Ball Joints Catastrophic Failure, PRIOR SYMPTOMS

[Kyiv]

I've been reading up across the internet on catastrophic, potentially deadly ball joint failures on W124 cars due to its design. I see that many people report creaking and sticky steering as an advanced warning. But I also seen some like, for example, @Jord on our board, who had practically zero tell-tale signs. Post #15 from the link: https://www.500eboard.co/forums/index.php?threads/e420-truck-conversion.10565/post-151653. Google search produces multiple pictures of torn wheels on W124

I drive my 2 year old son in my car and this has me concerned even though I don't have sticky steering or creaking.

@gsxr, @gerryvz and others who have multi-year experience across several W124s have you ever had a catastrophic ball joint failure (or a close call) with almost zero tell-tale signs or were there always advanced tell-tale signs? What where the signs in your case?

Thanks

 

[steve h]

Hi Kiev,
I have driven thousands of miles at high speed in Germany, with 10 different E500E & had several W124 station wagons.
I have never had a failure or heard of anybody having a failure in Europe.
Two of my 500's had over 300000kms & did not have a problem.
Just my 2 cents...........
Rgds Steve

 

[gerryvz]

I have to agree with Steve here -- front lower control arm ball joint failure on an E500E is exceedingly rare. The only time I think this could come into play is with a car that has been driven for many years on salty winter roads. An annual inspection of the front LCAs and associated ball joints would tell one very quickly their condition, and whether they need replacing or not.

Again, a bit of pre-emptive inspection would go a long way toward identifying any issues. I have 100% supreme confidence in my own car's ball joints. We have hundreds if not thousands of members here and this has not been shown to be an inordinate problem, nor has it on W124 models in general (most of which use similar front LCAs).

GSXR does have some photos of cheap, aftermarket (Meyle) ball joints that went bad. These are the replacable ball joints as used on the early-style W124 front LCAs. Again, NOT a factory part, and inferior quality to factory parts.

http://www.w124performance.com/images/W124_suspension/Meyle_balljoint_failure/

 

[gsxr]

There may be few, if any, warning signs prior to failure. And if there are any warning signs, they might be so slight, you don't notice them. The ball joints, especially the late-style non-replaceable versions (used on all years .034), last a VERY long time if the dust boot remains intact.

At a minimum, inspect the dust boot for cracks or tears when doing any maintenance/service (like at every oil change). If you catch a torn boot right away, you can replace the boot. If the crack or tear has been around a long time, it's safer to replace the joint, even if there's not any play. Water and dirt have likely entered the joint and rebooting won't help much at that point. On late LCA's, that means replacing the entire LCA with OE (currently inexpensive, but that could change at any moment).

The proper test is to check for excess play in the joint itself. To do this, the front wheel must be in the air, then you push upward on the wheel or LCA. If there is any vertical movement in the joint, it is failing, and should be replaced ASAP. Video below shows a bad joint on a W210; the concept is the same on the 124. The 210/211/140 ball joint design seem to have an abnormally short lifespan compared to the 124, I'd assume other chassis that use the same style should also be checked frequently:

 

[Kyiv]

I did not know better in November 2015 (about 8k miles ago) when I replaced both of my original LCAs, as a preventive maintenance) with these:

1. https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mercedes-suspension-control-arm-1243303407
2. https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mercedes-suspension-control-arm-1243303507

I assume they came with ball joints (?) How inferior is TRW to original?

 

[gerryvz]

I did not know better in November 2015 (about 8k miles ago) when I replaced both of my original LCAs, as a preventive maintenance) with these:

1. https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mercedes-suspension-control-arm-1243303407
2. https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mercedes-suspension-control-arm-1243303507

I assume they came with ball joints (?) How inferior is TRW to original?

TRW is actually the OEM for the MB units! That said .....

TRW makes two product lines -- the "cheap" ones made for aftermarket sales (such as FCP Yurro, AutohauZ, and others) and their "OEM" line exclusively for Mercedes-Benz, which is of better quality all the way around. I wouldn't worry about the ball joints -- they will be good enough to last a decade or longer with no problem, as long as the ball joint boot is not compromised per GSXR's notes above.

Yes, all new LCAs come with new ball joints.

 

[gsxr]

I assume they came with ball joints (?) How inferior is TRW to original?

Check the joints regularly for any play, but don't lose sleep over it.

More details on the TRW aftermarket LCA's is in this thread from 2013:
https://www.500eboard.co/forums/index.php?threads/late-lcas-oe-vs-trw.4618/

 

[Kyiv]

@gsxr, I saw the youtube video where original part is compared to the TRW one before posting this thread. I did wonder if if it was you, I swear

Thank You everyone for your replies