MOT Failure - Ball Joint & Rear Spring

[eyelight]

Just had the bad news that our W124 Coupe has fail it's MOT due to excessive play in a front lower suspension ball joint, and, kind of scary news, a broken rear coil spring. Must have been that trip to Dingle last month. Tralee to Dingle road is desperate with pot holes.

Since I don't have access top a spring compressor or even a driveway to work in at the moment, I was going to ask the garage to do the job. Anyone got idea how much this will cost us?

 

[Blobcat]

Neither of these are particularly big £££ jobs. Find a decent indie and get them to quote. Since one of your rear springs has failed I would stongly recommend to replace the other as well. Even if that has not cracked it will be a different length to the new one and the car may well lean to one side if you just replace one.

 

[tom7035]

Lower ball joint isn't the nicest job on the W124, but about an hour or so labour for an experienced mechanic. Rear spring a little less. The cost of this work shouldn't break the bank by MB standards.
Up in the sticks here I had both balljoints and a front spring replaced by a small local outfit for a total cost of £120 including cost of the MB spring & VAT. (I supplied the balljoints).

 

[eyelight]

Thanks for the info.

Is it really necessary to replace both the rear springs ? I understand the logic of doing both while they have the car on a hoist, but money is a bit tight this month.

 

[Bolide]

Balljoints & springs

Balljoints are about £13 each so do both. Don't be surprised if you find a broken front spring either. They're about £50 from Mercedes

I strongly advise you to replace the antiroll bar bushes at the same time. They're about £12 each

Labour for the whole lot will be a couple of hours. I don't class it as a diy job as it involves front springs which are potentially lethal and which shouldn't be handled without the proper spring compressor

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[tom7035]

If you're a purist, then yes, but if like me, a peasant, then my logic tells me any two whole springs have to be much better than one whole and one broken! Same I suppose with balljoints, though I splashed out on a pair of those.

 

[ljs1701]

Hi
Only last week I had to have my ball joint done,luckily this was done under warraty. I asked how much the cost would be had I been charged. I was advised about £280 +vat. that was on 03 reg (210) E320

 

[mioba]

Hi
Only last week I had to have my ball joint done,luckily this was done under warraty. I asked how much the cost would be had I been charged. I was advised about £280 +vat. that was on 03 reg (210) E320

thats stealers for you.

 

[Scop]

My indie quoted me £180 all in for a pair of rear springs.

I just had the front anti roll bar bushes replaced today for £60, I cant believe the difference its made. Makes the car feel new !!

 

[kth286]

eyelight

Which coupe engine size and what year is it, and is it sportline ????

On the later 320 models like mine the ball joints cannot be changed as seperate items; the whole wishbone has to be changed as the ball joint is welded in as an integral part of the whole unit.

The list price of the wishbone alone is of the order of £200 excluding VAT and fitting.

Regards

 

[eyelight]

Oh God, I hope not.
It's a 1994 E220. Not a Sportline or anything fancy.
Waiting for a quote from the local garage now.

Larry

 

[clive williams]

Hi
Only last week I had to have my ball joint done,luckily this was done under warraty. I asked how much the cost would be had I been charged. I was advised about £280 +vat. that was on 03 reg (210) E320

Core Blimey!!!!

I replaced the ball joint on our E320 CDI. I did it in a couple of hours as I always like to take my time on a new job/car inspecting everything around for future reference. I reckon to be able to at least half that if I did it as a paying job. The cost of the ball joint (OEM quality) was around £15.00. Even if you accept that they changed both as recommended (which I don't subscibe to) its still too much.

Clive

500E
E320CDIT210

 

[eyelight]

Thanks for the info here so far.

Got a quote from Star Motors in Caversham today.
They reckon 3 hours labour to do the balljoints and about half an hour to fit a new coil spring on the rear.
Said replacing one rear spring would be fine.

Now I'm just checking prices online at GSF and Euro Car Parts, and their prices are about half what the garage are quoting.
Are the rear springs on a W124 saloon and coupe the same ? I'm seeing standard and heavy duty springs on GSF, but I'm guessing a coupe would be standard.

