, drop the control arm down until its free (remembering the above spring retention!) and wire the strut/hub/brake assembly to the side. Its a little difficult to match up again, but still less time.