Lower front wishbone query

[aliasme]

After weeks of my passenger side wheel sounding like a haunted house and promises to myself to get it sorted the inevitable happened and my ball joint went bang. The lower wishbone is also now pointing in a direction it shouldn't and I'm going to need a new tyre. Ah well, at least it happened when I was backing off my drive as opposed to doing 70mph down the motorway.

My question is whether or not a new ball joint comes supplied with the wishbone or whether I need to buy this separately? Also, could anyone recommend a cheap but reliable place to buy this part? I've checked out Eurocarparts already and they are charging £80 for the wishbone and £25 for the bush kit is this reasonable? And, do I need the bush kit?

I know there is a lot of questions there so thanks for your patience any help is gratefully received.

Cheers.

 

[type49]

What car & what year may help in some answers

 

[aliasme]

Good point - sorry mate not my day today!

its a 190e - 1991 on a H plate

Cheers

 

[type49]

Yeh the ball joint is part of the wishbone. Mark the postion of the 2 big bolts/essentric washers on the subframe, this is critical for camber & caster set up. Easier to buy the wishbone with the bushes already fitted.

 

[philharve]

After weeks of my passenger side wheel sounding like a haunted house and promises to myself to get it sorted the inevitable happened and my ball joint went bang. The lower wishbone is also now pointing in a direction it shouldn't and I'm going to need a new tyre. Ah well, at least it happened when I was backing off my drive as opposed to doing 70mph down the motorway.

My question is whether or not a new ball joint comes supplied with the wishbone or whether I need to buy this separately? Also, could anyone recommend a cheap but reliable place to buy this part? I've checked out Eurocarparts already and they are charging £80 for the wishbone and £25 for the bush kit is this reasonable? And, do I need the bush kit?

I know there is a lot of questions there so thanks for your patience any help is gratefully received.

Cheers.

Hi Aliasme

Are you purchasing a new wishbone? Cannot the bushes be replaced?

REGARDS

Phil

 

[philharve]

Update

Hi All

I had all 4 lower wishbone bushes replaced on my C230K by my indie and the car is quieter - intermittent knocking appears to have gone - and I feel it steers more precisely. Appears to be less roll too which improves handling. You can see the camber change at both wheels which came as a surprise. The old bushes (original) must have gone soft and I know that at less one bush (NS/R) had begun to break up and had affected castor. Waiting for dry weather to check out high speed stability which I suspect will have improved too. GBP240.00 the lighter but it was a necessary expense. I wonder what my MB dealer would have charged me?

REGARDS

Phil

 

[philharve]

Update 2

Hi All

The result of replacing all 4 wishbone bushes has sharpening up the steering considerbly and the car goes 'round corners with greater precision and less steering effort. I therefore conclude that before the repair was performed I was putting considerable effort into counteracting the direction the wheels were forcing me to travel due to the changed steering geometry.

My indie suspected bush wear because the NS/F tyre was wearing evenly instead of on the outside. A visual inspection of the bushes revealed no clue as to their true condition. I thought they looked good. However, when the indie placed a crowbar between the bush mounting point and the body of the offending bush, he found he could easily alter both camber and castor of the wheel. Furthermore, a radial crack appeared in the bush rubber which suggested to me that maybe the rubber bush had split in two, radially, along its length: it was in two pieces. The poor condition and the soffening of the rubber must have adveresly affected the alignment of the wheel. If one wheel was misaligned the other was probably misaligned too. All 4 bushes were duly changed. The old bushes were pressed out without too much difficulty.

I have found the car rolls a lot less now. I assumed the excess roll was down to worn front dampers but it seems worn bushes produce a similar effect.

It's been almost a week since the bushes were replaced and the Merc's handling is beginning to settle down. I feel more confident with it now than at any time since its purchase over two years ago. Maybe bush replacement ought to be performed, regardless of condition, every 5 years (say) to keep the steering and suspension in tip-top condition.

REGARDS

Phil