CLK front wheel play - question about ball joint

[Mertz33]

Hi all,

Got a 2007 CLK280 and took it to my local garage for a general inspection - so that I know what lays ahead.

Only remark was that fron wheel, driver side has a tiny bit of play - nothing urgent but the mechanic said the whole arm will eventually need repalcing.

Got a bit confused as was quoted £250 for this so I wanted to ask here because I'm not sure I understand which part is defective, he mentioned the ball joint is the issue and the whole arm needs replacing..?


Thanks!

 

[IanW]

The CLK has two arms locating the front wheel, both with a rubber bush at the inboard and, and a ball joint at the outboard end. Rather than replace just the ball joint, the entire arm is replaced. Of the two arms, the front one is the easier to replace. IIRC, undoing the rear arm ball joint requires that the front arm be undone anyway.
It was my experience that the inboard rubber bush wore out before the ball joint failed, and the front arm was in worse condition than the rear - at about 120K miles.
HTH,
Ian.

 

[Petrol Pete]

The elastomer in the link arm can be replaced as can (in many cases) the ball joint. Most of the time it is not worth the time and effort unless you do it yourself with the correct tools.
Most garages can't be bothered as it's often easier (time efficient) just to change the whole unit...one bolt at one end and one nut at the other.
Time on the lift or ramp is time they can't have the next customers car on there. £££.

£250 does sound expensive, It should take less than an hour to change.

 

[Mertz33]

Thanks both, I thought there should be a way of replacing the ball joint only..
Plus this will require realignment: if I am to replace the whole arm as they say, shouldn't be both L & R done at the same time?

Cheers

 

[Petrol Pete]

Thanks both, I thought there should be a way of replacing the ball joint only..
Plus this will require realignment: if I am to replace the whole arm as they say, shouldn't be both L & R done at the same time?

Cheers

Ideally yes , they should be done together and then get wheel alignment checked. But it is not unusual for people to have just one worn/damaged ball joint/link arm changed. Just like in an ideal world you would replace both tyres on the same axle even if only one was beyond repair (on some cars this is a MUST do), it's up to you how thorough you want to be and how much you want to spend.