Do I need anything special, like a ball joint puller, or that fork looking thing to replace the tie rods? Anyone have any hints on doing the job? Thanks, Al -'85 300D
BTW-thought I'd post a pic of my car for the first time! That's what Minnesota looks like, in the Summer

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2012 550CLS
1982 380SL
1985 300D
1998 ML-320
1997 E-320
1984 380SE

In my opinion this type...http://www.mytoolstore.com/toolaid/suspn02.html.. (mine's from JC Whitney, but this is a picture of the style) works better than a pickle fork and doesn't damage the boots in case you want to reuse the tie rod.

Some guys can just pop 'em with a well placed hammer blow, but I'm not that good.

Job is pretty straight forward. Hints(FWIW): 1) If you loosen the nut, but don't totally remove it, the tie rod won't clang off when it does pop loose. 2) There are some hex holders on the opposite side of the nuts to aid in anti-rotation while loosening them. 3) Adjust the length of the new tie-rod close to the length of the old, before you put it in, to minimize alignment issues.

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The Golden Rule

1984 300SD (bought new, sold it in 1988, bought it back 13 yrs. later)

A three pound ball peen hammer is all you need. Loosen the nut about three turns and strike the end of the steering arm, pitman arm or idler arm, driving in the direction of the arm itself. The shaft and hole are tapered, so one good, wrist action type blow will pop it loose almost every time.

With this technique you can reuse the tie rod end if necessary. A pickle fork on the other hand, will destroy the boot and sometimes the joint.

I have a pickle fork, but it stays in my tool box and rarely sees the light of day.

Good luck,