Wishbone Replacement

[weebrian]

Excuse my mechanical ignorance but if I replace my wishbone with a new complete unit is it still necessary to split the balljoint or is it merely removed by undoing relevant nuts and dropping it down? If that's the case I'll do it myself otherwise it's a trip to the local garage.

[Northern Bongolow]

if you buy the full wishbone it does come complete with the ball joint and both rubber bushes and it is just a bolt on job.
after doing tests on the ones available (cut new ones up with an angle grinder, including through the ball joint), i would only recommend the blueprint ones or gen mazda ones. the others have slightly inferior internals in the ball joint.

ian at the club shop has several at a range of prices.

[weebrian]

Thanks for that.
So its just remove all the supporting bolts and the pin and nut on top of the ball joint and hopefully everything comes apart?

[Northern Bongolow]

jack up the motor, remove front wheel put wheel nuts back on to hold disc jack up under disc not suspension the remove pin and undo nut completely off, then get good sized hammer then strike the swivel where the ball joint passes through, it should fall apart. remove 2 long suspension bush bolts, taking note where the large washer goes copper grease and replace.
make sure the nuts are torqued up right.

make sure your blocked up or on good stands as you will be underneath and pushing and pulling.

[weebrian]

Thanks very much. Better than a Haynes manual!

[stuc]

Love the health and safety bit on the end, most people forget that.

[roosmith]

Jack up under the disc, didn't realise that and will be tackling myself soon. Is that just to take the weight off? How far do you have to go?

[ELZE]

Love the health and safety bit on the end, most people forget that.

Aye I'm watching

[Northern Bongolow]

Jack up under the disc, didn't realise that and will be tackling myself soon. Is that just to take the weight off? How far do you have to go?

just take the weight, you dont have to go up or you will lift it off the the axle stand etc, then give the casting around the bottom ball joint a quick hard crack, and the bottom will fall away.

the main point is to fully remove the nut not just loosen it, if you dont when the joint is split it may spin when you try to remove the nut later, if it does you may have to cut it off, or jam it so it doesnt spin the ball.