conraddejager

I have read all the comments on the Front Suspension on an 2003 S 430 with all replying its the ball joint and ways to repair it. Can I drive with that noise for another 500 miles as it is Xmas today and the noise only started yesterday. I will be mostly doing Highway and a little in town.

vmystikilv

when it warms up you prob wont hear it anymore. youll be fine

tusabes

I've driven with the noise for 4 years , its not something that needs to be fixed immediately

conraddejager

Thank You

ttaylor993

I have the same squeaking with my '04 S430. I took it to my indie repairman and he gave me a good news/ bad news scenario. Turns out the ball joints were fine, it was the lower control arm bushings that are the problem. He explained they are more expensive to replace than the ball joints. He did give me a temporary fix though. He put it on the rack and some way put grease in the bushings, don't ask me how. It stopped the noise but he didn't know how long it will last; could be a few hundred miles, could be a few thousand. He said as long as the car doesn't go airborne it should be OK with the bad bushings. So far, so good. I only drive it a few hundred miles a month. I'll continue until it starts squeaking again. Because of the info I've gotten from this site, I may try replacing the LCAs myself and save myself a grand.

wallyp

One approach is to use a grease gun and an injection needle to grease some of the "non-serviceable" parts of the front end. You can buy the needle cheaply at almost any auto parts store - it will be on the board near the grease guns. The needle snaps into the standard coupling on the grease gun. Use the needle to penetrate the rubber boots on the front end joints, and pump grease into the boot.


This may or may not fix the problem, but this costs almost nothing, and there is a pretty good chance that it will help.

corkshoppe

the lower control arms will grind away at the attachment point on the sub frame and if the damage is extensive will snap of, or at least scrub a groove in it ,you are good for a while but plan on changing them soon.

ttaylor993

Thanks Corkshoppe for the heads-up. Looks like I probably need to be concerned about this sooner rather than later.