HELP: Which front droplinks to buy

[mikeonb4c]

Good luck with it Mike. I replaced a droplink on my Freda - I had a chattering noise on the nearside. When I checked by hand there was some play - checked the offside no play and no sound. Dont have ramps so jacked up and then lowered wishbone a little onto axle jack. Sprayed with plus gas a couple of times in previous days. Nuts were apparently unmoveable. Bought a set of hex sockets (as opposed to toothed sockets) which gave me a good grip on nut, got a bit of square section hollow bar from scrap yard to provide extension to socket handle and then sweated away - made appropriate grunts - and eventually the nuts moved. Discovered that the one I was removing had a locking nut on the far side and got a grip of that with a mole wrench. I used the Vectra option from the local motor factor. If you can get up on ramps it should be easier because you can use a longer 'extension' on the socket.

Ron

Had a v quick peek underneath mine tonight Ron. Two questions.

(1) How did you get good access to the nuts, with the wishbone in the way

(2) You suggest putting the car on ramps. But that implies you did the droplinks without removing the wheel, which seems impossible. I'd envisaged getting the car onto axle stands and just working on it like that. Anyone else care to share their experience?

V grateful for the guidance. It may take some folks 10 mins. I can assure you I'm a LOT slower than that (mostly cos I circle round the job for hours nibbling my nails and cogitating before I dive in )

[ronhud]

Mike - I did mine on the standard jack and did remove the wheel. That means the weight of that side of the van is on the jack and what I think is called the stub axle is hangin like a dead weight.

I then had to play off some of the stub axle weight by putting the axle jack under the wishbone. I arrived at this as a result of another posting I found when contemplating the job.

In the course of that search someone else described how they had done the job on ramps and the impression I received was that it would be easier. When I was using the improvised extension to my socket I wished I had more room underneath to get a longer extension into play and asumed that when on ramps it would be possible to get at the link nuts from underneath - rather than from the side with the wheel off.

As for access to the nuts with the wheel off - it looks feasible but I had to do a lot of 'wiggle the socket in here, turn it a bit, then wiggle it in from a differnet angle, turn it a bit and so on until I could finger turn the nut. Then I discovered everthing was turning asnd I had to get the mole wrench on the back.

The job is not too intmidating except for the difficulty with the nuts not wanting to turn. I felt much more comfortable knowing that the hex socket was less likely to damage the nut as I heaved away at it.

There are several postings where folks have ground the nuts off so I assume it is possible to get a small grinder in. One possibility I contemplated was a nut splitter but as I've never used one I would be interested to hear from someone who has.

There is no substitute for seeing an expert do a job 'in the flesh' but I often wish there was a video available as next best. However the resource represented by this forum is extraordinary and frankly I wouldnt know where to turn without it. Yes I could use a garage like the rest of the driving population but I couldnt afford to have a Bongo then.

Ron

[The-Novice]

I just had one of mine replaced 2 weeks ago I got it from ebay for £20 + £1.50 P&P
Got me mate who works in a Nissan garage to fit it. Goes like a dream now with no knocks what so ever

CLICK ON ME FOR EBAY LINK

[mikeonb4c]

Thanks chaps.

Nice-Guy. yes, I've wondered about just doing one (I think it is drivers side that is just starting to go) but I reckon they must both be old so get the job done before I get too old.

Ron. Your description makes me smile as your situation resembles my own. Also, great satisfaction when you pull the job off yourself. I'm luck in that I do have some hex sockets, and an extension bar. Ironically I bought them so I could undo the wheelnuts on the alloys I have since taken off, but I've been grateful ever since that I bought them.

I think on balance this is an axle stand job. They say it is best to have the suspension 'loaded up and level' when tightening droplinks so tthe bushes are as untorqued as possible. However that was rear droplinks and the fronts look like they may be ball and socket in which case it wouldn't matter (can you confirm?). But I will in any case be more relaxed about going underneath the vehicle if it is securely on axle stands (although I have to do a 2-stage lift to get the height I like, which is a bit tedious but doable). From my quick inspection last night, I'm not surprised to hear the access is fiddly. the downside with hex sockets is you sometimes can't get them lined up to go on the nut in a position where the socket bar can be operated (my extension bar isn't a ratchet jobbie). But we'll get there.

Young clever dicks who can do it in 5 mins with one hand while drinking a cup of tea with the other need not read this post (unless they are having trouble sleeping)

[ronhud]

Mike - as far as i can tell its not a ball and socket and I have a faint memory(theyre all faint now) of someone posting that they are tapered. Photo below of old and new may help. There is a boot of sorts covering the actual joint. With the old I can wiggle the bolt around but no movement on the new. What I found useful about having the van on the jack and the wishbone on the axle stand was that I could move the wishbone up and down a little so as to adjust the distance between the 2 bolt holes to match the link length. In different circumstances I assume one would move the antiroll bar to match up. As you can tell I am no mechanic but learned long ago that 'time spent on reconnaisance is seldom wasted'.

Ron

[ronhud]

Why does Photobucket show this image as 160x120 pixels and then posts it as higher resolution?
Ron

[mikeonb4c]

Why does Photobucket show this image as 160x120 pixels and then posts it as higher resolution?
Ron

Blimey - the Vectra one looks indistinguishable from the Bongo one (unless of course it had already had a Vectra one put on during an earlier replacement......only 2 years ago..... )

[Dirk Schooner]

Hi, quick question about fitting these, I can drive up car ramps and fit with wheels on and suspension laoded?

Asking because I am not sure from this post if axel stands or ramps are best.

[mikeonb4c]

Hi, quick question about fitting these, I can drive up car ramps and fit with wheels on and suspension laoded?

Asking because I am not sure from this post if axel stands or ramps are best.

From a quick glimpse yesterday when my Bongo was on ramps and I happened to notice them, I guess it might be possible to do the job on ramps but can't say for sure as I used axle stands. Axle stands allow you to take the wheels off to give easy access so I'd recommend them. I'm not sure, but it might be OK to do the FRONT droplinks just using the scissor jack as they seem to have ball joint type end connectors that ought to allow them to settle any asymmetrical fitting as son as the vehicle is fully back on the ground. At the price of the Vectra ones you could almost afford to risk it. Worst that would happen is they wear more quickly. Hope this helps.

[Dirk Schooner]

I was afraid of these nuts after reading all this and rightly so, they won't budge, and are now a litttle rounded on one of the droplinks. I am not going to damage them further.

Anyway, after jacking one side, and placing stand under wishbone, romoving wheel, I found more problems.

There is a lot of lateral movement in the front stabiliser bar, (this is prob cause of original wobble sound, so those bushes need replacing, also the CV boot cover is cracked, so needs replacing, and had a good look at brake disks, scored and worse on other side stamped front and rear.

So now my plan is to buy all these parts and pay a visit to a local garage for fitting. Considering I have bought tools £60, 'Service Manual' £60, Car ramps £30, I should have maybe though about this before leaping in, but I have learned a lot, so not all wasted, just think it's maybe false economy.