I have a merc sprinter and have found it to dail mot,s on excess play in ball joints. I spoke to a local garage and was told taht there should be 3mm leway with play, as there is 2mm play form new. HELP anyone?

Your post seems to have been scrambled - unintelligible. Also, 'Sprinter' is not a USA model - perhaps you can relate it to a model line folks here would be familiar with?

Steve

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'91 MB 190E 2.3
'08 RAV4 Ltd 3.5
'83 Lazy Daze m'home 5.7

The Sprinter is available in the US.

http://www.freightliner.com/brands/sprinter.asp

But it's labeled as a Freightliner, not a Mercedes.

Too much information is almost always better than not enough

I'm assuming that you're saying it's failing the MOT inspection due to excessive play in the ball joints. Maybe you could explain to us over in the US what the MOT inspection is and what happens when your car fails inspection.

How many miles are on the car, and what kind of driving is it used for? Is it mostly high speed motorway and in-town on good roads, or small country roads that haven't been resurfaced since before the war?

If the ball joints are truly worn beyond the acceptable limit, about all you can do is to replace them.

Which ball joints in particular are we talking about?

Where and how are they measuring the excess play?

How much play does the MOT inspector say that it has, and how much do they allow?

Is there any recourse that allows you to take it to another inspection station if you disagree with the first one?

Have you talked to your local dealer's service department and asked them whether it was likely the ball joints were worn with the use and mileage on the car? If so, what was their response?

With a bit more information I'm sure someone on this forum can help you get the right answer.

Gary

Sprinter is also now sold by Dodge. I'm really surprised this site has not started a forum devoted to this van. There's a group at Yahoo devoted to Sprinters.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13