Lower Ball Joint R&R and hub puller tools

[jriewer]

I’m preparing to change the lower ball joints on my 87 420SEL. I will be pulling the knuckles and have been reading the hundreds of posts regarding the do’s and don’ts for this job. One thing that has confused me was that the FSM task to R&R the LBJ calls for removing the front wheel hub and the need for specialized tools necessary for pulling the wheel cap and the holder for dial gauges and a dial gauge. Yet, in the many lively threads on pulling the ball joints and the correct ball joint presses and pullers to use and the costs associated with them, buy vs rent, no one mentions the need for these other specialized tools to pull the wheel hubs or that they even pulled the wheel hubs or repacked the grease in the hubs. So, am I going to have to deal with the wheel hubs and repack them or is this an optional task that most choose not do to? And what are people using instead of the specialized MB hub puller?