W211 AMG Discuss the W211 AMG's such as the E55 and the E63
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Lower Ball Joints DIY Question

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Old 04-30-2016, 01:26 PM
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e46 m3, w211 e55
Lower Ball Joints DIY Question

Getting some sqeeking and think its the LBJ's. Is a press required to do the swap? If so will the ones from autozone etc that you can rent work or do I need to order the mercedes one?
Old 04-30-2016, 03:23 PM
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2007 Gl450 2006 cls55
Done my lower ball joints with the tool from autozone with no problems
Old 04-30-2016, 04:11 PM
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2004 E55
There is a write up on this site that has everything you need to know on how to replace the lower ball joints including what Autozone press will work.
Old 04-30-2016, 04:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Rallyboy383
There is a write up on this site that has everything you need to know on how to replace the lower ball joints including what Autozone press will work.
Awesome - does anyone have the link? Probably should just take it to mercedes... but something kinda fun to wrench on the car and learn a bit more.
Old 04-30-2016, 04:32 PM
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04 E55 AMG
If you're in socal I have a press you can use. It is required along with a separator
Old 04-30-2016, 04:42 PM
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04 E55 AMG


Hold the calipers and use your foot to press the joint in or out. Use a long breaker bar.




Bought online works like a charm.




Bought from harbor freight tools works great.
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Old 07-24-2018, 07:54 PM
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W211 E55 AMG
Can you confirm that these tools would also work for the upper ball joints? I’m trying to decide which ball joint press to purchase from amazon....

Originally Posted by gjunon


Hold the calipers and use your foot to press the joint in or out. Use a long breaker bar.




Bought online works like a charm.




Bought from harbor freight tools works great.
Old 07-25-2018, 12:20 AM
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04 E55 AMG
Originally Posted by zhmorrow13
Can you confirm that these tools would also work for the upper ball joints? I’m trying to decide which ball joint press to purchase from amazon....

the upper ball joints come already pressed in place as a single unit. You won't need to press yours in.
Old 07-25-2018, 07:04 AM
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W211 E55 AMG

Originally Posted by gjunon
the upper ball joints come already pressed in place as a single unit. You won't need to press yours in.
i was referring to the ball joint being pressed out of the steering knuckle. This photo depicts the actual tool I will need, so...question answered
Old 07-25-2018, 08:13 AM
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I need to do mine, I just don't know if I should get the arms or press the joints in. I'm gonna do all of them. Are bushings easy to do as ball joints?
Old 07-25-2018, 04:29 PM
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I used the same tool as for the lower ball joints. It worked fine.
Old 07-26-2018, 10:19 AM
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I did all 4 of my control arms recently. To me, at 95k miles, I felt it was more cost effective to replace the entire arms which inclided ball joints/bushings already installed. Got them from FCP..Lemforder and MOOG were the part brands supplied..quality seemed top notch during install, and after a few hundred miles of driving, same.
Old 09-02-2018, 01:16 PM
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I replaced both Torque Arms as well as attempted to replace both inner Bushings on the Strut Control Arm (but only managed to have one guy attempt only one) as well as put in new Ball Joints down below and installed F1 Upper Camber Correcting Control Arms. In the process, I also installed new front rotors (Racing Brake) and pads. I intended on rebuilding both front hubs, but since they weren't giving any play, I ended up leaving them alone. I must admit though that after taking off the Bearing Covers I couldn't figure how to unscrew the locking Set-Clamp as it's just recessed enough within the circumference of the hole that I couldn't get a tool on it (major head scratcher!!).

Anyways, since after attempting at manually driving out the BJ's and finding it more of pain to do on the ground, I popped out of both Tie Rods and disconnected them from the Steering Swivel and placed the Swivels it in my vice and used my DeWalt Impact Driver to both drive the BJ's out and properly seat them in. Having it on the bench is great because you have the leverage from above to drive the BJ in while being able to see just how much more you have to drive it in with the Impact Driver millimeter by millimeter until it seats just right!!! Very much worth it as I could definitely see coming up a bit short doing it manually. Also, freezing the BJ's before install is highly recommended!

Last edited by E63007; 09-02-2018 at 01:20 PM.
Old 09-04-2018, 01:29 PM
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W211 E63 AMG | W205 C43 AMG
Here's a good video that I found:

I'm planning on swapping mine within the next couple of weeks. From everything that I have seen and read, it looks like the press from AutoZone will work fine.

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