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W211 DIY Lower Control Arm and Ball Joint Change

Hi all,

I just changed my Lower Control Arm and Ball Joint, check out my Blog:

http://diyw211balljointchange.blogspot.com/

Did my own alignment too:

http://mercedes-diy-alignment.blogspot.com/

Hope that helps!

w211 lower control arms

Could you tell me where you found your lower control arms at $162 for both?
Excellent write up!
Thanks.

I got every thing on ebay! I haven't checked lately, but it should still be available there. Good Luck and don't cheap out on the tools! =)

Great post. Can you describe the symptoms you had, if any, which would make you change out the ball joints and lower control arm? I ask because I get some suspension noises when going over speedbumps or driving into a driveway at a turning angle. There Is a bit of a slamming noise.

My lower ball joint was already replaced and I noticed the rubber boot on the lowr control arms are torn.

Yes, my symtoms and noise is exactly as you described. I changed both my ball joints and contorl arm at the same time. But if your lower control arm boot is torn, there is a good change the joint on that arm is also warn out. The Ball is literally bouncing around inside the joint creating that slamming noise you hear. Replace it and your noise should go away.

Thanks and Good Luck!

One other source of the same banging sounds while going over bumps could be your sway link off of the lower control arm. I changed my upper and both lower ball joints (all three fairly worn) only to find they were not the source of banging. If it is the sway link joint you should be able to just hear it by pushing down hard on the front fender.

P.S. philipk2003 is absolutely right about needing the right tools!

Thanks for the info guys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by banana55

Hi philipk2003,

Nice post with helpful pictures in your blog there. I do have some questions however and I hope you can help.

Seeing the pictures of your new thrust arm, it shows a blue joint/bushing that looks like polyurethane in the same area where your original boot was torn. After it was fitted, a boot cover wraps over the blue joint area.

Is the blue portion an aftermarket polyurethane joint/bushing? and do they sell just the the blue part as replacement on it's own without having to replace the whole control arm?

I'm curious coz I don't see the blue ends in OE replacement parts, also, your picture of the new parts did not reveal the boot cover around this blue joint.

I hope you can shed some light please? :)

Thanks!

Okay, haha, I see what you are saying after looking at the pictures again.

The blue cap is simply a small plastic cover which came with the after market control arm. It was used to protect the boot and treading of the ball joint during storage and shipping. The cap is then removed and thrown away during install.

After the install, the little bit of blue you see is not the cap, but a blue spring which holds the boot in place.

Also, if the boot is torn, you will always need to replace the entire joint. Most likely, the ball joint is worn out and the ball is literally "knocking" around inside the joint... and eventually can separate - which is very dangerous. From what I understand, they only make the entire control arm since really special tools is required to press the ends into the arm. Remember, not only the ball joint wears out, but also the front bushings of the arm wears out also.

Hope that helps!

Philip