W202 Track Rod Ends

[dan1w]

Went out to change a track rod end on my w202 today. Luckily the bolt came off easily, but after hours of hitting the ball joint with a seperator, club hammer, pry bar and copious amounts of WD40 I couldn't get the ****** thing off and eventually had to give up due to darkness.

Has anyone used the Mercedes special tool (202 589 02 33 00) on a seized ball joint before? I'm wondering whether it'd be worth trying it or am I just going to have the same problem because it's stuck. Don't really want to have to drive to the dealership with the track rod end as it is at the moment.

Also, if anyone has done this job before can you remember what way around the track rod end should be? On the 202 it has the threaded part and bolt uppermost with the ball joint below the steering knuckle. On my previous car it was the other way up and EPC shows the joint the opposite way around as well, I'm hoping someone hasn't put the thing in upside down previously.

Cheers,

Dan

 

[Ellsy Tanners]

Usually a meaty belt with a big hammer directly on the steering knuckle will pop it of rather than the joint.

From memory i think they are pointing up with the nut on top.

 

[anyweb]

this reminds me of the time i removed the balljoint from a 190d

the front right wheel was a different story, the balljoint which controls the movement (left right) of the wheel, was faulty (according to the car road worthiness test) and just pushing it you could feel it was loose, so it had to be replaced. What a nightmare. It took a long time to get any of the nuts to turn and after a while and lots of help from claes (with his welding machine) we managed. To cut a long story short, the reason its so dam hard to get the balljoint off it not because of rust, it's because its threaded backwards, which means to take it off you have to screw it clockwise (reverse threading). we were tightening it !!!. Arghhhhhhhhhhhhh.

i've no idea if it's the same situation for you.... but i'd be interested to know as I have a w202 myself

 

[dan1w]

Not the same situation as I got the nut off no problem, it's the tapered edge of the balljoint that is causing me problems and is practically welded onto the steering knuckle, it is probably the original track rod end and so has some 160k under it's belt. The previous owner obviously ignored it for a long time as the car was pulling left and while all tires had good thread, the one on the same side as the duff track rod end was showing chords on the inner edge.

However, the nut was a standard thread. I always visually check which way the thread goes because I have been known to tighten them myself before, usually when the face of the bolt is behind something.

 

[brandwooddixon]

You could always try a press type splitter - better leverage and counteracts any spring in the mounting. Ussually less than a tenner. I don't know how much the MB tool costs.

If you have a hefty blow torch you could always try a bit of heat and then spraying it with WD40 to cool it down.

As for hammers the heavier the better. You'll be surprised how gentle a knock with a 7lb sledge is needed. (Going to be trying that on by ARB fixing bolts later.)

 

[television]

A large hammer 4lb and hit the end of the steering knuckle should bounce it out.

You could try the freezer method that works the same as heat (shock)

 

[nickcc101]

Try two lump hammers, hold one on one side of the steering lever and then hit the side opposite, this should shock the taper out. You can also put a jack under the ball joint putting a load onto the taper and try hitting again.

 

[David Nock]

Try two lump hammers, hold one on one side of the steering lever and then hit the side opposite, this should shock the taper out. You can also put a jack under the ball joint putting a load onto the taper and try hitting again.

Yep... this is the way... big weight (hammer head) behind the steering arm then hit across the taper joint with another hammer. The energy goes straight into the taper to break the join. Obviously the lock nut has to be backed off first.

 

[television]

Try two lump hammers, hold one on one side of the steering lever and then hit the side opposite, this should shock the taper out. You can also put a jack under the ball joint putting a load onto the taper and try hitting again.

That should do it, the big problem is that when the taper goes in from the top you cant stop the whole thing boucing

 

[wireman]

Nickcc has probably the best solution, you will cause less damage to any of the good bits with this method and it rarely fails.

Try to avoid:-
1, Hitting the end of the knuckle threads since they could be damaged to the point where it will not go back together if the joint will not split.
2, If you leave the nut on to "protect" the threads, the nut will stick on and will be difficult to remove once the taper has split and the pin is free to rotate.
3, Sending massive shocks or bending forces from hammer blows into any parts that you are not wanting to work on. This excludes the act of banging away at any part of it it without a reaction mass to absorb the blow. Dont do it something else will break.

What you need to do is make the tapered hole in the arm go oval such that its grip on the pin is released momentarily.

Use one lump hammer (better a 4 lb steel block, about half a pint) as the reaction mass, get assitance to hold it firmly in place while you hit the opposite side hard with a 2lb ball pein hammer, they are much easier to drive than a clumsy lump hammer.
At full tilt it is possible to get instantaneous impact pressures in the hundreds of Kiloton range with just one full arm swing and a 2lb hammer, granted only for a micro second or two but it still hurts.

SAFETY NOTE:-
Always hold hammers at the end of the handle dont stangle it, watch where you want to hit (not the hammer head) and NEVER EVER hit one hammer against another however gently, they are extremly (glass) hard and can (and do) shatter into a thousand blinding or crippling bits.
My friend Raymond knows all about that, he has one eye left.

 

[dan1w]

Thanks for all the suggestions, thought I'd have one crack it it again this morning before putting it all back together and heading off to get a puller.

Managed to finally get it off by jacking up the threaded end, and then whacking the crap out of the fork wedge ball joint splitter. The joint was that strong that the track rod end took the weight of the car off the axle stand momentarily.

Don't you just hate it when a 30 min job ends up taking 2 days?

Still not finished though, the self locking nut I have doesn't seem to fit. So it's a walk to the hardware shop down the road. At least it's a nice day!

 

[television]

So pleased Dan that you got there in the end, yes its odd the way a job can go sour from the minute you start it.