Argh, ball joints

[wackywacerwill]

Yesterday I finally got around to sorting the rumbling front wheel bearings on the family golf mk3. I've never come across the sealed bearings before though lucky for me I've access to a hydraulic press to fit the buggers. What with needing the press the whole swivel hub needs to be removed which was no bother other than the blasted buggery bitching ball (bag) joints (ranting is easing the pain). I've got a screw type press splitter which proceeded to bend itself useless, this was remedied by using scaff bars on the ends of said splitter to lever them apart.

The bit I found most character building was getting the nuts off and then back on the bottom. Much hammer beatings followed including pulverising my new led lamp and of course the inevitable thumb smash. I beat that mofo so hard my crusty wing started falling of in lumps

Refitting by hammer was not happening and TBH it was a bit late for all that racket so a very long winded g clamp and jerky spanner action was used with success coming around midnight.

 

Test drove it in the early hours and found that the front rumble was masking the noisy rears, these are easy though and may well just get packed with grease and see how they go.

 

There must be a better way? Can't see myself doing these again without a rattle gun, although last time I did this it still took a while.

[cobblers]

I usually remove the whole wishbone to save splitting the ball joint, its only two bolts

[scaryoldcortina]

There is a better way I deal with taper fitting ball joints all the time, here's how it is done.

 

Remove the nut - often an open ended spanner is the only thing you can get access with on a bottom balljoint as the driveshaft tends to be in the way.

Hit the collar around the taper with a 4lb hammer until the joint springs apart.

Remove offending part.

 

When refitting, make sure the threads are clean, and use the weight of the car to push the taper together and provide enough resistance for you to do the nut up without the thing spinning. An axle stand under the bottom arm is normally enough. Track rod ends often need leverage on the top instead due to fitting downwards.

 

I have a balljoint splitter somewhere (pickle fork type) but it only comes out in extreme cases - 99% of the time the 4lb hammer does the trick.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I hate those fork-type balljoint splitters, balljoint wreckers more like. I use the 'sideways clack with a big hammer' method too.

[Barry Cade]

Why didn't you just take out the 3 13mm headed bolts out that hold the balljoint on to the wishbone?

 

[scaryoldcortina]

because unless someone else already replaced a balljoint on that arm the 13mm bolts are rivets, and even if you do find one which is bolted from the factory then you find they adjust the camber as well as hold the balljoint in place...

[Barry Cade]

I've never come across a rivited one yet, I always marked them before taking them out of the wishbone and never had any problems.

[scaryoldcortina]

I don't want to get into a balljoint pissing contest (because it sounds painful) but I get to look at up to 10 different sets of bottom arm/balljoint combos every day. The vast majority are permanantly attached to the arm.

 

For example, today I did a driveshaft boot on a rover 420. That has the taper in the lower arm, and the balljoint mounted in the hub.

[Barry Cade]

Loads of different combo's, my own Rover 45 balljoint changing episode a couple of weeks back ended in disaster because the parts guy had given me a 1800/2000 joint instead of a 1600/1400 one. about a mm of difference. Vauxhall balljoints are always riveted from the factory, but in 20 years as a mechanic and MOT tester I've never seen a Golf balljoint that wasn't bolted. Even on my Porsche 924, which has Mk1 Golf bottom arms, and are original- are bolted.

[seth]

What are these ball joints of which you speak? Trunnions, men! Trunnions!

[cobblers]

Regrettably I don't make a living pissing on balljoints, (I would if I could) but every golf I've had my head underneath has had a unboltable balljoint. This is limited to a few mk3s and mk2s tho, but even the ETKA lists the balljoints as bolt on affairs for lupos, newish polos and most golfs.

 

VW do seem the exception to the rule though.

[scaryoldcortina]

Sorry Tiff, I see where you are coming from now - OP has a golf...

 

Still, I'd recommend (especially to an amateur) that they don't disturb the balljoint to arm mount mainly because it adjusts the camber. I got given an audi 80 that somone did a DIY balljoint change on without marking it up, it drove so bad afterwards he bought another car and gave it away rather than admit his mistake.

[Barry Cade]

Had the same with an Audi TT which was scrubbing tyres in 2000 miles, and had the heaviest steering ever, and all it was was the adjustment on the joints- I always keep a bottle of tipp-ex in my toolbox, great for this, Rover rear trailing arm bushes and cambelts!

[wackywacerwill]

Thanks for all the words of wisdom folks. The bottom ball joint was indeed bolted (and marked and unbolted) twas the track rod end one which gave me hard time, not soo much in the spliting more the undoing of the nut.

With me benefit of hind site and after reading the above posts I should of cleaned up the threads before I started, the buggers were spinning before they popped out. Also I shall be purchasing a bigger hammer

Nut 1a on the nearside got the grinder, that showed it who's boss