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.

I'm in it now. Have the SG Motorsports spring compressor on the way and Lemfoerder arms. Next month I'm going to finish everything up. Struts/mounts/springs, steering damper, etc. Already did the tie rods.

It does wander at over 50 mph. There is a squeaking from the right front when turning the wheel even when stopped. I only drive it to work for now, but would like to expand my range.

Look for a worn / loose steering componet. Pull the care over a ditch or similiar such that you can lay underneath and see what's happening. Have a buddy sit in the car (motor off) and turn the steering wheel back and forth slowly. With a light, start where the steering shaft mounts to the steering box (I believe there is a rag joint that can wear there) and inspect all the joints along with looking for play in the steering box. Replace what's worn and get an allignment.

ball joint

I know for certain the front springs and struts are shot. The front end sits so low I can't go over a speed bump without scraping the under carriage. The struts have been replaced at some point with what looks like the cheapest possible ones. Strut mounts are original. I'm going with Mercedes springs and comfort struts.

Do the Lemfoerder arms come with new bolts?

The general recommendation on here is to go with Bilstein HD's. But I've wanted to try the Bilstein comforts for a while now..

I found that replacing my front springs on the 300D resulted in nearly 2 inches of increase in front ride height. The springs were "Lesjofors" brand, which I think is the same people that supply Mercedes? I've only ever seen them offered on reputable parts sites. They're usually 40-50% less than ordering from the dealer.

I've read a thread about somebody trying to put Lesjofers on a 2.6. He said it still sagged and some oem springs from a junkyard fixed it. I looked further into it, and Lesjofers uses the same part number for the 4 cylinder and 2.6. That can't be correct.

From my experience the Lesjofors are usually a hair stiffer than the originals.

Its possible he was sent the wrong part number springs (I was once, box said the right number, spring did not). Or he might have used the wrong spring pads with that particular spring. Been there, done that too.

There were only two spring part numbers used on the 201 chassis:
201 321 22 04
201 321 23 04

To determine which needs to be put on your car you must add up the points. Seems there is a lot of confusion on the spring point system. Some threads people ignore it, some threads people only think the numbers apply to the pads and not the springs themselves... but its both spring and pads!

See the image.

http://i.imgur.com/y1SCUVWl.png

Your average 2.3 was equipped with, by my count, 41 points of stuff, which put you right at the top level spring that the 2.6 gets by default. Hence the same part number from Lesjofors

sloppy ball joints which have up/down play also cause the car to sag on 201/124. Worn struts make it worse.

Tomorrow is the day. Cleaning/organizing the garage today. I'm using this article for guidance:

Pelican Mercedes-Benz Tech Article - A Simple Guide to Replacing Your Front Wishbone on your Mercedes Benz - 190E, W124, W126, W201, W123

Would it be reasonable to back the car out of the garage and drive it up on ramps before torquing everything down? Not sure I'll have the clearance to get under there with the wheels on the ground.

Job done. Start time 8:30am. Finished for test drive at 8:30pm. That included numerous cool down breaks. It got up to 102F today.

Some notes.

The nut on the left steering knuckle was frozen. Tried PB Blaster. Tried a torch. Ended up grinding it off.

The same nuts were impossible to get a torque wrench on with the wheels on the ground. It is a clearance issue with brake parts. Did my best with a 3/8 ratchet and box wrench on the other side. I doubt it's 92 Ft lbs though.

The car is sitting much higher. The steering is way better. No squeaking. It drives on rails now. The owner is a little smashed up and greasy though. :)

Post up a picture

Pics aren't the best, but the front fender was much lower. It was almost touching the tire.

Both ball joint were completely rusted and dry. They both had up and down motion. The boots fell apart when I pulled on them.

Edit: wanted to add one piece of info. I used brake cleaner and a battery brush to clean out the steering knuckle. It worked pretty well.

that pinch bolt made me real angry so I used my 3 ft long 1/2 inch drive breaker bar with added cheater pipe, worked it back and forth slightly till it squeaked, sprayed some aerokroil (love it) and worked it some more. after 10 minutes, I gave it a viking type grunt - complete with guffaw and it unscrewed itself.

Good thing is that the new bolts are coated to prevent corossion.

I forgot to mention, usually when I do a major job like that I tend to make sure I use anti-seize on most of the bolts so the job is easier the next time around. And with electrical components I coat the connections with a nice coat of dielectric grease and also wrap the wires in electrical tape. Just precautionary measures......anti-seize will definitely come in handy when its time to replace the egr and exhaust manifold gasket.

I'm doing the engine/transmission mounts next and will definitely be using anti-seize compound on those.

On another note, I put a floor jack under my breaker bar to turn that nut. All it did was bend the bar! That's when I got out the angle grinder. :)

It just dawned on me that a crowfoot wrench set would allow me to torque the pinch bolts to spec. There is also one of the eccentric bolts on the right side that is impossible to get to with a socket due to clearance with the exhaust pipes. I have a cheap set on the way I got for under $20. I'm going to torque everything while I have it up on the ramps to do the mounts.