My 88 300E is making several strange sounds of late. It started last week with a groaning sound when I turned left. Now, it pops loudly when I turn left or right.

Any ideas? I figure it's ball joints but I don't know how to test for that or what a normal one looks like.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Kevin

I have the same problem, and the lower control arm bushings are worn. Have yet to take care of it.
But I only hear popping (not always) when I step on it from a standstill, or randomly when I'm driving on the freeway.

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

I had my cars' ball joints replaced last yr with same symptoms.
not very expensive if done independently.Only 80 C$ labour+80 parts.ie 100US$ total

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Tom 2010 C250 4-matic Sport (Canada)

REALLY!? I have heard it cost about $500! 1/2 parts and 1/2 labor! Are you sure we are talking about the Lower COntrol Arm Bushings?!..

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

David's right on the money... literally expect 500 to 600 for the ball joints and idler arm bushing kit. I have had the fortunate experience to have this done not to long ago.

petaling was talking about ball joints

I know about the idler arm and lower control arms... that cost around 7-800 dollars for my C. still get the popping... so I guess it is the ball joint problem now.

~manny

__________________
'94 MB C280 Lorinser Sport Suspension

Rsbiomedical,
What kind of handling differences did you notice?

Thanks.

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

It was a 100% improvement. Of course the THUNK that I could feel in my feet was gone, but the best improvement was the highspeed tracking. Our roads are just plain bad with potholes waves different types of pavement etc.. When you would hit a wave in the pavement or uneven grade your car would shift over sometimes a half a lane if the wind was helping it out. Out of all of the improvements' the TE got which was basically everything, that was my favorite performance improvement. And you are right on the money with the cost I did have a slightly lower estimate in the 490 range but I went with the MB service to make sure it was done right. Also it really seemed so make the ride a bide queiter because of the reduced vibration. How is school treating you? I wish I could go back those are some goood times!

I have noticed the loss in high-speed stability! Glad that will clear it up. $500 is a little much, but oh well...! And I will definitly not miss the thunk that scares the living crap out of me when driving 90 and all of a sudden I hear and feel this loud thunk! Damn!

And as for school... well it has been an absolute NIGHTMARE so far... I go to the local Junior College (OCC).
Ok, when I first registered for my classes (over the phone), back in July, I didn't pay at the time because my parents were in Europe and I didn't have their Credit Card number. So I thought Ok I will pay later. Well I go to school on Monday only to find out that I have been dropped from ALL of my classes because I hadn't payed!! So I thought, Ok, it will be fine, I will petition all of the classes and get back into them. WRONG, most of the classes are already so full and many petitioners in line in front of me...! SO of the 7 classes I tried to petition this past week, I got into only 2. I thought, ok, I can go to Coastline Community college and get 2 classes there (mostly internet classes). Well I go to do that and their internet classes are filled! I still am trying to figure out how an internet class can be full! I then went to the school administration to see what I could do to petition some of them. The lady said there was NOTHING I could do. I began to think OMG my parents are going to kill me when they find out I am only in 2 classes... and how this well slow my entire schooling. After I left that office I just wanted to cry, I was SO mad. And to add to the frustration of school, the computers at work all failed to work, and the office manager has been out of town all week. I was unable to do any of my work. And our regular computer person (parent's good friend) was out of town also. So I had to call a million different computer people to come help us out. Finally I found guy and he had to spend 2 days over here fixing them (@ $150 an hour....). They finally got fixed, but I was behind on deadlines that had to have completed documents sent back to OCTA; we have a contract with them. ANd I kept forgetting things and would have to drive 20 miles here and there to pick up correspondence documents!!
And then on Friday, I think, ok, things are getting a little better, I am just worried about only having 2 classes. So I go to school to register the 2 classes that I had petitioned for. Well I get to school and see the line is 1/2 a mile long... it took me 8 minutes to get to the end of it (Let me tell you... you DO NOT miss school). I then find out that petitioners still have another week to get more classes and register! This made me happier than anything! After 3 hours of sleep, and a previous 18 hour day of work, school, driving, and stress, this was music to my ears (besides the Bose sound system in my Mercedes of course )
Anyway, it is now Sunday, and I am here at work doing a lot of the work that had backed up. And I still have to drive about 65 miles today to drop off more papers. I swear I have never had such a... productive (actually, lack there of) week in my life. I guess it's WELCOME TO the real world, huh?
And to add to all of that crap, I have been diagnosed with tendinitis in my left wrist from all of the typing I do!
And on another note, I have just felt lost lately... I went to a boarding school for my senior year in HS, and when I got back, I just was so glad to be home, I did not want to go ANYWHERE (for school I mean). I was happy to be home. But now I have that craving to go away to school. I have had the desire to live in the dorms, meet a bunch of new people, and have a real change. Maybe San Diego or something. I am so OVER LA, atleast for many people in my age group, so lame and SO FAKE! So I don't know exactly what I will be doing... but something must change.
Jeez, sorry this is so long... but you asked!! :p
Hopefully this next week will be better, and the week after that, things will be in place... constructively speaking. What I want to do and where I want to go still needs some more time... but I guess that's part of growing up.......

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

A few more things...

Sorry to Kmoran for totally distracting your post!!

And maybe I should have called Alon when I needed that computer help! I have his card! DUH.

Tonight I will forget about his past week and have a great time... oh you better believe it!!

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

david...

welcome to the world I know what you mean with what happened with your classes... something similar happened to me since the University here is the landmark of disorganization. It's really frustrating... But what always helps me is taking a 60-70mph long drive listening to my Bose stereo in my Benz .

About LA... is it really that bad? about people being so fake? I keep hearing that all over the place. even when I lived in SF.. the "northerners" used to criticize the peepz from LA for being so fake.. I never really noticed the difference. I guess I'm just used ot it from Guam where fakeness with most people is a trademark.

~manny

__________________
'94 MB C280 Lorinser Sport Suspension

INfiniti,
Of course, about the LA people, that is a generalization. And I mean it for many people in my age group (19 yo), who are usually insecure and put on a front to make people like them. Of course not everyone is like this, but I have found many people my age in Beverly Hills and Hollywood to be real superficial, and lacking serious depth to their persona. Well it's there, but I'd have to dig real hard to find it in them, and why waste the effort!
It really isn't all THAT bad...

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

College days I once took a class for the full term studied my butt off and got a 3.5 just to find out that I screwed up on payment at the beginning and the prof. never told me, when I asked him why he said he thought it was another screw up on the university's part and no I did not get credit

Oh that's so lame... LIFE IS UNFAIR, don't ever forget it!

(Again, I apologize to poor Kmoran for dislodging his post)

And I am at home now, after 5 hrs of work on a Sunday I should have been there for about 2 more hours, but ONCE AGAIN THE F****** (sorry) COMPUTER KEPT HAVING ILLEGAL OPERATIONS!
Sorry to be blunt, but I'm gonna get WAY hammered tonight... You all remember when you were 19 don't you...?
I know I'll regret saying that tomorrow....

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)