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#1
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Here I go, rwthomas1, wish me luck...
I can't put it off any longer so Friday I am going after my lower balljoints. I picked up the new balljoints (TRW with a star on them) and the press today. I wanted to run my plan by you for your opinion.
Am I missing anything, especially related to the coil spring/safety/death? Will I need to get an alignment afterwards? What is the correct torque for the balljoint nuts and other fasteners involved?
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1982 Mercedes-Benz 300CD 1982 Mercedes-Benz 240D - stick |
#2
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I used one jackstand to support the car and the other was adjusted to take the load from the lower control arm. I have adjustable jackstands though. A good floorjack will work too. I used a "import car pitman arm puller" from Autozone to pop the upper balljoint. Then with the lower controll arm supported with the jackstand, the nut on the lower balljoint loose and screwed to the top of the stud, pull the top of the spindle out towards you and you will be able to smack the nut/stud of the lower balljoint with a BFH to release it. Sounds strange but you will see what I mean when you get there. Don't bother messing with the outer tierod. Just unbolt the steering arm from the spindle and leave it attached. To drive the old balljoint out I placed the spindle on a piece of plywood on the ground with the top of the spindle where the upper balljoint attaches against the foundation of my house protected by another piece of wood. I then stood on the spindle to hold it down and used the big brass drift and BFH on it. On really good whack gets it going and then it moves easily. Don't be too concerned about damaging the spindle. They are forged steel and VERY tough. My 123 CD indicates 40nm and 80nm for the upper and lower balljoints respectively. Hope this helps, and good luck! RT
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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops! 84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K 03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K 93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K |
#3
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Well, everything was going along very well until #8. I could not (well, can not really) get the old balljoint out. No matter what I tried, I got no cooperation. It's really in there. It wasn't a matter of not hitting it hard enough as I was wailing on it. I'm not sure what I'm going to do at this point - other than drive my Jeep for the next few days...
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1982 Mercedes-Benz 300CD 1982 Mercedes-Benz 240D - stick |
#4
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Try to soak him in the diesel fuel for somme time and then show who's the boss
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#5
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Ok, I got it out. Turns out I may have caused the problem. What I did was to use a piece of pipe as a drift. Because all the pressure was just inside of the edge of the balljoint, I may have mushroomed it out whilst beating it. Today I heated the balljoint red hot from the bottom, and drove it our with a solid drift. The drift should be solid and half the diameter of the bottom of the balljoint or less to avoid what happened to me. Applying this, we'll see how number 2 goes tonight...
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1982 Mercedes-Benz 300CD 1982 Mercedes-Benz 240D - stick |
#6
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Half way there!
One side completed!! However I still can't get the second balljoint to budge. I'm taking it down to our shop tomorrow morning to heat it up as I did with the first, except this time before heating it I am going to try to remove the ball portion so it comes out a little slower I sure am glad I am replacing them. They are really pitted and worn (no wonder they started groaning). Final chapter tomorrow (hopefully!)
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1982 Mercedes-Benz 300CD 1982 Mercedes-Benz 240D - stick |
#7
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Finished!! Groan free in SC!!
Heated up the second one and pounded it out this morning and reassembled the suspension. What a difference!! Here is some extra info for anyone reading this in preparation for doing their own:
Tools
General Procedure/Observations
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1982 Mercedes-Benz 300CD 1982 Mercedes-Benz 240D - stick |
#8
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Glad to hear you were successful! Sorry the LBJ's were such a bee-atch to get out. Speaking only from my experience, mine popped free with the liberal use of the mini-sledge. Obviously I got lucky. RT
__________________
When all else fails, vote from the rooftops! 84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K 03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K 93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K |
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