Doing up new ball joints

[Andy_B]

Evening all...been doing some assembly today of the front end...have had a bit of bother with some of the ball joints ...some of the nylocks have done up nice and tight ...some have started spinning the ball just before the nyloc is on the thread...is there a trick of the trade lo lock the joint in place so it can be done up..??

[Tatey]

The way I was taught with the Army was to give it a smack with the hammer to try and get the tapered joint more solid.

Or to jack the joint up to force the tapered joint again.

[Andy J]

Some have a hex key slot at the end to hold it in place

[mark]

Or wrap a ratchet tie down strap around the upper and lower wishbone to pull them together, hopefully then the taper will seat and stop it spinning while you tighten it

[Coozer]

It'll be grease/oil contamination that's causing it.
Rub the tapers clean with a thinners rag being careful not to get it on the rubber of the ball joint.

[Bonzo]

As Steve said, make sure both surfaces of the taper are squeaky clean.

If you have a stubborn one that does not have a hex in the end, I find a little light pressure from a lever will help ( Protecting paintwork etc with a rag if need be )
Turn the nut slowly & it should not spin the ball joint.

If you are just test fitting the ball joints, place a few washers under the nyloc nut.
This will prevent damaging the nyloc & if not over tightened, will allow easier removal of the joint again prior to final assembly ;)

[Andy_B]

Cheers... i am only test fitting so will try all the above starting with cleaning....another thought i had today ...the mushroom adapter should the offset hole be engine side ...or wheel side..for want of a better description !!

[Bonzo]

As far as I know, the offset hole in the mushroom adapter goes as far forward as you can get it ( Pointing towards the front of the car ) !!

Could be wrong though :o :o

Sure someone will give you a definitive answer :)

[HandyAndy]

You,re spot on Ronnie :)

Andy B............. don,t drill & tap the 2nd fixing thru the upright just yet, wait till you have the car driveable & fully set up on the geometry ;)

cheers
andy

[flyerncle]

As Andy says 12 o'clock to front works well ,even though mine is roughly put together with everything finger tight it self centers.

[baz-r]

pull it in with a plain nut then switch it for the nylock :D simples

[Bonzo]

pull it in with a plain nut then switch it for the nylock :D simples

In theory yes :)

The idea sort of goes down the drain after you have spent hours looking for a UNF plain nut .... Then you find one, just to find out that the ball joint maufacturer has used a Metric fine thread :D

Some manufactures have stuck with imperial threads & others have switched to metric fine.
Strange but True ;)

[baz-r]

In theory yes :)

The idea sort of goes down the drain after you have spent hours looking for a UNF plain nut .... Then you find one, just to find out that the ball joint maufacturer has used a Metric fine thread :D

there is just no helping some people :)

[Bonzo]

there is just no helping some people :)

Honestly, I meant nothing by my comments Baz :)

Just thinking from a home workshop point of view, how many folk have access to a selection of metric & imperial fine threaded, plain nuts ?

I have a huge range of old imperial stuff & a fair bit of metric stock too .... So much so that I weighed in, 6 full builders buckets of used fixings during my last trip to the scrappy .... Got hacked off with tipping them out onto the floor looking for a particular fixing, just to find, that's the only one you dont have :o

Yes of course you are right mate, the simplest way to pull a ball joint up, is with a plain nut :)
I guess placing a few flat washers under the nyloc comes a close second.