Hello all. 1998 E320 with 165K on the clock. Sarasota Mercedes dealership mechanic told me that my ball joints didn't look good about a year ago. I blew it off. In FEB my right wheel bearing went nuts and was replaced. All was good until last week. Now I have a solid humming coming from the front right. My new Michelin tires are always properly inflated, aligned and rotated. It is making a nice hum and vibration coming from the right side of the car. I can feel the fine hum through the steering wheel.

My question is this... Can a failing or weak ball joint put undue stress on the wheel bearing? I'm afraid that this is only going to get worse and I'm not pumped about spending tons of money. Any comments on this would be welcome. Thank you in advance.[8D]

 

A BAD ball joint would not really give you undue wheel bearing wear, but if the old wheel bearing ate into the front spindel and was not properly repaired...

A totally WORN OUT ball joint could destroy your wheel bearing, though, so it would be best to have this looked at.

It sounds like the front wheel bearing was not properly seated when it was replaced and has worn out because of it. It could also be something has come loose under there and is rubbing on your tire.

Start with jacking up that wheel and slowly spinning it to see what the noise sounds like when you do not have to factor in road and engine noise. Make sure you set the parking brake first and chock the rear wheels as these jack Mercedes provides are made for changing tires and not working on the car. In fact, use a small hydraulic jack if you have one. I always do.

You could take it to a different shop and see what a fresh set of eyes has to say about the condition of your wheel bearings, your ball joints and your spindle. A tire shop that also repairs front ends might be good for this as you may have a slipped belt in the tire and they could easily spot this.

Sam

 

yes

 

not likely though...4matic? much more so than a regular 2 wheeler...i used have to repack roller bearings on my peugeot back in the day....darn...those were the days....

 

Hi,
I guess the wheel bearings on your E320 will be taper roller as on other MB's.
It is critical that these are set up with the correct play / clearance and MB use a special device to ensure that the spindle nut remains in place despite being only finger tightened.
If this clearance is not correct then the bearing will fail prematurely.
Wheel bearing should easily manage 150k.
I suspect somebody has removed the "play" in the wheel bearing in order to compensate for "play" coming from other sources like your suspension and steering ball joints.

Stuart

 

TAKE IT BACK TO THE DEALER THAT INSTALLED THE WHEEL BEARING. THE PROABABLY HACKED THE WHEEL BEARING JOB. BUT YOU PROABABLY STILL HAVE PARTS WARRANTY IF THEY WONT CONFESS TO THEIR BAD WORKMANSHIP.

 

What sucks is that the shop which did the work only stands behind the work for 90 days. I gambled and lost on non genuine parts and cheap mechanics... again. I'll never learn. It's in the shop as we speak. This shop is a foreign specialty shop. They have a certified MB mechanic who has been working at the local MB dealership for 15 years. He's a good guy and I like this shop. They use only genuine parts and will not accept any others. I'll know tomorrow what's going on. I do not have a 4Matic... the first think that the mechanic said was, "your car is not a 4Matic is it?" I replied that it was not. He breathed a sigh of relief and said that I should be glad. He continued to say that 4Matic suspension/hub issues were more difficult to work on. Anyway, the story will be told this weekend... for now my '82 240D is once again serving as my means of trans. Best $800 I have ever spent. Have a good 4th everybody.

 

OKAY... I have a final verdict. Both lower ball joints were failing. The driver's side was a safety concern and he did not recommend driving on it at all. The mech said that they commonly are replaced and that I should be glad to have received 164K from them. Okay. The driver's wheel bearing was burnt and needs to be replaced. It was the original. The passenger's wheel bearing was not properly seated/installed. The tool that is used to install it was not used and it failed due to improper installation. I'm pissed. As I mentioned above, I will not go to a discount mechanic and I will not use anything buy MB parts. My lesson cost me on this. The total repair bill will cost me $600 for the bearings and lower ball joints/installation. On another note, my auxillary fan belt was completely disintegrated. Apparently the belt was wadded up in the fan cowl. The pulley was exposed and I have not had the aux cooling fan this summer! That belt will be installed soon. Thank goodness I don't live in South Florida right now! The mech said that my main fan is able to do the job unless the ambient temperature/humidity become elevated. I am always checking the temp gage anyway. It rarely goes over the 80 mark. Thanks to all for your help. Take care everyone.[8D]