W210 Tie rod and bottom ball joint replacement: DIY How to.

[brandwooddixon]

As I've had a go myself, I thought I'd document it and post it here for those wanting to know how to do it.

Here's a quick break down of time, cost, parts and tools.

Parts:
Tie rod £50.40 inc VAT
Bottom ball joint £29.14
Locking nut x3 @88p

Time: 2 hours max per side (getting tools out, doing the job, talking to neighbour, making tea, cleaning up)

Tools:
Jack
22mm socket
22mm spanner
Ball joint splitter or Medium persuader (lump hammer)
Torque wrench
Allen keys (can't remember the size - about 5mm - used to stop a loose ball joint spinning whilst removing the locking nut)
WD40 or penetrating oil.


OK here's the parts as seen from behind the wheel:

 

[brandwooddixon]

1. Basic preparation.

Jack up the vehicle.

Remove the road wheel.

It's best to secure the vehicle on axle stands or similar in case of jack failure.

2. Tie rod removal and replacement.

Liberal amounts of penetrating oil may be needed on the nuts before proceeding.

Remove the ball joint top 22mm nut.

Either use a ball joint splitter or a bit of heavy persuasion to release the ball joint from the hub carrier.

Undo the lock nut on the steering arm.

Remove the tie rod ball joint.

Installation is a reversal, with the splitter or persuasion.

Place a new lock nut on the ball joint bolt and tighten to 70Nm.

 

[brandwooddixon]

3. Lower ball joint replacement.

This is easier to do if the tie rod has been disconnected from the hub.

The bottom ball joint is placed under tension due to the road spring pushing against the lower suspension arm. It is best to support this arm.

First undo the bottom nut.

Seperate the lower joint from the hub (splitter or persuader). If using a splitter note that there is a hardened pin hidden in the bottom of the joint. It is better to position the splitter jaws vertically if possible.

Swing the hub away - preferably towards the back of the vehicle as this will protect the breake hoses - and place a support under it.

Remove the top nut. With the hub swung away you can now access the nut with a socket and wrench rather than a spanner.

Installation is the reverse of this procedure.

Replace the nuts and tighten to 105Nm.

 

[David Nock]

Thank You for taking the trouble to post that useful information.

 

[brandwooddixon]

Oh by the way I was quoted approximately £500+VAT to fix a new bottom ball joint and track rod end.

 

[hmang]

hey brandwooddixon
are those 2 pics of the same car ?

the drop link in the 1st pic is back to front ..then hey presto in pic2 it's the right way round....

...just wondered.

 

[David Nock]

It looks the same to me, just a slightly different camera angle.

 

[hmang]

you're right...i'm wrong

 

[whitenemesis]

What about the tracking? How did you maintain the correct setting?

 

[David Nock]

Pre-empting BWood here, I would try and set the new tie rod with the same No. of threads showing out of the locknut, but then I guess you should drive straight to a wheel alignment specialist.
Incidentally I have a steel tube gauge with adjustable swivel upstands that you could use to set your own tracking. Bought in the 1970's but don't use it now 'cos it's fiddly. I could use it in this circumstance though.

 

[Aussie Nick]

Hi Excellent again. Can you tell us the symptoms you experienced to necessitate the operation. Can I humbly ask you what a splitter is , Is there another term for this tool and/ or can you post a photo?

 

[brandwooddixon]

In reply to some of your questions.

In order to keep the track rod the same length I taped a piece of string to the steering rack arm and the marked it to match to the end of the old track rod end. It seems OK, but I'll probably still get it tracked.

Symptoms:
Some vagueness at speed - normally an E class is solid on the motorways (I know that there are issues with C class vehicles) - I found that I was making constant corrections to direction. Only minor corrections but now that it's replaced there's none at all. This I think was down to the track rod end.

There was also some knocking when going over bumps, this has now gone, even though I haven't yet changed the ARB bushes or links. This I think was down to the bottom ball joint.

I'll put up a post showing the ball joint splitter later. Basically the one I have consists of one part which has a U shaped end and another hinged part at 90 degrees with a bolt through it. The U shaped end fits between the rubber "bellows" of the ball joint and what it passes through. The other arm sits on the ball joint "bolt". By turning the bolt on the splitter the top arm presses down on the ball joint and pushes it out of the arm that it is fixed through. You can use a lump hammer to do this, but invariably there isn't the room to swing one. You can get ones for occaisional use from Halfrauds for less than a tenner.

 

[Aussie Nick]

Not bad software Man. I like your style.

 

[David Nock]

In my poverty days I used to use a large weight, say a big hammer head, behind the steering arm at the tie rod joint, and then, after loosening the nut, I'd hit the other side of the joint with another hammer. The energy goes across the joint and into the taper and shocks it loose.
Still use this method to this day; too idle to get a splitter.
Also you can reuse the ball joint if you want to because no hammer action takes place on the ball joint itself.

 

[brandwooddixon]

Here's a picture of the bottom ball joint - note the location pin at the bottom - and the type of ball joint splitter which I've been using.

 

[pivers]

c class ball joints

I replaced both bottom ball joints today on my C250 sport. They've been worn for ages but my local indie was reluctant to do the job as he said it could be a stinker. [I think he just likes doing services and M.O.T.'s now] Anyway I didn't come accross any real problems apart from the track rod ends refusing to budge for a while. One point though: On both sides I found that the vertical bottom ball joint taper came loose as soon as I tried turning the retaining nut. I had previously soaked the joint in WD40 and this apparently only served to make the job harder as it was more difficult to seal the taper and remove the nut. As the joint was being discarded anyway I applied a lot of heat, burning away most of the rubber and evaporated the oil. With the bottle jack under the joint [barely] and holding the whole corner of the car up I managed to secure it sufficiently to remove the retaining nut. I must admit though if it wasn't for the advice from other people who have done the job I probably wouldn't have attempted it.
Cheers
Pete.

 

[brandwooddixon]

On the W210 ball joints you can use an allen key to help prevent the tapered "bolt" from spinning when removing the nut (it fits in the top of the joint above the fixing nut).

Glad that you gave it a go though. It's a good feeling knowing that you've both saved a bit of cash and that your car now rides smoothly over those bumps.

 

[sidmon]

Replaced the bottom balljoint on mine today. Didn't need to remove the tie rod end and the nuts came off easily as did the splitting of the balljoint from the swivel arm (especially when you penetrate them with duck oil overnight!). Word of warning to the wise though. I purchased my balljoint from Euro Car Parts...the replacement was called made by Q-Drive and had part number 617220100 they do not fit correctly! The shaft part of the balljoint that fits into the swivel member is too thick (by about 2mm) at the end. This means the balljoint does not sit flush. I ended up scrapping that one and after trying for 20 minutes without success to contact my local main stealers, I called Car Spares Distribution who quoted me £11.99 for a first line pattern one which was much better in quality and fitted snugly! Changed the brake flexi hose on the same time too as that was an advisory on the MOT....thank goodness that fitted fine!

 

[9derekt]

lower suspension arm

Hello can you tell me if I can replace won bushes if I can where can I buy them thanks in advance derek

 

[dieselman]

Hello can you tell me if I can replace won bushes if I can where can I buy them thanks in advance derek

Which bushes? You can buy them all at the dealer.