Description
The supporting joint is the central wheel suspension of the W124. If it creaks when you drive away when the steering wheel is fully turned or it makes otherwise noise and shows minimal tolerance, it should be replaced immediately.
After the spring is cocked, the screw of the transverse control arm of the supporting joint can be unbolted and the control arm can be folded down. With a special pressing device, the supporting joint is extruded and exchanged while the control arm is still biult-in.
Afterwards the control arm with the new supporting joint has to be folded up, the clamp screw tightened, the spring relaxed and your are done.
The original clamping screw is often in an unfortunate condition (extremely rusty, thread badly damaged) and can sometimes not be reused. We therefore recommend that you stock up on a new clamping screw and nut before changing the carrying joint.
The timely repair can prevent serious damage caused when the supporting joint bolt is popping out from its duct. This results in a wheel with no duct, moving across and destroying the fender. Especially disadvantageous when the car is no longer controllable abruptly, ie the car brakes down in the morning rush just at the crossroad and is really hard to move on a tow truck. We speak from our own experience :)