W211 Lower Ball Joint

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mbmac

Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2014
Messages
45
Car
W211 E320 CDI SPORT
hi guys,

quick question, i have been told that my O/S lower ball joint needs replacing on my e320.

so i have called around a few places to get quotes for the job and some garages are telling me that i will need to do both sides and others have said just the side that is failing.

would appreciate your opinions?

also, price wise most garages are quoting around £110 a corner. i have a quote from one garage who will do each corner for £100 and will also replace the brake pads as well (labour cost only).
 
How is it failing:
- wear in the joint
- damaged rubber boot
- or both
What is the mileage on the car?

N/S usually wears quickest because more encounters with potholes.

If the O/S joint is worn then other won't be far behind so worth doing both.

If it is low mileage and it is just the boot which is damaged then you should be Ok with just replacing one.

My local Indy quoted me about £32.70 for a joint and £83 labor to fit, per side.
 
replacing one is ok - two is recommended

prices don't seem excessive
 
I bought the joints from GSF and a tool from ebay and did both sides myself for myself for under £75.00 sold the tool for £5:00 less than I paid for it. So the job cost just over £40.00 I put the money I saved doing it myself towards having the car four wheel laser aligned afterwards.

The job is easy and took me less than an hour and a half to do both sides. :thumb:
 
thanks for the replies - tempted to give this a go myself and do the brake pads at the same time given that most the information and step by step guides are available on the internet
 
thanks for the replies - tempted to give this a go myself and do the brake pads at the same time given that most the information and step by step guides are available on the internet

Just done both my ball joints and it's good with the big G clamp tool but need 2 pairs of hands as it bloody tight to push them out! I was using knees legs hands all at once but got there in the end. Word of warning though. You also need to split torque arm ball joints and it's very easy to knacker there boot rubbers even with a proper ball splitter as I found out! 2 new torque arms later and £200 lighter from ecp. Only put lemforder on too as these are very good quality.
 

Nice id of had them done in an hour with that! And the ramp instead of rolling around the floor ha. I was also just changing my torque arm bushes at the same time as they had split but not excessive play! Anyway I'd got the bushes but as my previous post I buggered the boots ont the other end so changed whole arm which was easier but more costly. Worth checking them as the w211 munch these. I got some caps which go over the bushes which are a new idea from merc to prevent bushes getting crud on etc. Only 15 quid for both sides from dealers and in my opinion well worth it because it should prolong the bushes life.
 
Done them a couple of times, if you want to buy a removal tool you need one of these

MERCEDES S Class Lower Ball Joint Removal Remover Installer Installation Tool | eBay

Can be found cheaper elsewhere.

I found the best (at least for the S/CL) was the one with the cut out in the cup this meant I didn't have to remove the lower front suspension arm ball joint from the upright.

Ball joints are cheap so replace both at the same time,

Lemforder Mercedes-Benz | Euro Car Parts UK?s No.1 Car Parts Retailer

also a heavy duty ball joint splitter as they are in piggin tight, found this to be the best after breaking several cheaper versions

Sealey Scissor Type Sealey Ball Joint/Tie Rod/Track Rod Splitter/Remover AK3811 | eBay

Hope this helps and good luck

This is more likely what it will be like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo2P10X2IjM

nearly forgot I had to undo the upper control arm as the threaded portion of the replacement ball joint wouldn't allow me to get a nut on after install (on my CL that was)
 
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Hi,
I had an upper ball joint gone on one side, and a lower one on the other, I got all four done. No brainer as it had to come apart to do one might as well do both plus they had all done the same mileage, my car had covered just under 70k, premature wear probably down to being a London car, and the huge wheels the previous owner had put on it.
 
Hi,
I had an upper ball joint gone on one side, and a lower one on the other, I got all four done. No brainer as it had to come apart to do one might as well do both plus they had all done the same mileage, my car had covered just under 70k, premature wear probably down to being a London car, and the huge wheels the previous owner had put on it.

Thanks, what was the cost parts and labour?
 
I would go with... If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

My O/S went and I replaced it myself (a ball ache to push out). Used a fully charged impact gun with me physically grabbing (ball joint remover used) and turning the impact socket at the same time to push the ball joint out.

N/S was still solid with no noise, so I decided to leave it.
 
Thanks, what was the cost parts and labour?

I was charged 2.5 hours labour to replace all four, and £70 a pair and £60 a pair for the ball joints (gen MB).
This was for a 219 so should be accurate for a 211 as well.
 
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ball joints aside - what are the other arms like to replace , this set up is similar to vw/audi , which I have swapped out a fair few arms .

if they are diy friendly i'd have a bash at changing the arms myself .
 
ball joints aside - what are the other arms like to replace , this set up is similar to vw/audi , which I have swapped out a fair few arms .

if they are diy friendly i'd have a bash at changing the arms myself .

Torque arms are easy. Just need to remove front part of the inner arch. In my case I removed all 4 arch liners as I had to replace both rear coils too! So while liners were out I cleaned all crud off and wax oiled every arch as a preventive measure for the future.
 
Torque arms are easy. Just need to remove front part of the inner arch. In my case I removed all 4 arch liners as I had to replace both rear coils too! So while liners were out I cleaned all crud off and wax oiled every arch as a preventive measure for the future.

Oh and belly pan cover.
 
do you tighten the bush bolts with the weight of the car on them ?
 

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