MrEvilPirate

Hi All,

I'm doing lower control arms/ball joints/tie rods on my 2000 E320.

I'm looking for torque specs for all these components and also brake caliper mounting bolts. Any idea where I can find this?

And WHY does Chiltons/Haynes not make a manual for this car???

Thanks

bbirdwell

Lock nut, supporting (lower) ball joint to wishbone - 105 Nm
Lock nut, supporting (lower) ball joint to steering knuckle - 105 Nm
Lock nut, control arm to sub-frame - 120 Nm
Lock nut, tie rod to steering knuckle - two choices, 60 Nm if yellow, otherwise 70 Nm if silver or blue

Brake caliper bracket:
Model 210.00/01/02/03/04/05/06/070/072//08 except code 957 - 50 Nm
Models 210.20/21/22/23/24/26/27/270/272/28/60/61/663 - 115 Nm

MrEvilPirate

MANY thanks!!!!! PS Any insight as to where I can get this information next time? Is there a 3rd party manual or do you need to know a secret MB handshake?

Thanks again!

bbirdwell

Secret handshake.

Start here in the stickies:
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210-e-class/

Afterwards, search engines with multiple variations on the subject; eventually you'll narrow down to the post you need. Youtube is good also. If you can get access to the Workshop Information System that is a big plus. Expect, however, to pay for that access online.

Break-Free is your friend; I busted two each T-50 Torx bits attempting to remove the sway-bar end link from the control arm on my car. Also, after you replace the parts, you will need to have an alignment on it; in my case, the steering wheel was way off center as it had been previously adjusted to account for ball-joint wear.

MrEvilPirate

What a disaster!!!

So I got everything apart pretty easily. But had some trouble and came full stop.

The pin on the lower ball joint had partially sheared so that it was stuck in the knuckle. A little bit of it was proud of the knuckle so I hit it with some liquid wrench, a torch, and vice grips to try to pull it out. No luck. Vice grips couldn't grip because the section of post was so small and deformed. So I said a prayer to the car gods and got out my dremel. I ground the pin flat, hoping to see an outline of a circle form, like when you grind down a rivet before knocking it out. I ground down about 1/16 - 1/8 of the knuckle but no circular outline... it was like the pin had fused with the knuckle. I got out my drill, drilled into what I hoped was the center of the circle, and used an Easy-Out type bit to see if I could extract the pin. No luck. Am I SOL and need to buy a new knuckle now?

It is interesting that no one seems to make an aftermarket knuckle. Control arms all day long but no knuckles. There is another E320 for sale in my area, 500 bucks with no tranny. I'm thinking about buying it to harvest the knuckle, as the cheapest I can find on is around 350. Any ideas?

PS - It is a real drag having to remove the dust shield to get the lower front ball joints out. Otherwise a joy to work on, especially compared to my rusty Ford pickup.

E320DIYguy

Dust shield first time for those joints = real suck

Upper control arms for that “ball joint” on the top = even realer suck