Paul Schumann

2000 s430 brand new rear strut but horrible creaking noise at bumps and slow speeds from front and rear. Also horrible creaking when turning the steering wheel. It was a rough winter in philadelphia could ut just need grease? Hoping lol

ibeforreal

Could be your ball joints. They have that annoying creak when going over bumps. Could also be the control arms.

mercy-me

I agree with John, my money is on lower ball joints. Try raising and lowering the suspension when at rest, that's when mine creaked and popped!

Bob

blackopal

+1 for the previous two posts


Grab a torch and see if any of the rubber covers have split/torn on your ball joints.

tusabes

Time for Ball joints and control arms

wallyp

If the rubber boots are in good condition, and there is no excessive play in the joints, you might want to try greasing the joints. Next to the grease guns in the auto parts store, you should find a hypodermic needle that attaches to the grease gun. This will allow you to insert grease thru the rubber boot.

DrDoe

So I dropped off my 05 S600 at the dealer for general inspection. They said I need to replace all control arm bushing, front lower ball joints (red items). and they also suggest that I need to replace the strut arms (yellow item)
There are no noises and I don't notices any issues with the steering. Should I go ahead with the suggestion?
If I am going to replace all mentioned, is there anything else that I should replace also for 110k miles? Is it possible to do these works myself or are there special tools needed for the job?

Jack_88

If everything feels tight and there are no noises, I'd ignore them. It sounds like they're looking to run you over the coals. It sounds unlikely to me that all those things would be on their way out but none of them bad enough for you to notice. Before forking over any money for repairs, get a look at those things yourself or get a second opinion. I'm sure you can do the repairs yourself if you have a mechanical inclination, but you'll have to wait for one of the much more experienced techs here for details.

DrDoe

The cost for parts isn't much but the job don't sound easy as I'm looking at over $3k for those 3 items.

tusabes

You absolutely do not need to do them now

You might need to do them in the future , the dealer probably spotted some wear and is being proactive before they start squeaking

It is fine to keep them original even if squeaking , but most mb owners will not tolerate such noise . As a reference mine have been squeaking along for 8 years .

DrDoe

If you have to live with the squeaking for 8 years then it doesn't sound like this can be DIY job. Are there special tools needed for the job? Perhaps a preassembled arm can be purchased to avoid special tools?

ibeforreal

wallyp

Read my earlier post again...

DrDoe

This post? All rubber aged after being used for a long period of time (in my case, 11yrs 110k miles). When aged, rubber becomes hardened and loses its damping capabilities. Beside the squeaking and greasing might help, won't we suffer the ride quality?

doni01

iTrader: (1)

Yes you are absolutely right. Ride quality will suffer if they are on the way out. Grease in my opinion is just a temporarily fix to take the sound away.

ibeforreal

I agree with Doni01, the grease will work but the first time you go through a rain storm or big puddle it will start to creak again. Personal experience. Got to the point I was greasing mine every time I drove it. The problem became too annoying and finally fixed it. Had to replace my control arm and thrust arm.

DrDoe

Did you do it yourself? Did you need any special tool? I don't have to do them right away but I would like to research and prepare for them.

engindin

control arms(spring arms), ball joints, torque struts
I did all, they are all DIY
you can find all details for the job in this forum. Mainly you need;
jack stands
ramps
ball-joint separator
torque wrench
Loctite
new self locking bolts and nuts

While I was there I also changed outer tie-rods and torsion bars

blackopal

Two different questions on the one thread?


If you're going DIY you will need the applicable MB press to push the ball joints in/out of the steering knuckle. They're not expensive


But buy a quality ball joint separator. Stripping the screw-thread on a ball joint tool when you have no shops open, been there!