replacing front drop links

[pilajake]

Dull Question.
Just aquired a new front pair of drop links. My question is ,"Is it an easy job to do yourself or will it be a garage jobby, if so how long would they take to replace them regarding labour costs "
If it is possible as a DIY by someone with limited knowledge, is there a fact sheet available

[dreamwarrioruk]

easy to do diy is possible. just make sure to soak the nuts with such as wd40 as they can get rusted on making it hard to undue. should take between 1/2 to an hour to do from start to finish.
just need to remove wheels undo nuts top and bottom and replace with new.
if they are just spinning around it is possible hacksaw or grind off the nuts.

[pilajake]

thanks dreamwarrioruk,
knowing my luck, I will have trouble with my nuts
I will attempt this after the Welsh Monsoon season has finished

[lizard]

easy to do diy is possible. just make sure to soak the nuts with such as wd40 as they can get rusted on making it hard to undue. should take between 1/2 to an hour to do from start to finish.
just need to remove wheels undo nuts top and bottom and replace with new.
if they are just spinning around it is possible hacksaw or grind off the nuts.

Yes, my nuts were b****y tight Nearly did myself a mischief undoing the top ones.

[mikeonb4c]

Agree with all that. Provided your nuts behave, the job is an absolute cinch and can I think be done just by jacking up the front and removing the wheel to give access. The droplinks are then staring you in the face. The rear droplinks have bonded sleeved rubber bushes and it is thus important to have both wheels under normal / symmetrical suspension compression before tightening up the drop link nuts, so as to avoid permanent twisting and premature failure of the rubber bushes. This means using axle stands to support the axle.

However the front drop links are a ball and socket type fitting so they will adjust naturally to the suspension height.

Think I've got this right. You might as well try it yourself. If nuts too tight and job too tricky, then off to the garage.

One thing I do remember is although it seems there is no way of stopping the 'bolt head' from turning when you try to undo the nut, there are in fact flat spots on it that allow you to put an open ended spanner on to stop it turning.

Another observation. My old ones seemed to comprise 1 x Mazda original and 1 x Vauxhall Vectra type droplink. The Vauxhall one came off easily, the Mazda one had a much tighter nut (maybe becuase it was much older)

[cheffy34]

I just grinded the fronts off mine, plus one of the nuts had already been rounded off anyway, takes even less time to get em off then, infact i would just grind off anyway sure as eggs is eggs that what they do in the garage the nuts are locking ones they not supposed to come off

[dreamwarrioruk]

got to do mine soon, sick of the thunk when we hit a bump.
vauxhall vectra 95 drop links have lasted two and a half years. a big saving over original mazda ones.
oh and its off for a new ss exhaust tomorrow.

[dobby]

If they are the original ones then the nuts will be very hard to undo even if soaked in release agent. Be careful as the nuts are soft and round off easily. I ended up cutting through them with an angle grinder and then using sockets and spanners from both sides.

Good luck