Dorman 190e lower control arms w/ ball joints
 

Has anybody installed these on a 2.6? Fit well? Last long?

Go with Lemfoerder oem brand. They will last you another 20+ years

Agreed.

They only seem to make them w/ sport suspension.

The only difference between the sport units and the "regular" units is that the sport units have beefier bushings. I'd sooner install that than anything else. My 190E has the sport suspension units on it.

Actually if you look at the part #'s, the new LCA's use sportline bushings. They are the same part # :)

if you are on a budget and you have original arms on the car and you have access you remove them safely then get new ball joints and bushings. You will have a new furbed arm good for another 20 years of service on a budget.

Using old arms would be my preferred method, but I'm worried about getting the old ball joints off/on. I do have the 3in1 ball joint kit from HF I used to do U-joints on a truck a few years back. I don't have a hydraulic press.

Good info on the differences between sport/non-sport. Will end up going with the Lemfoerders.

check this - I used it with quite ease.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/335259-w124-ball-joint-press.html

the c-clamp style from harbor freight has the wrong diameter pieces to work. I have the otc version from 25 years ago, that the clones are based on. easy to jam up while pressing the old joint out. I like the press featured in the link above. gonna try it. good luck, chuck.

Time is an element for me too. I'll be doing the control arms, strut bushings, steering damper, flex discs, springs, and.struts and maybe clean out the diff breather tube and replace abs seal in the same weekend.

Once I get past the initial blast I'll be able to relax with repairs and be a little more thourough on process and part section.

This press can remove dead in the water joints very easily as it stays put and you can even hit it HARD with a hammer after cranking the bolts to loosen the rust bond. If you see my pictures you can see how rusty the old ones were.

It took me very little effort to replace with this press.

This kind of press can also be used to squeeze in the bushings too. you only need to get two pipe pieces that can sit on the bushing collars and crank away on the nuts- then get an old wheel bolt or any heavy conical item and a hammer to flare out the new centre tube to lock it in place.

the front is real easy on a 201/124 - get a spring compressor to remove the springs if you want to remove the arms from the car, if not then a jack stand and this press will work.

while at the job it would take an additional 10 minutes to replace the strut mounts, and if you had to remove the hub and dust shield like me because the damn pinch bolt of the ball joint was rusted solid - then its a great time to repack the front bearings too.

Steering damper is only two bolts with the car on jacks already.

Agreed. Steering damper is easy once car is on jack stands already. Once you have your front suspension and steering rebuilt you will notice a huge difference. No more vibrations or clunking/clanking.

Nor constant wondering on the freeway.