W164 Bottom Ball Joint Replacement DIY

kid-jensen

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Did a lot of Googling before I started this job, but couldn't find any help at all, so I thought this guide would help others when the Ball joint Creaks, or fails MOT.

The bottom Ball joint is a common MOT failure point on MLs and mine was creaking in an embarrassingly loud way, so here is the procedure to replace it.

In order to avoid taking parts of the suspension apart that are not strictly necessary, I decided to bite the bullet and buy an Extractor/Inserter set and not just "hit it with a big hammer". I will put this set up for sale in the For Sale section as I'm unlikely to do it again.

So, I'm assuming you have bought an Extractor Set before you start, along with a 36mm socket for the Drive shaft nut. No other "specialist" tools should be necessary. A Big hammer comes in handy, though...


1. Take the central Mercedes Emblem out of the centre of the wheel and use a 36mm Socket to undo the drive shaft nut whilst the car is still on the ground (with the brakes on - it will be tight).

2. Jack up the front-end and rest a solid-looking part of the underside on axle stands. Remove the appropriate wheel and throw it under the car "just in case".

3. Remove the drive shaft nut and tap the end of the drive shaft with a soft-faced hammer until it moves inwards slightly.

4. At the bottom end of the upright, you'll need a 24mm open-ended spanner to undo the fixing nut, as usually there isn't enough room to get the ring end in. A socket is a non-starter. Move the suspension up and down (with a jack) to allow the nut to wiggle out.

5. Remove the bolt holding the shock absorber to the Lower Control Arm (easier said then done in my case, but often it comes out without drama).

6. With the Ball Joint nut wiggled out, undo the nut holding the track rod end, take it off, turn the nut over and put it back on the thread until it's level with the end of the bolt. It's then easy to whack it downwards to separate the taper.

7. With the track rod end taper separated and the bottom ball joint also loose, you should be able to pull the bottom end of the upright away from the rest of the suspension (this is why the drive shaft needs to be loose). Move the Lower control Arm up or down to give access. Kink the drive shaft to one side and the upright to the other and the splines should slide smoothly out. This gives more room to pull the lower end of the upright as far upwards as it will go for access.

8. Time for a cup of tea.

9. Assemble the Ball joint extractor such that the tubes are on the upper end of the Ball joint, choosing the size of tube so that it completely clears the flange around it. On the other end of the extractor, just use any flat-ended spacer - there are usually a god few different sizes in the kit that comes with it.

10. Tighten up the extractor as much as you dare and then give the bottom end a couple of good hits with a hefty hammer. It's a bit awkward as you will be swinging the hammer slightly upwards, but with a good whack, it should move the ball joint slightly upwards in the upright. This is the beginning of the end. Keep on tightening the extractor and whacking occasionally, and it should come completely apart. If it stops suddenly, check the tube is long enough to allow the ball joint full movement upwards.

11. The old ball joints are an interference fit in the upright but the newer versions are belt-n-braces in that they also have a slim nut on them which is tightened with a C spanner (or tapped around with a big screwdriver).

12, I'll admit to a bit of filing of the new ball joint to reduce the diameter and get it to slip back in smoothly, but don't overdo the filing or it could rotate in the upright once assembled.

13. Use the Extractor to press the new ball joint in, combined with the occasional hammer blow on the compressing tube to help things along.

14. You should now have the ball Joint fully seated in the upright and from now on, as they say, "assembly is the reverse of the dismantling procedure".

15. Tighten the bolt holding the Shock Absorber to the LCA ONLY when the car's weight is on the suspension, or the rubber bush inside will be over stressed. You can use a jack to push the suspension up such that the car's weight is carried on the jack and this will put the LCA in the right position for final tightening.

That should be the end of any creaking or rattling/knocking, the Ball joint can be responsible for any of these noises, not to mention MOT failures.

Please have a look in the For Sale section for my Extractor if you are thinking of doing this in the future.
 

Richard Moakes

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Just done this, and it’s a pig of a job.

The driveshaft nut is on very tight and took a lot of getting loose, but there is no way to get the new joint in without moving the driveshaft out of the way.

It’s possible to get the old ball joint out just by hitting it with a hammer from the underside, it simply drifts out. The new ball joint has to be pulled in using the nut which now comes with the replacement joints, and that requires a special tool along with a breaker bar.
 

joderest

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If this is same as a W163, i have seen a you tube thing where all ball joints were disconnected, the hub turned up side down and supported with a jack and block of wood and lower ball joint knocked out, as has the room to come out when other way up.
This meant the hub not did not have to be removed.
I have not tried this process but expect to one day !!!!
 

