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#1 MIRVINE11

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 05:40 PM

Can you purchace fully assembled ball joints? or will i have to get the part in bits and faff around with shimming it etc?

Also, if i do have to faff, is there a marked difference in the standard ones in minisport and the genuine ones in minisport. (apart from £10)

Also, the minispares ones don't come with grease nipples... what the hell?!


cheers for all help.

Mike

1985 mini mayfair, 1275, mk1 look-a-like.

#2 Dan

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 06:16 PM

To buy them built you'd have to buy them with a hub, they build onto the top and bottom of it. Don't get non-genuine ball joints.

#3 [email protected]

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 07:45 PM

None of the ball joint sets available come with the nipples, we are just nice enough to let people know whilst making the purchase.... :)

#4 jamie@thefatgarage

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 08:37 PM

None of the ball joint sets available come with the nipples, we are just nice enough to let people know whilst making the purchase.... :)


The ones I got from MRA via ebay did. ^_^

#5 [email protected]

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 08:49 PM

Ok, wheres my hat...... I was more making comparison with the ones listed above

#6 MIRVINE11

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 10:43 PM

Whats wrong wih the non-genuine ones? are the genuine ones lapped in?? And how do you add grease then?

Edited by MIRVINE11, 10 March 2011 - 10:46 PM.


#7 jamie@thefatgarage

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 10:53 PM

Whats wrong wih the non-genuine ones? are the genuine ones lapped in?? And how do you add grease then?


1. Probably nothing
2. No
3. With a finger as you put them together and afterwards with a grease gun

#8 danrock101

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 10:58 PM

Didn't think any of them were lapped in and you have to do it yourself? well I don't think you HAVE to but you should if you don't want to re-shim them again in a few weeks.

#9 mab01uk

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 11:15 PM

Whats wrong wih the non-genuine ones? are the genuine ones lapped in?? And how do you add grease then?


Quote from Keith Calver:
"The ball-joints (swivel pins). How tight the pin should be once the cup-nut is torqued up has been the subject of much discussion. Some say they should be just moveable with thumb pressure - either one or two – dependant on the individual. And how strong your thumbs are! Some say this test should be made with a ring spanner placed over the pin – but how long a handled spanner, and how much pressure? All very inaccurate and un-scientific. Even using the method described in the workshop manual gives varying results (try it – hours of entertainment guaranteed). Checking the ball-joints on a brand new suspension set-up revealed them to be VERY tight indeed.
It also depends on the quality of the ball joints. Some after-market items are horrendously made – the swivel pin ‘ball’ sections having a very ‘ribbed’ finish or badly ground grease path - giving rise to un-acceptable ‘stiction’. Hours can be spent lapping these with grinding paste to achieve an acceptable smoothness in operation. So either sift through a pile of these and pick the better finished looking ones, or buy genuine ones. I would recommend genuine ball-joint kits for any Mini destined for competition use. The extra expense is well worth it. For cars used in competition only, the ball-joints should be set with the minimum amount of resistance achievable without any play. Dual duty Minis should have them set so they are moveable with a short handled ring spanner and little pressure. Road cars need to be tighter to avoid very frequent servicing adjustments."

http://www.calverst....Terminology.htm

http://www.minispare...px?ty=ad&aid=57

Edited by mab01uk, 10 March 2011 - 11:16 PM.


#10 Dan

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 11:40 PM

1. Probably nothing


This summer, as every summer, there will be at least 10 threads from members who have suffered a ball joint failure while driving. If they know the history of their car, when asked they will almost all say the joints fitted were non genuine. It's been the same for the last 6 years that I've been a member, I think that's enough to judge by.

#11 danrock101

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 11:45 PM

are these the genuine ones? they're the only one minispares sell from what I can see
http://www.minispare...=...5318&title=

#12 Dan

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 11:48 PM

Part numbers ending MS are Mini Spares' own. Knock the MS off for the straight part number and search again.

#13 danrock101

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 11:51 PM

aha, cheers, quite difficult to find anything on MS when you don't know the part numbers lol
I'd of ended up ordering the non gen ones if I didn't see this thread

#14 mab01uk

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 11:55 PM

1. Probably nothing


This summer, as every summer, there will be at least 10 threads from members who have suffered a ball joint failure while driving. If they know the history of their car, when asked they will almost all say the joints fitted were non genuine. It's been the same for the last 6 years that I've been a member, I think that's enough to judge by.


I agree, never saw many failures in the past but seen lots on here in recent years. I have never had a failure on a road or race Mini but have always used the genuine parts........not worth cutting corners to save a few pounds, your life could depend on it.

#15 Dan

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 11:56 PM

There does seem to be a tendency for the Mini Spares site to only return their own products as results for searches if you use the common name for a part. In this case if you search for swivel pin the genuine kit appears, as does their own version. If you search for ball joint it doesn't. It's just down to how much detail they put in each entry in the database or the keywords they attach. Where the product is genuine I guess they just put the official description in. This is why I always say everyone should have a real, paper parts catalogue. All the specialists print one.




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