 

[kth286]

eyelight

the way to go about getting the correct spring is to go to the dealer with your VIN because their computer will know which options the car has, and that has a very big relevance to the correct spring part number due to the number of points allocated to accessories such as air conditioning etc

You would be surprised at how many spring options are available from Merc.

Get the cost and part number from the dealer and than visit German Swedish and give them the part number and they will do a cross-match (if thay have them in stock).
Eurocarparts do not seem able to do a cross-check against a manufactures part number.

I personally would only buy a spring from Merc as I would then know it would match the handling characteristics of my car properly.

In fact I would go so far as to say that I would only buy any 'key' component from Merc as there is a continually evolving parts development programme, even for obsolete cars (the rad with the steel reinforced neck being one example and the rear suspension links being brought into line with the later W210 models another).

Greenoaks now have their central distribution centre in READING so are likely to be able to pull most parts off the shelf.

Regards

 

[Richard Moakes]

Just found a broken spring on the rear of my W124 today, not very happy about that !

Went to my local indy, he recommended original MB springs, based on chassis number, so it gets two new springs next week.

It has to be the ever increasing numbers of speed ramps and potholes, not sure MB designed the car with those in mind.

Richard

 

[eyelight]

Just found a broken spring on the rear of my W124 today, not very happy about that !

Went to my local indy, he recommended original MB springs, based on chassis number, so it gets two new springs next week.

It has to be the ever increasing numbers of speed ramps and potholes, not sure MB designed the car with those in mind.

Richard

Richard,
Our W124 is going into Star Motors in Caversham tomorrow for a new rear spring. They recommended only replacing the broken one, as long as the new one comes from Mercedes based on the chassis number. Said they'd replace both if the parts were from GSF or any other aftermarket parts.

Hopefully it all goes smoothly.

Larry

 

[turnipsock]

Hi
Only last week I had to have my ball joint done,luckily this was done under warraty. I asked how much the cost would be had I been charged. I was advised about £280 +vat. that was on 03 reg (210) E320

For a £13 part...go figure.

I've done rear springs and and ball joints and it's not a difficult job. It took me a bit longer than a dealer would take but I was feeling my way. It was still quicker than if you add in all the hassle of taking the car to the dealer.

 

[television]

Richard,
Our W124 is going into Star Motors in Caversham tomorrow for a new rear spring. They recommended only replacing the broken one, as long as the new one comes from Mercedes based on the chassis number. Said they'd replace both if the parts were from GSF or any other aftermarket parts.

Hopefully it all goes smoothly.

Larry

I have always understood that springs on a car with more than a few K miles should have the springs replaced in pairs.even the best made springs become tired.
Quote from this months trade press:
Replacing a single spring on an axle is a potentially hazardous as it will set up an imbalance in the suspension and result in poor handling characteristics due to inequalities in the spring rates, either side of the car

Malcolm

 

[Silverado]

Hi, a rare contribution from me, I had a broken spring on my 1994 C280 last MOT and took it to my local indy who told me to use genuine springs to keep the ride quality of the car. I believe in replacing such things in pairs and went off to my local dealers who have a very good parts dept. The springs were only £23 each and they even gave me a selection of rubber pads to return the ones I didn't need. Only took about half an hour on the ramp for a charge of about £35. Try the original parts, I found them to be cheaper than aftermarket ones quoted to me.

 

[clive williams]

Hi, a rare contribution from me, I had a broken spring on my 1994 C280 last MOT and took it to my local indy who told me to use genuine springs to keep the ride quality of the car. I believe in replacing such things in pairs and went off to my local dealers who have a very good parts dept. The springs were only £23 each and they even gave me a selection of rubber pads to return the ones I didn't need. Only took about half an hour on the ramp for a charge of about £35. Try the original parts, I found them to be cheaper than aftermarket ones quoted to me.

Hi,

I have my doubts about the quality of MB springs as they are the only ones that I have heard of consistantly failing!!!!!!!!.

Clive

500E
E320CDIT210