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[Tremelune]

This is pretty obvious, but I struggled with the arithmetic while my lizard brain was trying to keep track of which shim was which...

 

Shims come in three sizes: 0.003", 0.005", and 0.01"...You can feel which is which by bending them slightly and comparing...You can achieve any thickness within 0.001" starting at 0.008"...Basic math, but this helped my mind understand:

 

S - 3

M - 5

L - 10

 

3 - S

5 - M

6 - SS

8 - MS

9 - SSS

10 - L

11 - MSS

12 - SSSS

13 - LS

14 - MSSS

15 - LM

16 - LSS

17 - MSSSS

18 - LMS

19 - LSSS

 

Above that, just add another L and repeat the earlier pattern...I keep the thicker washer toward the top to prevent damage from the twisting nut...My new joints were between 0.020-0.025". It might be worth springing for a set of Japanese maintenance-free ball joints, but I didn't...

[Cooper Mac]

That’s a great guide Tremelune,

I fitted new ball joints from Mini Spares recently, which were a real pain! When I measured them with a micrometer, the shims in both sets were: 0.003, 0.006 and 0.0095”...... This was after I had removed all of the burrs!

Fortunately, I still had a stock of unused shims from years ago, so I was able to get the correct play in the end!