HELP: Which front droplinks to buy

[mikeonb4c]

I think Mango is just starting to clonk a little at the front when on a bad road surface. Best sort the suspect droplinks sooner rather than later as I recall they can be harder to undo if left to clonk too much.

Searches on here suggest Vauxhaull Vectra droplinks will do, although one line of thought is that some are less beefy and long lasting than Bongo droplinks. I've sourced two possibles on ebay:

Bongo droplinks, suggested by vendor as being the right / best ones. See http://tinyurl.com/6hok2b

Vectra droplinks - see http://tinyurl.com/6s838r

Has anyone any experience with and/or have a view on either type of droplink. Also, any horror stories about trying to remove old ones and what may have to be done if the nuts won't undo? Is it a simple / quick job?

All advice appreciated & thanks.

Mike

[wooden wheel]

Hi Mike,

I changed mine a while back and fitted a pair of vectra one which fitted perfectly.The bit in between the 2 ends is a bit thinner, but I've checked a couple of times since and there's nothing untoward going on.
I did one side outside the house, one of the nuts came off dead easy, the other had been rounded off so it had to be drilled and chiselled but still only took half an hour. Did the other side at work with an air impact gun and took less than five mins!

Steve

[mikeonb4c]

Brilliant Steve - tells me what I need to know so I'll save meself some dosh and go with them!

[helen&tony]

Hi Mike
I clicked on the first link, and the seller says they are genuine Mazda....good price, and it appears that nuts are included...I bought mine some while ago....genuine Mazda "Costalot" originals....they did not come with nuts, and One nut came undone, and the others took brutality. I think they may be those ghastly "ovalised" anti-shake nuts....One of my neighbours knocked some up on his lathe.
If your nuts are stuck please take your book of fine English swearwords, and do the job out of respectable folks earshot
Just kidding...it ain't hard work, and you can justify a wee dram to round the day off
Cheers
Helen

[mikeonb4c]

Excellent Helen. The trick here is to tell the family it'll take all day, just so as I can keep out the way of domestic feuding and household chores

I think I may go for the cheap Vectra ones though as I can always put it down to experience if they don't last and hey, maybe they will (Woodenwheel seems happy with his though whether they are from the same stable remains to be seen)

[madmile]

So the vectra ones are the same length, but thinner - not really a surprise as the vectra weighs quite a bit less than the bongo.
Personally if they are not the same in all respects I would not use them - most of us give the same viewpoint on tyres - ie they are under 96 on the rear then they are not up to the job (even if they are 95's) - I cant see its that much different for a drop link - False economy in my opinion, but I dont suppose your wheel is going to fall off if they are not quite up to it, but surely its only a few pound saved .

[dandywarhol]

I bought a pair of non Mazda ones on Ebay and they had a thinner diameter rod too - they fitted ok and seem to perform ok but they weren't as beefy as the originals.

[mister munkey]

Call Mike @ Wheelquick.

He knows his stuff & will advise honestly.

Trust me. My next door neighbour's a doctor.

[John the sparky]

I bought the ones from the shop.....

I considered the vectra and galaxy ones.... ummed and ahhed

and went and bought the bongo ones and don't even give it a second thought.....

I'm sure the others would be fine, but the difference in money wasn't enough to outweigh the worrying and stopping me from dreaming up squeaks and clunks due to.......


John

[mikeonb4c]

Food for thought - I'll chunner on it as my droplinks are only just starting to complain a tad so no rush. Thanks+++ everyone

[owelly]

I had a look at the parts book in my local motor factors and it gave the same part number for FORD MPV-FREDA and VAUXHAUL ALL MODELS-VECTRA (Some dates listed). I paid £15 for the pair IIRC.
I cut through the old nuts with a cutting disc in the angry grinder. Took about 10 mins each side from start to finish, including jacking the thing up and taking the wheels off.

[mikeonb4c]

I had a look at the parts book in my local motor factors and it gave the same part number for FORD MPV-FREDA and VAUXHAUL ALL MODELS-VECTRA (Some dates listed). I paid £15 for the pair IIRC.
I cut through the old nuts with a cutting disc in the angry grinder. Took about 10 mins each side from start to finish, including jacking the thing up and taking the wheels off.

Excellent Owelly. It occurred to me that since Aldi are offering an angle grinder @ £12.99 I could - if i need to - spend the saving on buying an angle grinder, which I've always wanted anyway!!

PS - I hope you don't ending up scrapping the Freda. Lets see if the BF thinktank can come up with an explanation/solution. Fingers crossed

[ronhud]

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

[platty345]

Hi mike, I've got a small angle grinder you can lend, Save you buying one, I'm not far from you, give us a shout if you need it.

[mikeonb4c]

Excellent advice etc. guys and thanks. I may buy an angle grinder anyway Platty. My brother in law is v nearby and has one, but I've always hankered after one for general use and £12.99 seems cheep cheep cheep. He also has some ramps (Ron) so I may borrow those (and probably therefore end up borrowing his angle grinder and puttng of my own purchase )