tarheel76

When I push down and let up on either front fender it causes a "dry" sounding squeak. I also notice this when I get out of the front seat. My E320 currently has 54k on it. Could this be struts? My indy MB shop mentioned that I need the driver side ball joints replaced. The psgr side was done about 3k miles ago by the previous owner.

tarheel76

paulv

Lower ball joints on these cars are a huge problem and many people here have either DIY replaced them or had a shop replace them. Welcome to the "Bad Ball Joint Club".

Regards,
paul...

tarheel76

Paul,

Thanks for your reply. Before I bought my E320 I did a lot of research and that was one of the negatives about the 2004 MB. There were reports that MB had quality problems with parts during that time frame. I am hoping that once replaced the new ball joints will last longer. I considered replacing the ball joints on my previous 92 300E but was afraid to tackle the job and this 2004 may force me to bit the bullet and pay my shop for 2hrs labor and have them do it even though I'd like to keep the $200 in my pocket. I've replaced struts and shocks on my other MB's and never had a problem doing so.

tarheel76

paulv

I replaced my ball joints and saved a bundle of $$$. I used the ball joint press and pickle fork loan-a-tools from Autozone. I also have impact tools so using the joint press was a breeze and only took a few minutes to press out/in the joint -- the rest of the time was for taking a bunch of stuff apart to gain some good access to the joint. You can still use the press with a 1/2" drive socket but it will take a little longer with more sweat!

Regards,
paul...

tarheel76

I took off the left wheel over the weekend and sprayed silicone on all the joints that had a rubber boot. The squeaking briefly went away but came back after a few short around the town trips. Does this still sound like a lower ball joint???

tarheel76

paulv

When my passenger side went, it was easy to determine that it was the ball joint because of the clunking sound when going over bumpy roads. The driver side was a different story as my wife kept on complaining that the car had a loud squeak while driving.

Initially, I did check the joint for excessive play and it was tight, so I did what you did and got the same results. I determined that I needed to isolate this problem quickly (to minimize my wife's complaining). I ended up (and don't laugh!!!) lying on my back with the steering turned so I could see the entire suspension for that side, and used my leg to push the car up and down (my foot was in the wheelwell). With the squeaking noise occurring, I used my stethoscope and checked each joint (this took a while as I needed to rest my leg periodically). When I discovered it was the lower ball joint I sprayed some WD-40 into the boot area (I used a small knife to push the top of the boot slightly away so the lube would go inside). The squeaking stopped for about a month and then started squeaking again. I lubed it again and made it for another 1.5 months. I was trying to buy some time because when this started, it was almost winter and I don't have a heated garage, so I wanted to postpone the job until spring. When the weather got better, I fixed it.

Sorry about the long-winded story.

Regards,
paul...

Diesel Benz

Could be some other joint but sounds mainly like the lower joint. It usually has some play when it starts to squeak but it is difficult to make it free from stress and then difficult to notice.

tarheel76

I used the jack that is provided with the car and raised the car enough to take the wheel off. Then using a 3ton floor jack I placed it under the area where the lower ball joint is attached and raised the suspension back to a normal height this allowed me to check for the squeaks. Before raising the suspension I gave it a good dose of silicone. I didn't peel back the rubber boot like you did. Next time I'll do that. Mine does not have a clunking sound nor does it squeak while I'm driving it. Unless I press down on the front end
one wouldn't be aware that there is a problem I just want to put off the expense for a few more months knowing that another front end alignment will also be required. Fortunately I only put on an average of 5-6k miles per year.

tarheel76

tarheel76

At last the squeaks are gone. The left front tie rod was the main culprit. I had the right replaced at the same time. I had the left lower ball joint replaced because there was some up/down wear in it. The right side was replaced last fall by the dealer. The front feels tight now and also very quiet.
Thanks for all the suggestions.

tarheel76