Hubi

I was searching the forum to see if I can find the instruction, or some info on how hard is to remove the upper control arm ball joints. I was pretty much sure it's easy, so I decided to do it myself and show you how it can be done. It's very easy and it can be done in about 30 minutres for a side.

Take care,
Hubi

edwinwalke

Thanks a bunch for taking the time to document this and share.

bernard farquar

Nice write up! I am feeling a bit of wandering, so I may be attempting this job soon.

fmanfrank

exactly what are the symptoms that you may need new ball joints?

Hubi

I heard a small knocking sound from the front (especially on the little potholes) and assuming that the last time I changed the middle ball joints in the lower control arm, I decided to check the upper ball joint.
After changing both sides, the sound disappeared.

Hubi

fmanfrank

Ahh! around bout what milage do you have? I have nearly 80K on my E500 and am just trying to get a grasp of what i'm in for in the next few months for repairs.

Hubi

85K and lower middle ball joints about 10-15K ago.....
It's unbelievable....I have 97 Cherokee and all ball joints are good so far...

hubi

fmanfrank

tell me 'bout it. i had acuras in the past that required less pampering.

konigstiger

As mentioned knocking and/or squeaking in addition vehicle may pull to one side when brakes are applied at low speed.

Dexion

At about 100,000 miles on the W211 expect upper and lower ball joints to fail, transmission and motor mounts will need attention, both thrust arm bushings, voltage regulator, spark plugs, Valve Cover GasketsSpark plugs can be bought for $4.50 a plugBall joints $50 for lower $90 for upperMotor mounts $130(front) $50(rear)Trans mount $30Thrust Arms $110 eachVoltage regulator $35Valve Cover Gaskets $13 each---------OR you can go to the stealer and pay $3600 for everything like mine quoted me

Zaphodsplanet

I think your dealer estimate is off by about..... 50%....LOL. I just got quoted $885 from the dealership for Motor and tranny mounts. Which I'm about to order...LOL

vettdvr

Wish mine had the 3 bolts. The ball joint is made to the arm with a one piece construction. The entire arm has to come out to change mine.

MercFiveHundred

It's a pretty difficult job too. Especially on the driver side - trying to get the nut to the hole with the wrench. You cant get your hands in there.

isstay

Change the upper control arms w/new style. MB issued bulletin advising to do so if you have to replace ball joints. Plus you will have new bushings too.

Nickthegreek

Is yours literally one piece or is it just rivetted? Maybe you can drill it out?

E365

I'm about to tackle this on a car with the older one-piece upper arm. The driver's side bolt on the rearward side look tough to get at. I'm thinking I can get a long box-end wrench in there though. Maybe tape the nut to the wrench upon reinstallation just to get the threads started. Also I'm guessing the strut/spring assembly needs to come out to pull the two upper arm bolts. Anyone have any advice or info?

The rear control arm/strut rod will be replaced too. The ball joints are REALLY bad at 215,000 miles. The "mid arm" replaceable ball joints seem good still. I used a pry bar and can't get any movement on that ball joint.

vettdvr

No rivets. Ball joint is part of the upper arm. MIne was replaced by dealer at 85,000 miles now at 115,000. I do understand the arm can be upgraded, however I hope I trade it off before they fail again.

I have NEVER had ball joints fail as early as the ones on the E500. My corvette at 90,000 miles and race driven on the track are still tight. My truck at 170,000 has the origional joints. My Lincoln I traded at 185,000 miles still had good joints.

I will never understand why these joints fail early if they were properly designed for this application.

E365

Just replaced the upper control arms and forward, lower control arms (aka strut rod? aka tension strut?) on a 2003 E320 w/ 215,000 miles. Also did the front rotors, pads and sensors - basically rebuilt the entire front end - oh, and an oil change too! The front end had a quite massive knock/clunk!

The old-style upper control arms are still pretty easy to replace. You do need to remove the struts as they are in the way of the upper control arm bolts. This was a non airmatic car so that's really easy. Thankfully the nuts for the upper arm bolts can be accessed pretty easily with a 16mm combo wrench. An extra-long combo wrench would be ideal in this situation but a standard one will do. You do need to remove the cabin air filter box on the PAX side, but that's just a simple plastic nut. On the driver's side (rear) it's a tight little squeeze but still doable without removing anything. Upon installation I just taped the nut to the open end of my combo wrench to hold the nut in position while you insert the bolt from the other end. You do basically need to torque the nut from the bolt end vs. turning just the nut though, there's just no room to turn the nut, just enough to hold it stationary while turning the bolt. In addition, on the PAX side, you do need to remove the single nut that attaches the headlight leveling mechanism to the upper arm. 10mm socket.