Richard Moakes

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I can see how that would work, in the end I did disconnect all three balljoints and the caliper, which gave complete freedom of movement to wiggle everything into place. I wish I had thought of that before I hammered the lower ball joint out, as hammering upwards with a lump hammer wasn't easy and pretty exhausting.
 

joderest

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and if you had limited room from the ground, i bet it was a job and a half.
There is a special 1/2 inch drive socket you can buy to wind the castellated nut on the new joint. I have seen someone using a decent cordless impact driver and it got it on solid.
Its all very well giving advice after the job done, keep the kit, you may need to do the other side, it will not be far behind.
 

Richard Moakes

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and if you had limited room from the ground, i bet it was a job and a half.
There is a special 1/2 inch drive socket you can buy to wind the castellated nut on the new joint. I have seen someone using a decent cordless impact driver and it got it on solid.
Its all very well giving advice after the job done, keep the kit, you may need to do the other side, it will not be far behind.

Fortunately I had the castellated socket along with a 3/4" adapter and my breaker bar, with that I was able to wind the nut and pull the joint down snugly.
 

Richard Moakes

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After all of this, I discover my axle CV joint boot is now leaking grease. Must have stressed or nicked it during the fight with the ball joint. More hassle coming up, sigh!
 

joderest

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don't know if it helps, but i have repaired splits in CV boots with glue, but its not easy as they have to be spotless.
You can buy kits that glue on !
saves having to take drive shaft out.
I know that the purists do not like them
 
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kid-jensen

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  • #9
I'm very windy about levering the inner CVJ away from the front final drive case...I always think I'll break the circlip or crack the final drive casting... That would turn into a REALLY long job.

So.... I decided to take the inner CVJ apart as the internal circlip is very easy-access (just disgustingly greasy).

The CVJ will then pull apart easily. You will probably have to go searching around the driveway to find the balls that fall out (make sure you replace all 6, and get them extra clean before putting them back in.

Using a "stretchy" CVJ Boot, you can easily expand it enough to go over the inner part of the CVJ (because it's much smaller diameter).

After that, it's just reassembly by putting the balls back in one at a time from the top, then turning the shaft round until all 6 are in. Replace the circlip, cover the CVJ with new grease and clamp both ends of the boot with the supplied clips.

All done. Time for tea.

I've just passed the MOT, but the advisory was that the internal CVJ boot was about to split, so I'll be getting myself greasy again soon.

Interestingly, when checking last year's MOT, it had an advisory about the same CVJ boot...

So....0 out of 10 for observation (for me AND the MOT man!)

Of course, I could have used a split/glued Boot, but I really can't bring myself to trust them...
 
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kid-jensen

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  • #14
Little update on the Front Lower Ball Joint replacement...

Had to do the Bottom Bal joint again because the rubber gaiter had split, and it was listed in the MOT as a "fix soon".

And I've found an easier way!

Like this, and it takes significantly less time:-

1 Jack up and remove front wheel.

2. Undo the bottom bolt that holds the Suspension strut to the Lower control Arm. This will probably be rusted in, so be prepared to cut the head off and draw it through using lots of grease and spacers/washers and continuing to tighten up the nut till it pulls through. Goes without saying you should buy a new bolt just in case (it's cheap).

3. Undo the LCA single front bolt and the 2 bolts holding the cast mounting assembly at the rear. The ARB bracket will need to be removed to get at the front bolt (so jacking up the car on the bracket is not a good idea - guess show I know?)

4, The inner part of the LCA can now be swung downwards and this will give access to the Ball Joint mounting nut. Once the nut is off, the taper can be separated by whacking the LCA upwards. It's a bit of a fiddle, but worth it to hot have to take the drive shaft out.

5. The Ball Joint might be an interference fit in the uptight, or it might have a large nut undone with a C-Spanner (or tap it undone with a blunt chisel). The interference fit ones (without the nut) will need a solid whack with a lump hammer (Upwards) to get them out, so if you've sold your extractor kit like I had, you will probably need to jack the car up high enough to get a good swing with the hammer. eventually, it will come out.

6. When fitting the new Ball Joint, an extractor kit used in reverse is probably ideal. But if you have to do without, I would advise a small amount of filing/sanding the Ball joint to reduce it's diameter slightly or it will be a complete pig to get it in. Just take it slowly, I'd say you need to take about 0.2mm off the diameter, but play it by ear. You can draw it into the upright using the large ring nut and C-spanner, tapping round with a blunt chisel/drift, or Stilsons.

7. it's just the reverse of disassembly after that, but leave the final tightening of the LCA-to-strut bolt until the car has all 4 wheels on the ground.

I took plenty of tea breaks and I'm now old and decerped, but it still only took a long morning.....good luck!
 


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