Reply With Quotewow thats a lot......
Ive honestly never seen rear wheel bearings go on a W202.. doesnt mean they cant go.. but Ive never seen them go.. which also means Ive never replaced rear wheel bearings either! Im not sure but I think they may be pressed in.
the front wheel bearings, if noisey will give you an awful hi pitch squealing noise more going around corners than anything else.. and if they are really bad than all the time.. if thats the case replace them immediatly.
a good way to check them is jack up your car and grab hold of the tire at the 12 oclock position and 6 oclock position and push and pull the wheel to see if there is any play. if so they maybe can be adjusted by tightening the nut on the spindle, if there is excessive play or noise form them.. replace them. Id replace both fornts at the same time.. if one has gone.. the other isnt far behind.
in regards to how to replace them.. kinda lengthy to explain. but remove the front wheels, remove and set aside front brake calipers and brackets, remove front brake discs, remove cap on hub to axcess wheel bearing retainers, undo 5mm hex bolt and back off nut completely, remove hub assembly, the one bearing will come out (the inner one) but the out bearing is held in by a metal race.. you will need to hammer this out with a punch.. dont damage the inside of the hud.. any nicks in the metal can ruin the new bearings you will be puttin in. now wipe down the spindle and clean all the old wheel bearing grease out of the hub, pack the new wheel bearings with wheel bearing grease (from mb, green in colour) making sure that the wheel bearings are fully packed.. install new outer wheel bearing and install race (will need to be hammered in.. try using the old race as a guide to hammer on, this way the new race will not be damaged and hammer till flush, grease up inside of hub and the spindle shaft generously, install inner bearing and put hub back onto spindle, install the retainer nut and tighten all the way till the hub will not spin.. but spin the hub back and forth to settle it in as you tighten, then back off and repeat a couple times.. finally fully tighten nut again and back off about a quarter turn or so.. install everything you took off and see how the wheel spins and check if there is any play.. you want a slight amount of play, not too tight either or it will burn up and destroy itself.. its kinda a tricky thing to do.. hope this helps somewhat though.
ball joints will make noise while going over bumps, a clunking noise. or they may squeak a bit if you bounce the car up and down.
to check them rais eup your can and put a prybar on the top of the ball joint and ply down on it.. if you see it move.. it has play.. your allowd some play, but if its making noise then its definatly time to replace. and do it as soon as possible.
to replace them is very simple, jack up car.. remove front wheels (not necessary though) remove the nuts holding the ball joint to the suspension, you may need to hammer them a bit to break them loose.. install new ones and tighten down.
the steering shock stops slight vibration through steering wheel.. it wont make any noise.. at least ive never had any that have made noise. but when they go there will be fluid all over the shock..or evidence of fluid leaking out. and they are very easy to move in and out.. there should be resistance when moving the steering shock in and out on a good one.
replacement is easy too.. 2 bolts. one with a nut and bolt the other with just a bolt. remove them and replace shock.. just remember to install the correct way. pay attention to how it was in there already.
My car has 107,000 Km on it and the only suspension components Ive replaced on it are the front springs (lowering springs) front sway bar (performance sway bar), full drag link assembly due to play in inner tie rod.
if the parts are making noise, worn in any way I say replace them.. they only put more stress on other suspension components.
to answer your question about teh parts failing and waiting till tehy completleyl break to replace them.. Id say replace them if you notice them starting to fail.. dont wait for too long or you will casue more damage.. suspension components are a tricky thing to say if they wil break now or break in 2 months or 6 months.. plus the fact its just dangerous.. so replace them as they need to be replaced.
the only torque specs I can give you are:
bolts for caliper brackets- 90 ft lbs
wheel bolts- 90 ft lbs
nuts on ball joints- 90 ft lbs
steering shock bolts- till snug plus a turn.. or buzz them on with an impact gun.. thats good too.
hope this answers your questions..
