How bad/urgent do these look?

[maxb]

I haven't noticed anything while driving, but I was under my 85 300td the other day and saw these. These are torn dust jackets correct? Also, just so I know, I'm looking at one tie rod end and the other two are control arm ball joints? Is there anything to do now, or do I wait until the joints themselves start to fail?

Any test I can do with the car on jack stands to see whether they're in need of replacement?

Thanks!

[TnBob]

With no weight on the tire, grab it at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock position and try to shake the tire.

Try the same test from the 12 and 6 position. You should get almost zero movement in any direction. IF you do get motion, time for more diagnostics.

[Simpler=Better]

If they don't have any "slop" to them when unloaded you can get away with frequent regreasing until you have the time/money to replace them.

You can also get universal boots to slap over them which may or may not help you out for a bit.

[charmalu]

First picture is your tie Rod end. with the boot cracked open, it is letting dirt, water etc into the joint to speed up the wear in it.

The 2nd and 3rd pictures are your lower ball joints. They definitely need to be replaced. with the rainy season here they will fill up with water and grit, and rust will develop. also the joint will grind it`s self to death.
No telling how long the boots have been opened up like that.

There are new boots available for the tie rod ends, but new rod assemblies are only about $44 each side.

The Lower BJ are around $20 ea for Lemforder.

As mentioned above, jack up the vehicle and wiggle the wheel at 12 and 6 o`clock and at 3 and 9 o`clock to see how much slop there is. also placing a pry bar under the wheel and lifting up might show any up and down movement in the BJ.

How are your upper Control Arms. BJ and inner Bushings?

I had a Tie Rod boot starting to crack, and pulled a good boot off one in PNP. But they were not open to the elements.

I did have one lower BJ that had been open for a good long while. when I got it off it had some serious slop in it. let it go long enough, I guess it could come apart.


Charlie

[pleiades]

I had a lower ball joint like this, greasing it intermittently until I "had the time to fix it." It came apart when I was going 35 on a local road; thankfully I wasn't on the freeway yet.

It's a 1-2 hour job and a $50 part. Just fix it!

[maxb]

I was reading the procedures for the lower ball joint replacement and it looked pretty difficult. Also, it requires a press?

[maxb]

Ok so I just went out and lifted each side, wiggled them side to side as described above, and took some pictures of the upper end. I couldn't really notice any play in the left wheel and on the right wheel I was cranking on it pretty hard before I was able to feel anything.

That being said, I tend to be on the much more cautious side, especially when it comes to cars, so I think I might have it looked at. There are some things that I think I could be up for, but reading the procedure for the ball joint replacement, I'll probably have to leave that to the professionals.

The first two are pictures of the left side, and the second two are of the right.

[eatont9999]

Originally Posted by maxb

Ok so I just went out and lifted each side, wiggled them side to side as described above, and took some pictures of the upper end. I couldn't really notice any play in the left wheel and on the right wheel I was cranking on it pretty hard before I was able to feel anything.

That being said, I tend to be on the much more cautious side, especially when it comes to cars, so I think I might have it looked at. There are some things that I think I could be up for, but reading the procedure for the ball joint replacement, I'll probably have to leave that to the professionals.

The first two are pictures of the left side, and the second two are of the right.

You should plan on rebuilding your front end within a year. The parts are about $1000 for my 300SD but that is assuming you buy quality parts. Join your local MBCA and you should have access to a ball joint press during the tech sessions. The ball joint press and spring compressor are two expensive parts that you will need. Spend the money and do all front end steering and suspension components at once; it will save you a lot of time and if you do the ball joints, you pretty much have to take everything apart anyway. You might as well take it apart once and reinstall new components. You can do an alignment at the tech session as well, provided you have the time left.

[sleepstar]

the UCAs look pretty worn. the bushings are separating from the arm where it mounts to the body.. the bushings at the sway bar look cracked... and in the first picture it looks like a small tear in the ball joint boot. the UCAs can be had relatively inexpensively and you can do that part of the job yourself. it doesnt require a spring compressor or any real special tools/presses/etc.

[maxb]

So I stupidly put myself in a place where I was hoping to do a long distance trip in the near future (holiday season and all).

I'm not sure how quickly I'd be able to get any of these things done. I think I could be game for doing a lot of the work myself - I would just imagine that it's going to take me a pretty good long while what with ordering parts and finding a press, etc. etc. On the other hand, it's going to be absurdly expensive to have a local shop do it. I'll probably end up paying the cost of the car over again....

Aw well @#%! alright I'm going to have to think this one over for a bit...

[Quirky Mercy]

I just did the UCA and Lower ball joints on my 300SD. It was not a bad job.
Forget about the press. I clamped my knuckle in the vice and 4 whacks with a hammer and 1 1/4" socket and the old BJ's were out. Took the knuckle and new BJ's to a shop and 30 min. and $50 later I was on my way.
I tried the AZ ball joint press, bent it, didn't even budge the BJ. It was not pricy at all. I orderd everything from here.(P.P.)

You don't want that coming apart on the road. I used a pry bar to give a little wiggle to the BJ to see the play.

I noticed in one pic it looks like your swaybar has been meeting up with your shock. Real bad roads/ or real bad play.

Good luck have fun, work safe and don't forget to buy some blue lock tite and Wheel bearing grease.

[cooljjay]

I would also add in shocks....yours don't appear leaky but the two don't appear to match......your tires aren't worn unevenly....if you have no play or loud squeaks..... I would say you can put it off to the new year....

[eatont9999]

See the attached PDF for a list of the parts you will need to buy to do a complete front end rebuild on a 300SD. I will have to do this at some point on my newer 300SD and I would do it all at once. My older 300SD was done piece-by-piece and it is annoying having to remove the same part several times to replace something else. If you can get the lower ball joints taken care of, it would be a weekend job for someone who has never done it before or a day job for someone who has done it in the past.

[charmalu]

Check out this thread on BJ replacement.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/333726-ball-joint-replacement-using-hf-kit-home-made-adapter.html

How far are you from Napa? Contact Capflya (forum member) maybe you can bring your Steering knuckles and BJ`s to him and he can press them in for you.

There is a link in the above thread Funola did on knocking out the lower BJ`s. works great. I borrowed the MB BJ Tool from my Indy, and they slid right in.

These front ends are not all that complicated to rebuild. You better have the MB Spring Compressor though.

Here is another good front end rebuilt thread by Bodyart27
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/179284-write-up-ball-joints-lower-control-arm-bushings-tool-review-pics.html



Charlie