replacement ball joints
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2008 S550 4-matic sport
replacement ball joints
Has anyone had to replace control arm with ball joints? If so are the replacements different than originals...looking online for parts and the middle connection looks to not bolt all the way thru as oem...any thoughts???
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Are you referring to the strut attachment to the control arm when referring to the middle connection?
The OEM arms are different for ABC and Airmatic. ABC has a bolt through the arm while the arm has a ball joint for the Airmatic strut.
OEM arms are made of (some sort of) aluminium while after market parts made of steel are available (in addition to aluminium). Steel arms are much cheaper.
The OEM arms are different for ABC and Airmatic. ABC has a bolt through the arm while the arm has a ball joint for the Airmatic strut.
OEM arms are made of (some sort of) aluminium while after market parts made of steel are available (in addition to aluminium). Steel arms are much cheaper.
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S550
If that's the lower control arm then the middle is where the 4Matic shock attaches, that ball joint is on the air shock itself and not the lower control arm....You will need the control arm for 4Matics, and I feel your pain as these parts sites tend to have wrong or misleading descriptions and pictures. Even on Parts.com I see things like "AIR SUSPENSION, W/O AIRMATIC W/O ACTIVE CONTROL", which can be taken either as air suspension without airmatic, or a suspension without airmatic or active body control, making no sense at all.
The old control arms, at least the uppers, were one piece with ball joints included.....the revised ones you could press the ball joints out like most cars but the ball joints alone don't seem easily available online. My 2007 has the old ones and when I did the air shocks, I was very careful not to damage the boots.
EDIT: We must have been cosmically aligned somehow Diesel!
The old control arms, at least the uppers, were one piece with ball joints included.....the revised ones you could press the ball joints out like most cars but the ball joints alone don't seem easily available online. My 2007 has the old ones and when I did the air shocks, I was very careful not to damage the boots.
EDIT: We must have been cosmically aligned somehow Diesel!
Last edited by kalortpor; Jun 29, 2014 at 03:32 AM.
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