W126 chassis lubrication, ball joint replacement

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djb2000 - 17 Apr 2006 20:28 GMT

Folks,

I plan to replace some front suspension parts on my 85 380SE soon. I have
ordered lower ball joints, left and right side tie rod assembly, and center
tie rod assembly. I was wondering if these are sealed and unserviceable since
I can't find a place to add grease. Your help is appreciated.

djb2000

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Tiger - 17 Apr 2006 23:35 GMT

You forgot the upper control arm... most common wear item... grab the rubber
part of ball joint... rock car up and down with your chest and you will feel
the clunk.

All MB ball joints are sealed. No need to grease them.

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Richard Sexton - 19 Apr 2006 18:31 GMT

>You forgot the upper control arm... most common wear item... grab the rubber
>part of ball joint... rock car up and down with your chest and you will feel
>the clunk.
>
>All MB ball joints are sealed. No need to grease them.

Do the track rod ("brake thrust rod") mounts at the at the same time;
they're pretty much part of the suspension too. Might not hurt to do
the engine mounts and steering shock at the same time, too.

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Richard Sexton | Mercedes stuff: http://mbz.org
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Home pages: http://rs79.vrx.net
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djb2000 - 19 Apr 2006 21:13 GMT

Tiger, Richard,
After reading your messages, i figure i'm going to do more than i
bargained for! You are, of course, correct. The break bar bushings and upper
ball joints, and stablizer shock need replacing too. It's a good thing this
stuff is available on ebay at reasonable prices, otherwise it would be cost
prohibitive.
I received my MB official owners manual and repair manual yesterday,
and the parts catalog too. It cost $80 for it all but has already come in
handy. I 'm beginning to get the feeling i will never be finished tinkering
with this car, although, so far it has been entertaining if not a little
expensive.

djb2000

>>You forgot the upper control arm... most common wear item... grab the rubber
>>part of ball joint... rock car up and down with your chest and you will feel
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>they're pretty much part of the suspension too. Might not hurt to do
>the engine mounts and steering shock at the same time, too.

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Tiger - 20 Apr 2006 15:23 GMT

Lower ball joint is a real pain... but rarely ever go bad... very unlike
american cars. You need to accumulate like 250,000+ miles for you to have
this problem.

Upper control arm ball joint goes at about 150,000 miles. Cause clunking
when going over bumps or potholes or railroad tracks.

Thrust arm bushings definitely goes at every 100,000 miles... This will
cause thud thud thud noise when turning or hitting bumps.

Steering is easy to check... have someone hold one wheel still... the other
person rock the other wheel and see which component is bad. In steering for
this age, the idle control arm bushing is usuallly the one that goes bad and
gives whole steering loose. Will hear and feel through steering wheel
clunking when going over bump or turning.

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