The car was jacked up using a bottle jack under the lower ball joint bolt. This kept the suspension in nearly normal compression. Then I used the standard MB jack in the frame to serve as a safety. Then I put an old wheel under the frame as another safety.
With the suspension normally loaded like this, all you have to do is drop the bearing bracket and unscrew the guide rod mount bolt. When assembling, thread the guide rod mount bolt further up into the guide rod than it was originally - so that the bearing bracket easily goes up into position. After the bearing bracket is tight, then position the guide rod bolt properly (showing the same number of threads as when you started).
Close enough to start. Some would say after this job a good alignment is warranted.
Now the W123 is a different story. No bearing bracket. There you have to apply some significant force to clear the guide rod mount bolt.
Shall I start a bearing bracket rebuild service?
Ken300D