Update and details on the tryptic job. The upper control arm ball joints were bad on both sides. they made noise with tapping on the arms with the front end up off the ground. the lower ball joint on the right side was also sloppy.
driver side lower was good, but the boot was squashed and ripped all around the equator. rusty grease was seen in the drivers side lower...

When I drove the car as of yesterday, I always heard clunking sounds on the right side. and when brakes were applied there was a clatter on the right side, if I broke hard...

Pads were way worn. Just in time on the brake job!

Took everything off the car this afternoon. Had trouble with the nut on the upper control arm ball joint on the drivers side. It had to be cut and popped off the threads since it was stripped. It just kept turning while I tried to remove it. The ball joint was not moving as some may think. I was aware of the potential spinning, but was touching the bottom end of the "bolt" while turning the nut with a 17mm open end wrench. The nut was turning, but the bolt was NOT moving....

Seems like the worst part of the replacement job is going to be fitting the long bolt through the upper end of the upper control arm. Not much room under the wiper fluid tank or the drivers side area either... Any tricks for aligning that bolt through the bushings?

Also, the socket cap screws that hold the hub and rotor together seem to be tough to loosen. I might bring them to the local shop and have them open them up as well as press out the lower ball joints.

Should get parts tomorrow or Tuesday, so my commuter car will rest a few days. It has 342,000 miles on it. Exhaust system is next. Saw pin holes and soot on the pipes when the car was on a lift last week. Had a warranty issue with an altenator. The local shop was working on it and I was snooping around and saw the thick soot or carbon.

Will need to replace from manifold back to the muffler... Anything to know about exhaust replacement?

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1985 300SD