knocking noises from front - Torsion bar mounting or ball joint - clk 208

[Balal]

hello everyone...
ooookay ...thats how the story goes.... This morning, I started getting this knocking noises from the front left side of my CLK .... sooooooo I went to this garage (cant recall the name, its one of the chain like Kwik Fit) ...the guy put it on ramp and I was told that its the ball joint aaaaand a wee rubber mounting at the end of torsion bar .. as the wheels have some ply when you jack them up. and you can actually see the torsion bar freely moving in the rubber mounting (its the item 8 in the picture below)

anyways! they didnt have the parts , soooooo I went to eurocarpart and got ball joint and the rubebr mounting and went to a nearby garage only to be told that ball joint is fine... ( but i am pretty sure its ball joint as i before this knocking noise there was banging noise at bouncy roads) ... anyways, the garage said, its to do with the steering and I have to go to mercedes....so called merc and deutch marque and they are busy till after christmass...

sooooo I went to this other garage , and the guy had it on the ramp and said its not the ball joint but only the rubber mounting ( item 8 in picture above) .... so he is gonna charge me £75 to fit it tomorrow....

Now I was wondering, is it wise to get the ball joints changed as well with it? the garage guy says that its not wise, but i am thinking if i change the ball joints now, it would save hassle in future and also the guy is already changing the rubber mounting so should be less work if all done now ?!

would much appreciate any advise....also regarding which part in your opinion is causing knocking sound!

 

[sv4]

Knocking sound would be the control arm ball joint. Bad antiroll/torsion bar bushes causes squeaking, not knocking sounds.

 

[bigasotonuk]

£75 to change a anti roll bar bush!!
I think your being ripped off m8 ask your local main dealer on a price to replace bush i think you,ll be surprised.
Best of luck

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

Knocking sound would be the control arm ball joint. Bad antiroll/torsion bar bushes causes squeaking, not knocking sounds.

this is not correct. It IS the anti-roll bar thingy. This is a VERY common issue with mercs. It it unlikely to be anything else. I had mine done earlier this year. It makes an anoying rattle/knocking noise generally at lower speeds. Drives you bonkers.

MB charge about £120 to do the work but the parts are only about £12.

So the price you quoted is about right for an Indy. It'll feel like a new car when you get it back. It's amazing the difference it makes.

 

[Blobcat]

Whilst your at it I would replace both anti-roll bar bushes and lower ball joints. I would also go to MB for the parts.

 

[Balal]

well!!!! got the car back, the garage changed the torsion bar bushes, instead of charging £75 he only charged me £42 ....

I left new ball joints with him in case if he needs to replace them but car runs fine now, so he kinda proved his point that ball joints are fine.

I got parts from eurocarparts. I thought they sell same parts as mercedes dealer itself ?!

 

[Blobcat]

Pls keep an eye on your front tyres, when my lower ball joints were worn the thread started to pick up a bit. You can feel it by running your hand over the tyre, if it's smooth your ok, if you can feel the tread blocks then I would get them changed and check the rest of the bushes at the same time.