rnelson

I just replaced my front lower control arms and ball joints on my 2001 E55. The clunk I was having on the front right was finally gone then two weeks later back again as bad as ever!

Not sure what I did that could have caused the clunk to come back? Btw I also had the alignment done at the dealer post me installing the LCA and Ball joints.

I'm going to jack up the car and tighten everything down again and do a visual tomorrow. Does anyone have torque specs for LCAs and Ball Joints?

I did read something regarding loading the LCAs prior to tightening the bolts but it was vague, is this true? I did not do that, how can I do it? Put a jack under the LCA until car raises off jack stands then tighten?

Thank you for any help and insight!

shadenfroh

Yes, some bushings need to be loaded before tightening. The reason is that there's no rotating part inside and the bushing allows only this much up/down movement in the suspension. So when you torque it with the suspension unloaded, it travels up when you lower the car, then travels up still more when you drive around, exceeding the bushings limit and damaging it. This might be what happened.

I personally jack up the car using the factory jack point, since I don't like stressing the differential, then put a jack stand under the control arm and lower the car. You can do it your way too, but a jack is bulky and might be in the way. Also don't get any part of your body under the control arm. If it slips and shoots down, you're going to have a super fun time

rnelson

Ok so I loosened both control arms, pre loaded them per the above and tighter everything back. Further, I ended up replacing the upper control arm as well and still have the clunk and loose front right knocking going on!

At this point I have replaced the sway bar, upper and lower control arms, ball joints, rotors/brakes, wheel bearings, and springs (vogtlan). The clunk is still there and only went away for a couple of weeks after I replaced the lower control arm... so, I think there is only a couple of things left... defective bushings in control arm or fact that I did not preload caused bushings in lower control arm to become damaged? Visually they look great...should I just order another control arm?

shadenfroh

Did you replace all these parts at one go or just the lower control arm + ball joint first? If you replaced just the arm, had the clunking go away, only to return after a short while, I'd guess that the bushing has failed because you didn't preload the suspension.

Can't you get just the bushings instead of the whole arm?

rnelson

Yes the only thing that was replaced when clunk went away and came back was the control arm bushing.

The job was such a PIA that I'm upset that I have to do it again and a little worried that maybe it won't fix the issue... but since it went away and then came back it has to be the bushings!

The only thing that has not been changed are the shocks, could they ever cause a knock?

Thanks for your help,

Rodney

shadenfroh

Yes. But they are extremely easy to remove and inspect. Hell, you can even run it around the block with shocks off if you really want to be sure. It'd be more of a sail than a drive, but anyway.

Like you said - you already fixed your issue once

illest

when does the clunking happen? over bumps, when turning, all the time?

I had a clunking and it was the stabilizer bar end links.

Anaxios

Whenever you have alignment done, part of any shop's process is checking for loose or worn out components (if only for their own profit advantage). Apparently all was OK. Then, you replaced all those other parts! So maybe the source of the clunk is elsewhere.

What made you originally believe that the LCAs and BJs needed replacing?
Can you also feel the clunk thru the steering wheel?
Does it happen on an upward bounce or a rebound?
Can you replicate it, at will, on a certain stretch of road surface?
At what speed does it happen?

Get a pry bar or big screwdriver and search for any motions in the suspension or steering that should not exist. If its there you'll find it. Keep us posted.

rnelson

Ok, I decided to go ahead and replace the control arm again. And of course the knocking is gone! I installed it 100% correctly this time! I'm still worried that the knock might come back. So, I'm going to wait a few weeks before I get the car aligned again.

shadenfroh

Glad to hear this!

E42AMG???

Saw this a few times people forget to tighten the brake calipers and alignment shops don't catch it.

rnelson

It freaking came back! What is going on? Is it possible that I received defective lower control arms? I am very confident that I completed this procedure correctly, I did tons of research! The driver side has been fine. It is the passenger side. Why does it go away and then come back after a month? I need help!

W210E320

Sorry to revive this old thread, I’m sure you resolved your issue by now, but did you check your sway bar mounts, as well as end links? What did your issue end up being