The bushings on the upper are, I believe, the type that should be tightened while the suspension is loaded. This seems pretty impossible. So, before I took the old ones out I made scribe marks on the wheel-well liner, marking the static position of the old ones. Probably not ultra precise, but I think it was awefully close. I did tighten the control arm (bushing end) and lower strut bolts while the suspension was loaded on ramps.

Clunking is totally gone

New (Febi/Bilstein) vs. Old. I never saw the old style for sale, so hopefully those parts are out of the supply lines I used TRW control arms.

Davehd2009

I have the 2003 E320. I have been hearing that knocking sound and the stealer tells me that I need to replace the control arms too. How hard was it? What do I need (tools) to do it? Do you have the torque values for the nuts? Any photos?

Thanks in advance.

E365

I wish I had taken photos as I usually make DIYs for BMW work. I was doing so many things that day and was so busy that I decided to skip it, sorry! If you are doing just the upper arms it's really not a very hard job. Like I mentioned above you do need to remove the front strut assembly and I'm not sure how hard that is in an air shock car. It's quite easy on a non air car.

As for tools it's pretty basic. Here's what I have from memory, so it might be off Removal of the wheel bolts - 17mm socket. Removal of the shock/spring assembly - 22mm socket and 22mm combo wrench to remove the single, lower bolt. It's a big bolt so you need a long(er) ratchet/breaker bar to get it loose. My 1/2" drive ratchet is about 16" and worked fine. The upper three nuts for the shock assembly - 13mm socket. To remove the shock it's a little tight. I suggest pushing down on the hub hard with one hand and pulling the lower shock mount straight outward - towards the brake rotor. You have to get the U shaped lower shock mount "unsaddled" from the suspension arm it mounts to. You have to be fairly rough with it, but make sure you don't damage any of the wiring down there. And speaking of wiring, I didn't disconnect the brake wear sensor or wheel speed sensor. Against the inner wheel well (closest to engine) you can remove the wiring from little clips they snap into. This gives the wiring a LOT of extra play so they don't tug and stay mostly out of the way.

The two upper arm bolts - 16mm for both the nut and bolt. I found two 16mm combo wrenches worked best (vs. a socket/ratchet). Unless you had a partner holding the nut from above, then you could probably use a ratchet below. I don't remeber the size of the ball joint nut. To seperate the ball joint from the main spindle you will need a special tool, a ball joint seperator like this: http://www.amazon.com/OTC-6297-Ball-...7685045&sr=8-1

I would suggest seeing if your local ibrary has the AllData system like mine does. I looked up these projects and they have good step-by-step guides. They also have the torque values which I have since forgotten. I used red Loctite on all the fasteners.

discipulus

Hello Guys,

My car has a popping noise from the passenger front side I can almost feel when I'm turning around in parking lots etc. I'm guessing it's the bushings needing replacement. My car is a 2004 E500 4Matic with 107k miles. My control arm is he type without the 3 bolts on the control arm for easy replacement. I noticed E365 uszted TRW. Are these my best bet? Any recommendations on where to buy the parts would be great and last but not least, what lese should I replace while I'm in there?

Upper Control Arm (I'm guessing they don't just sell the bushings?) Part numbers?
Lower Control Arm (Bushings only) Part numbers?

Anything else? Thank you very much in advance.

Nor

Bumping this DIY up. Does anyone have the proper torque specs for the 3 small nuts that attach the ball joint to the arm? Also, what are the torque specs for the nut that attaches to the actual ball joint?

amg_w211

Old thread, but still relevant. Anyone have the torque specs for the upper ball joint on the 3 bolts to the control arm, and the single bolt to the steering knuckle? See borrowed picture from another thread to figure out what I'm asking for.

I don't want to over torque or under torque for obvious reasons. Thanks for the help.

amg_w211

Decent video tutorial on the upper ball joint:


Still need the torque specifications for the front upper ball joint. I just ordered a WIS manual, but it would be great if I could get the specs from someone that has the WIS handy. Thanks.

Tschuss_Bill

This is an old thread, but I had difficulty getting the torque values needed to properly install the upper ball joint to the upper control arm. The question went unanswered in this thread.

Per MB WIS these are the torque values:

• 3 bolts attaching the ball joint to the upper control arm 20 Nm plus 45 degrees
• Single bolt that joins the upper ball joint to the steering knuckle 20 Nm plus 90

degrees.