124 Supporting Joints and rear shocks
 

Below is a photo of the supporting joints, also called ball joints from my 92 300E with 127K miles on it. I just replaced rear shocks and front struts and strut mounts with Bilstein heavy duty units. I recently replaced the supporting joints on my 92 300TE with 134K miles on it, those joints were shot too.

I’m thinking people don’t normally replace them because they are kind of hidden by that plastic cover. If you do the shocks I’d check the supporting joints.

Definitely not ball joints. Are these the outer bushings from the rear suspension spring carrier?

Steve

Actually it's a heim joint but if I used that term I figured no one would know what i was talking about. Mercedes refers to it as a supporting joint. It fits in the rear wheel carrier. Some people refer to them as ball joints. It's 7a in the diagram below.

I replaced them in my 91 300TE at 210K and my dad's 95 E321T at 165K. Based on the amount of play they were obviously shot long before. I also replaced the rear wheel bearings on my 91TE at 175K (the right side of the car seems to take much more of a beating. The longevity of the heim joints doesn't necessarily surprise me but the wheel bearings does. I am convinced that the current front suspension and multi-link rear suspension set ups need to be totally re-worked about every 150K. You could piece meal it but the alignment costs and down time wouldn't be worth it. Mark

That's the part I was thinking of - never heard anyone call those ball joints, though. Ball joints have ball-in-socket sliding surfaces, and this bushing has no sliding surfaces at all! The same interface up front does have a true ball joint:

http://img.eautopartscatalog.com/live/L202024760LEM.JPG

Steve

Bushings?
 

As in control arm bushings.

Does anyone have a part number for these or the name as listed in FastLane? Also, is this what squeaks a lot when old -- going over the slightest bumps?

How hard to replace?

Actually, MB calls it "rubber mounting", part 202 352 01 65.

And, no disrespect meant, no one refers to that bushing as a ball joint.

Yes, those outer and inner bushings on the spring link will cause squeaking noises as they rot. My 91 TE does it left side intermittently, so I need to do what Ron SC did.

Thanks so much!!! Is it difficult to replace? Maybe as compared to brake rotors?

I believe they require a special tool for removal and installation.