22 replies to this topic

[AlasdairM]

Hi, I know this is a common topic, but wanted to see if my story makes sense.

I fitted new minispares ball joints on the top and bottom of my front passenger hub (1990 1275 Cooper). The top one was fine to shim, and I did the bottom one the same way- however when I added the spring to the bottom one, it went rock solid. Is this normal? I noticed the new spring was almost 1mm longer than the old one, however the old joint was extremely loose- so I didn’t want to use that as a good metric.

I greased both joints up, and this didn’t help much. When fitting the hub to the car, I needed to take the hub off again to hammer the bottom joint’s spigot to get it to move into the correct angle, as I couldn’t do this by hand (I could move by hand before I fitted the spring).

The car drives ok, albeit with heavier steering. Will the joint loosen up with driving the car in?
I’ve read too many horror warnings of joints snapping then the car inevitably crashing!

Any advice is much appreciated. This was my first time changing ball joints FYI

[AlasdairM]

Also. Does anyone know why I can only post once per day? I used this forum a lot last year, and that was not a feature? Thanks

[GraemeC]

Completely normal for the joint to go tight once the spring is added

[sonscar]

Worth checking the little pad on top of the spring has not been dislodged?Steve..

[Ethel]

Sounds like it's too tight if you need to hammer the pin.  You're shimming to set the preload between the two ball swivels i.e. the spring loaded cup and the outer screw on "nut". The spring needs to be there to do that, it could be it's gone solid because the spring is coil bound.

 

I think there's been an issue with renewing TMF+ resetting some things - if that seems likely Sonikk4 knows more.

[Cooperman]

It should be firm, but not so tight that it is hard to move the pin
Maybe/probably the pad is not located correctly in the seating.
If too tight the pin can fracture.

[AlasdairM]

Ok thanks all. I’m just a bit unsure, as it was going super tight even before the nut was tightened down to the shims- I.e. because the spring tension was so high.

Hopefully it’ll loosen up with some miles

[Ethel]

From your initial post, it sounds like you shimmed it without the spring fitted. The spring makes the joint "floating" and a lot more tolerant, the top doesn't have one because it has the weight of the car sitting on it and would just be fully compressed.

 

Without the spring in, you'll have shimmed it as if it were fully compressed too, adding the spring will then increase the friction by the maximum it can.

[AlasdairM]

Ethel do you normally shim without the spring or with the spring?

Everywhere I’ve read says to shim without the spring first, then reassemble with the spring fitted.

[Cooperman]

I always shim with the spring fitted and set it to move smoothly with only slight resistance.

Having had a Mini brought to me a long time ago with a snapped ball-joint pin due to incorrect setting, I am careful to always set for slight resistance but easy movement.

Also, it is wise to lap the pins and caps to make matched pairs before assembling using 'fine' valve grinding paste.

Don't drive it unless you can just move the pin in the cap after final tightening. If you can't, then something is wrong.

[Maccmike8]

Although Im new to Minis.

I shimmed mine with the spring in and with a reasonable amount of resistance but easily moveable with one hand.

[Lplus]

Ethel do you normally shim without the spring or with the spring?

Everywhere I’ve read says to shim without the spring first, then reassemble with the spring fitted.

That's correct - the spring is to take up any play as the joint wears and ensure the ball remains tight (ish) in the cup.  If the ball can float in the cup the lower end of the hub carrier can move about.  Shim it up first with the small concave button under the ball then put the spring under the button for final assembly.  If you have to hit it hard with a hammer to move it the spring may have gone coilbound.  Having to tap it lightly to align it shouldn't be a problem.

 

When fully assembled it should be possible to rotate the hub from lock to lock by hand.

Edited by Lplus, 03 May 2021 - 04:36 PM.

[Maccmike8]

I copied this guy so I must have taken the spring out when I did mine.

 

[AlasdairM]

ok thanks all. I've just driven 200miles, and no snaps yet, so hopefully it was just a high spot on assembly or something. 

 

I also copied that guy on youtube, and the hanses manual. 

[sonikk4]

Sounds like it's too tight if you need to hammer the pin. You're shimming to set the preload between the two ball swivels i.e. the spring loaded cup and the outer screw on "nut". The spring needs to be there to do that, it could be it's gone solid because the spring is coil bound.

I think there's been an issue with renewing TMF+ resetting some things - if that seems likely Sonikk4 knows more.

Just had a look at your TMF+ history and you have renewed last month. However this should not stop you from posting multiple times in one day, but i can see you are not having that problem now.

There have been some problems with posting restrictions if when you initially joined TMF and became a + member straight away. The new rules instigated by Deathrow means if your subscription finishes you revert back to Just Joined Status or newbies which then places posting restrictions. You joined the 28th Feb last year and became a TMF+ member three days later. This may have been a possible reason for your issue but you did pay for your latest on the 12th April which means there may be a some form of lag in the Matrix???