Well ;
It's a 40 year old Machine and Dollars to Doughnuts says at least _one_ owner along the way , didn't know or care it needs periodic greasing .
I'm not sharp on the 114 & 115 chassis , do the ball joints even have Zerk fittings ? . many older German cars have nearly invisible threaded plugs in the bottom of each ball joint , you're supposed to remove and install a Zerk fitting for greasing every 100,000 miles or so...... good luck getting any Mechanic apart from me to understand or do this....
If the removable plugs are there , _YOU_ cab buy Zerk fittings and install them , grease @ home and leave them in place .
I know it's routine for the sealed ball joints to go well over 300,000 miles sans lubrication (they're sealed) and never click .
My '82 240D's left ball joint began to click ever so slightly at 320,000 miles , SWMBO said she never heard it and the front end guy assured me it was fine when he wiggled the tires by hand , I know what the dangerous sound of a loose ball joint is so I told him , replace them anyway , I'll pay and Lo ! one was dangerously loose (about 13MM or 1/2" play) , the others were fine but changed them anyway .
So : if you put your 'Benz up on a rack and crawl 'round it with a bright light , looking for Zerks , they may be buried in old grease & road spooge , find them , wipe them off and faithfully grease them every oil & filter change @ 3,000 miles and you should be fine .
If , OTOH , your car has sealed suspension joints , tie rod ends and so on , you'll need to check them all annually and replace as necessary as soon as you can discern any play no matter how slight .
Your owner's booklet will tell you what and if , anything needs greasing .
I hope this was helpful .
-Nate
---In diesel_mercedes@yahoogroups.com, <diesel_mercedes@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
Do you think my 71 220D needs more greasing on the front end then is typical? A few months ago my lower ball joint popped out while driving and I don't understand why. Scary.
I mean there was no warning and no play I don't think and no noise.
Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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