W124 Balljoint temp. fix.

[pikeydave]

After 300,000kms of belting up and down Germany's autobahns one of my W124's has been suffering from dry/worn out ball joints. The symptoms being a bit of squeaking on full lock turns (you can almost feel it through the steering).
Now I can't spare it off the road just yet so what I did, as a temporary fix, was to call in to the chemists and pick up a small syringe kit for free! Fill one of the small syringes with a light oil and carefully inject the lube through the ball joint gaiter. I injected from the rear and in one of the folds to keep exposure of the hole to a minimum.
Now I can rest assured that I'm not likely to seize then shear a ball joint in the next few weeks whilst I work on gathering a nice set of replacement joints and wishbones.

NOW this is ONLY TEMPORARY and could help troubleshoot ball joint problems or buy some time to get organised to do the permanent fix.

 

[Juddian]

Good idea, i've done similar in the past, and i used to make a habit of repacking CV joints with the correct Moly grease when i've been unforunate enough to have FWD cars.

I've often been tempted to drill and tap into the bottom seal (the thin usually stamped steel cover) of the ball joints and fit a grease nipple to enable proper servicing the way we used to do it.

I seem to remember on some cars taking out a bolt and fitting a grease nipple as above, but for the life of me i can't remember what cars that was, and thinking more it may well have been hardy spicer propshaft joints.

Strewth the memory's getting worse very day.

 

[pikeydave]

After restoring old VW vans and trucks I loved the idea of grease nipples! Very satisfying driving along knowing for a fact that the kingpin, steering joint, prop-shaft splines, UJs, torsion bars etc etc are dripping in grease!
Now the only satisfaction you can get on a newer car is randomly spraying WD40 under the bonnet!

 

[Number_Cruncher]

>>to enable proper servicing the way we used to do it.

You mean to enable the bit of grit and dirt that inevitably gathers around the little ball to be squeezed in along with the gease.

Sealed for life ball joints are excellent - if you think about it, we're talking about ball joints that have lasted 15 years or so. How many of the old servicable ball joints lasted so long? Not many if my memory serves me right.

The other thing about the ball joints on many W124s is that for £13 and an hour's work, it's sorted again, for another 15 years! (I know your car doesn't have the replaceable ball joints GB)

The problem with the rose coloured rear view mirrors for vehicle servicing is that it's all to easy to forget just how rubbish cars used to be, and how much time was wasted in servicing them.

 

[pikeydave]

>>to enable proper servicing the way we used to do it.

You mean to enable the bit of grit and dirt that inevitably gathers around the little ball to be squeezed in along with the gease.

Sealed for life ball joints are excellent - if you think about it, we're talking about ball joints that have lasted 15 years or so. How many of the old servicable ball joints lasted so long? Not many if my memory serves me right.

The other thing about the ball joints on many W124s is that for £13 and an hour's work, it's sorted again, for another 15 years! (I know your car doesn't have the replaceable ball joints GB)

The problem with the rose coloured rear view mirrors for vehicle servicing is that it's all to easy to forget just how rubbish cars used to be, and how much time was wasted in servicing them.

Yeah, but my grease gun's getting rusty!

 

[Number_Cruncher]

>>Yeah, but my grease gun's getting rusty!

Yes, I last used mine when SWMBO had a (proper) Mini; 9, maybe 10 years ago!

I fitted hardened valve seats to enable it to run on unleaded, and when we sold it, a chap in Canada bought it because he couldn't get leaded petrol, but keenly wanted a Mini. It cost him more to ship it to Vancouver than he paid us for it.

 

[television]

Henry Royce always said, never put grease where oil will go, and all of his cars used oil guns and not grease guns

 

[Juddian]

>>to enable proper servicing the way we used to do it.


The other thing about the ball joints on many W124s is that for £13 and an hour's work, it's sorted again, for another 15 years! (I know your car doesn't have the replaceable ball joints GB)

Hello NC, i still like the old way of doing things you'll be surprised to hear, and don't you try to frost my rosy glasses over...

Not everything was rubbish, if they'd got the rust situation sorted previously many old motors would be perfectly serviceable now and much more pleasurable to service and own, individual cars with their own strengths and weaknesses.

You only have to have a holiday in warmer climes and enjoy seeing the old cars running round quite happily without a computer in sight.

 

[Bolide]

Now I can rest assured that I'm not likely to seize then shear a ball joint in the next few weeks whilst I work on gathering a nice set of replacement joints and wishbonesent fix.

The oil won't do anything to stop the ball joint separating. You're living on borrowed time driving it with worn ball joints

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[wireman]

I go with Nick, and will add there may not be much time left to borrow.

It is not so much the ball joint snapping but the ball and seat wearing untill the ball can escape from its hole and departing from its housing catastrophicaly with damage occuring where the body hits the floor and wheel hits the wing, and of course to anything (or person) in the way as it self steers (it wont be you steering) one way or the other, the faster the messier.

Adding oil will have turned all the hardened up old grease and wear product into a very good grinding paste so you now have even less time to borrow, get them fixed pronto and please do not use the car until its fixed.

 

[turnipsock]

I wish I had thought of that before, when I was trying to find what was making the noise. I was trying to pull the gator back enough to get something in there, but they are designed to stop stuff getting in there.