R230 Sl350 knocking noise

[SL350_SWINDON]

Hi all,

There is a knocking noise coming from the front of my sl350 (no abc).
I can replicate the noise by pressing down hard on the near side and bouncing the car. Further investigation and I could feel the vibration through the anti roll bar by having a friend bounce the car whilst I held the bar. I followed the bar to the drop links and then to the ball joint where the drop links connect and can see the movement there.

I now plan to replace the drop links and their ball joint on both sides. I will also replace just the drop links on the back as they seem easy enough to do and only £20 a pair for Delphi parts.

 

[SL350_SWINDON]

Not actually sure they connect to ball joints. I've seen on wim they are referred to as "stabiliser bar pivot bushing".

 

[grober]

The wear inevitably takes place in the ball joint/s. In your sl 350 irrc there is one ball joint and one bolt hole but there may be 2 ball joints?? Its a very common problem and as the parts are relatively cheap worth doing to see if that cures the problem [ especially if you see sideways movement on the ball joint]?

PS there can also be movement in the roll bar bushes themselves of course but less likely.

 

[SL350_SWINDON]

The drop link has a ball joint on one end and a hole at the other. I'm not sure if the end with a hole connects to a ball joint on the control arm or if it's a stud.