SL55 Ball Joint Repair @ www.4wheelalignment.co.uk
Discussion
After taking my 2002 SL55 to North Wales to experience the infamous 'evo triangle' I noticed a faint knocking sound during braking to a standstill. Also there was a louder 'clunk' made when the steering met full lock.
I decided to take the car into my local Mercedes Benz workshop (Vikings Canterbury) for them to diagnose the issue, it was determined the ball joint on the passenger side had excessive play and may be the cause. I was quite relieved at this point until they informed me that the strut and the ball joint was a single part which cost £1100 without fitting, therefore the cost would be circa £1300 per side including labour!
After some internet searching (various MB forums) a post was discovered that led me to the following ball joint and alignment specialists in Liverpool.
http://www.4wheelalignment.co.uk/
After discussing with both Phillip at Wheel Alignment Ball Joint Centre and Mercedes the decision was made to take both struts/ball joints to Liverpool and get them refurbised at £65 + vat per side. Phillip does offer a courier service but I didn't want the car to occupy a ramp at Mercedes for an extended period of time.
Below are some photos of Phillip's handy work, apologies for the quality of the Iphone 3G photos.
The solid resin that is injected into the ball joint.
The tooling attached to the strut.
The finished article.
As promised, they are now the 'tightest balls in town'. I receive the car back tomorrow so will report on whether the clonking has been eliminated. I would imagine that this process is applicable to a variety of ABC equipped Mercedes.
I decided to take the car into my local Mercedes Benz workshop (Vikings Canterbury) for them to diagnose the issue, it was determined the ball joint on the passenger side had excessive play and may be the cause. I was quite relieved at this point until they informed me that the strut and the ball joint was a single part which cost £1100 without fitting, therefore the cost would be circa £1300 per side including labour!
After some internet searching (various MB forums) a post was discovered that led me to the following ball joint and alignment specialists in Liverpool.
http://www.4wheelalignment.co.uk/
After discussing with both Phillip at Wheel Alignment Ball Joint Centre and Mercedes the decision was made to take both struts/ball joints to Liverpool and get them refurbised at £65 + vat per side. Phillip does offer a courier service but I didn't want the car to occupy a ramp at Mercedes for an extended period of time.
Below are some photos of Phillip's handy work, apologies for the quality of the Iphone 3G photos.
The solid resin that is injected into the ball joint.
The tooling attached to the strut.
The finished article.
As promised, they are now the 'tightest balls in town'. I receive the car back tomorrow so will report on whether the clonking has been eliminated. I would imagine that this process is applicable to a variety of ABC equipped Mercedes.
Edited by Gouki on Tuesday 6th September 11:57
I don't think the rubber boot has been replaced. The whole strut is in very good condition after 9 years / 60,000 miles. I've pointed Phillip to this thread so he can register and answer any technical questions. Mercedes have charged me approximately £400 for the removal/refitting process.
Since mine is an old model I'm sure I will encounter many of the problems first. Please any more info that you have please post up on here since it appears that the US forums a mostly warranty claims/Texas Mile/Do these 20" wheels look nice on my car?
e.g. TPMS batteries running out. Electronic Selector Module stuck in park (easy fix £200). Tandem pump. Other that these aforementioned things the car has been completely reliable over 2 1/2 years and ~40,000 miles.
e.g. TPMS batteries running out. Electronic Selector Module stuck in park (easy fix £200). Tandem pump. Other that these aforementioned things the car has been completely reliable over 2 1/2 years and ~40,000 miles.
Just a quick update, got the car back and the clunk sound of full lock has now gone. However I still hear a faint knocking when braking to stand still, any thoughts (all brake discs and pads are fine).
Another gremlin that has shown itself is an intermittent fault with the driver side dipped xenon beam. Being the driverside it is also going to be a pain to access because the SBC module is in the way.
Another gremlin that has shown itself is an intermittent fault with the driver side dipped xenon beam. Being the driverside it is also going to be a pain to access because the SBC module is in the way.
No problem Dogstar. Another issue to note is that my tyres had excessive wear on the inner edges and require new toe bolts including another four wheel allignment. They need replacing though having 5 mm tread on 99% of the tyre! Phil explained that this is quite common and he could do the work.
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