Ball joints

No you will have an upper & lower ball joint. It is just that a ball joint akin to your knee.
A tie rod end is also made to swivel with a threaded shaft to screw into tie rod.
You need a schematic of the front end for a W126.
Ball joints in any vehicle will fail over time. MB also has a control rod on the bottom which
is attached to the vehicle with a big bushing which fails around 100,000 or so miles.
There is a kit available for around $320 which has everything you need. The bushings & tie rod ends etc.