pgh Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 Evening, Car was delivered today & thanks to a very patient other half I've been able to spend the day working on it I've got to the bit in module 2 where I need to torque up the 'metalloc' nuts onto the ball joints. Apart from the terrible access, I can't get the top ball joint nut to tighten - the ball joint just spins. The manual mentions something about pressing down on the upright whilst tightening the nuts, however, this seems to have no affect. Any ideas how I can solve this? Also, does anyone know the torque setting for the nut in the centre of the upright? I think I may need to remove this in order to get a torque wrench onto the bottom ball joint nut. Thanks, Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 I found this to be a real pain to torque up. I managed it in the end by slipping the socket off the wrench shaft a little which put the interface into a slight 'universal joint' mode ( sorry can't remember what this feature is actually called! ) and this allowed me to torque it up. If you hit the top of the joint with a hide hammer, it should then tighten in the taper sufficiently to allow you to tighten it up - alternatively, you could pull it up by temporarily fitting sufficient washers to allow the nylock nut to tighten up before the nylon insert is reached by the thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elpks Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 Hi Paul, I used a wooden drift on the top of the ball joint and gave it a single good tonk with a large hammer. This "jams" the taper in to the upright and tightened up no problem after that. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgh Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 Super - thanks both. I shall recommence in the morning by giving them a good whack... Stepps - glad it's not just me! I've tried a UJ, short extension & finally just the wrench at a funny angle - didn't realise doing this had a proper name! Thanks again, Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlgurney Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 Hi, I found it a pain also, the method i used was to put a trolley jack under the bottom wishbone/balljoint area and with a long length of 2x4 or other suitably strong wood get a friend to stick it in the upper wishbone and pull down, this should provide enough force to stop it spinning. Good luck Karl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 didn't realise doing this had a proper name! Paul, the socket set I have has special ends on the bars profiled for this actual use but I just can't remember what it is called - ah yes I can 'wobble type square ends'!! Phew, I hate forgetting stupid things like that! This is what the bar ends look like:- Wobble Bar End Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgh Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 Now that is fancy! I just have boring square ends. In which case, I was using the technique of "not putting the socket on properly" While on the subject of ball joints, is it worth painting these? Do they rust? & if so, do they show? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 Ah yes the old "not putting the socket on properly" school of engineering .... Yes, definitely paint them as they look really nice and shiny now but a few weeks in the garage and they will rust as they are just raw steel and they do indeed show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgh Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 Off to B&Q for hammerite in the morning then! Think I'll strip all of the ball joints off, paint them and then carry on with the rear shocks & diff. That way I don't have to worry about getting the ball joints to torque up for another day or so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve20 Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 I had this problem on my SDV, cure was to use a long bar and suitable friend to apply pressure to stop the ball joint spinning so that the nut could be tightened. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedricTheBrave Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 don't do em too tight until you are happy with the camber setting as you will only have to take them off again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 don't do em too tight until you are happy with the camber setting as you will only have to take them off again Or you could do it the easy way... Once the top ball joint is secured, whenever you want to alter the camber, undo the wishbone and rotate it around the ball joint. Saves on splitting the ball joint (and manybe it's rubber) every time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geelhoed Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 This worked for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Beattie Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 I used a rachet strap around the top and bottom ball joints, which worked pretty well. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eccentric_Rich Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 I simply used a plain nut to pull the two tapers together and then removed the plain nut and fitted the nyloc nut - job done! Richard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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