23 replies to this topic

[sonikk4]

No if they are stiff ie can't move them by hand then they will wear very quickly. The last thing you need is a failure.

The best thing you can do is strip them down, check for any damage and if none then lap them in and re shim. I have just recently done all four on Paddy. Took some time but ultimately worth it. These were brand new along with the drums to 7.5" conversion i bought off Minispares. I did need some extra shims as there were not enough supplied but Simon sorted that for me.

[GreenMini17]

cheers guys, ive spoken to someone at minisport, rob i think and he said that they should be fit so that they bed in etc ?

I dont follow. He said they should be fit? Do you mean tight? Hmm i wouldnt agree with that, or anything else mini sport say to be honest. Minisport should have 'lapped' them in upon fitment, the ball joints shouldnt need to be tight to then 'bed in'. Lapping them in means the pin fit correctly into the housing (the big nut part) and then you can get them to the correct tightness you so desire. I would ring someone else like minispares or another decent supplier and see what they say. Ive never heard of ball joints needing to 'bed in'. But someone tell me if i am wrong.

[Dan]

Letting them bed in for a couple of thousand miles does exactly the same thing as lapping them in. It's not ideal. Production ball joints were never lapped though. It was the Works teams that started doing it, and they simply did it so that they had immediate replacements available and reliable joints fitted from scratch.

If the pins seem tight in the bottom arms, are you sure you have the arms on the right sides of the car?

Edited by Dan, 17 April 2013 - 09:41 PM.

[tiger99]

If they are too tight, they WILL break after an unpredictable mileage, which may cause a very serious accident, and will almost certainly damage the car. The Rover manual used to say that they should be assembled with between "no nip" and 3 thou endfloat, but I see that a later manual added another warning that they had to be able to move freely.

If they are set up to be loose, but without excessive free play, they can last 60k miles or more, so there is nothing to worry about on that score. They do need regular greasing of course!

If Minisport said that they can be run in the excessively tight condition, they are totally incompetent and are giving out very dangerous advice, and will end up in serious legal trouble sooner or later, possibly after someone has been killed.

Edited by tiger99, 17 April 2013 - 10:57 PM.

[imaparana]

Letting them bed in for a couple of thousand miles does exactly the same thing as lapping them in. It's not ideal. Production ball joints were never lapped though. It was the Works teams that started doing it, and they simply did it so that they had immediate replacements available and reliable joints fitted from scratch.

If the pins seem tight in the bottom arms, are you sure you have the arms on the right sides of the car?

ive got adjustable lower arms, are they sided ?

also will i need to order new 'shims' to do this ?

[tiger99]

The ball joints are not sided, they come in a kit for top and bottom, for one side. The bottom one has an anti-rattle spring, not needed at the top, which is always under vertical load.

You should some shims, and always save any that are left over, or removed from old joints, for future use. There are usually not enough shims in a ball joint kit, however I have always found that between the old and new I had enough. The leftovers are hanging on a nail in the garage wall for future use.

[Dan]

Yes bottom arms are handed! The hole for the ball joint pin is tapered so if you fit them to the wrong sides the narrow end of the taper will be at the top, which may be why you think they look small and are having trouble getting the pins through.

[imaparana]

ah poooo, cheers guys ill have to check that damn

[tiger99]

Ooops, my mistake, I read it as asking if the ball joints were handed, which of course they are not. Must do better next time.....