R&R Lower balljoints and Front LCA Bushings. Car handles very well now :)

[golden1245]

I just took my car to a shop to have the lower ball joints and lower control arm bushings replaced and the car drives incredibly well now, almost like brand new. Very solid, all the shimmy-ing, violent steering wheel shakes over bumps and holes, high speed instability, wandering, excessive leaning, are all gone.

There was so much play in the ball joints after they took them out, no wonder they were causing problems. With the old bushings, the whole control arm also moved very easily with a push of a crow bar.

I know yall's maybe thinking where I'm going with this post, but for anyone having those symptoms I described, definitely look into replacing the ball joints and LCA bushings.

The only issue I noticed is that the front of the car is riding a bit high and even after a few hours, has not settled down. Could the springs, not be seated correctly or the shocks not tightened correctly? I noticed that the repairman tightened the lower shock mount while the car was in the air, but did not tighten it when it was back on the ground...

Or is the suspension higher because of these new parts? Thanks for reading

 

[golden1245]

hmm, I also remember that the repairmen tightened and torqued the control arm bolts while the car was on the lift.

They did not tighten them any further when the car was on the ground, which is what the Haynes manual says one should do.

This shop wasn't a Mercedes specialist, but they do work on a alot older mercs, bmw's and jaguars.

Any ideas on why the front end could be a tad higher than usual?

 

[Dieselman]

That could do it as the bushes will be strained.

Loosen and re-tighten the bolts.