Yay! One strut is in with the new springs!
Damn, this surely was the longest evening… I managed to get the control arms out, all 4 of them. The ball joints were especially difficult, until I read a very helpful post.
After removal, I discovered that the passenger side torque control arm had a busted grease seal, which I’m going to assume had caused the joint to wear out and generate the popping noise I was hearing. I did replace the wheel bearing assembly though, just in case… why not, it was only $300 worth of parts!
Passenger side ball joint with busted grease seal.
Here you can clearly see the busted seal. I’m sure all the grease came out and it’s unable to hold the torque from the car moving.
Where the control arms mount to the frame.
And the stearing knuckle where the ball joints mount...
So far I’ve managed to waste about $100 in tools that proved to be un-needed. Live and learn.
Tags: mercedes
