The car is a 1985 280 te with 148k. I know my upper ball joints are almost ready to be replaced so my first question is what else is likely to need replacing at the same time. The second question is....could a skilled mechanic that is not a MB specialist perform this task? The lead guy at the local service station who routinely does work (or least oil changes) on everything from '69 GTOs to late model Ferrari 430s has offered to do the work at home for 40 per hour.