Two problems today: the 190D has a bad left-hand lower (and only) ball joint, as it's miserably stiff and squeaks. It's not loose yet, but that probably won't take long once it starts getting driven. I do have that joint on the parts car, and it's not stiff or squeaky. Anybody know how to remove/swap these things? Is this a heinous task?
Also, the bad tie-rod end on the same side can't be swapped with the parts car's tie rod because it has the same bad (outer) end. However, the parts car's other tie rod, which was bent, still has a good end. I do not know quite how to separate the end from the bent rod, and I don't want to flail around and ruin either good piece that I want to combine. Anybody know how to unscrew the outer end (the LH thread one) from the tie rod body? It has a weird double-sized cap (?) nut there, I suppose it could also be two nuts. 19mm and about 21mm. There are clamp-down slits in the rod body where it goes into the nut. Anybody BTDT to give me a pointer? Remember that I'm unemployed so used but good parts, especially ones that I already have in hand, are pretty much what I am constrained to use. (Though I do miss using nice clean new parts.) -- Jim
