Front lower ball joint

[Danevansgolf]

Hi there. I'm trying to replace all bushes on the front of the elan, and have come across the lower ball joints are knackered. Hopefully sjsportscars will have some, but how the hell do you get them out???? Please someone advise me ..

[Jamie N]

They are interference fit Dan, I braced my lower arm over 2 hardwood blocks and just hammered them out, if you cut off the balljoint itself below the threads to almost level with the housing it makes it even easier as you can then hit it bang in the middle. Then just drift in the new ones. HTH

[Megwenda]

much better to use a ball joint seperator.... google it, and find one that looks good (I just took an entry at random)

hammering may distort the wishbone, and the tool makes it so much easier

[HJ2]

Agreed!

I used a universal ' large' one and grinded some material away with an angle grinder to make it a perfect fit. It can separate all ball joints, without damaging the rubber seals.
See here as well:
viewtopic.php?f=37&t=22222&p=300236#p300236

Good luck!

[Ade]

Hi

Paul Matty has the joints,
they are the same as the Elise

Ade.

[dapinky]

I'm confused here, so I'll ask instead of assume what is required......

Are you needing to change the whole balljoint, or is it just that you have damaged the rubber boots?

If it is just the boots, then they are quick and easy to swap, using theseitems.... perfect fit for top and bottom balljoints.

If it is the complete balljoint, then the references to the splitter tools won't help to remove the joint from the arm, and you're probably well past that stage by now.

Hitting it with a hammer, whilst supporting it on wooden blocks will work, but if it isn't struck squarely, can cause damage to the arm - which will make fitting the new one securely virtually impossible.

I would suggest that using a press is far better, and if you don't have one, it would be worth taking the arm to a local garage and asking them to swap them over - it'll take only a few minutes using the right tools.

[Megwenda]

Yes, the one I posted is more for splitting it

However, provided it is large enough (the bottom part must be just large enough for the joint to fit through), it can also be used to push the ball joint out as well. We used to use a long socket over the bolt so as to press against the ball joint housing.

but yes, if you have a friendly garage that will do it for you, go for it

[Jamie N]

Yeah I agree a press is the best option, but knocking them out the way I described has caused me no issues in the past with any of my Elans or Honda's (which have an almost identical balljoint), that's why I said cut down the balljoint stud as it makes for a simple removal, I wouldn't attempt it on a rusty bottom arm though, only something solid.

Its definitely an option if you don't have access to a press though, with the stud shortened and the arm braced well its surprising how little force is required to tap them out.

[Danevansgolf]

Cheers for all the advise. Tried smacking it in a vice but got nowhere. My lower arms are very rusty, so a trip to a friend with a press is the way forward. I'll then be spraying the arms with a galvanised spray, to protect any further rusting.. Will update further once new parts arrive and I've made the trip to the press. Thanks.

[Danevansgolf]

Well here's the update..
Firstly if anyone has rusty lower front wishbones and wanting the urge to change the ball joints and bushes.. I urge you to change your mind and leave them be.........
I had use of a
press
Drill
Chisel
Angle grinder
Screwdrivers
Hammers
Hack saws
Drill bits( useless)
And a very full swear box..

You can guess how it went, if you put all this together.. Eventually got them all out, now just to clean the rust off ,remove all shite, and spray them with a nice new looking black galvanised spray. Then back to putting the ball joints and bushes back in....
P.s I don't think I have ever seen bushes so stubborn before!!!!!!!!!

[Jamie N]

Sounds like a nasty time you've had Dan!, hopefully it will all turn out worthwhile at the end of it. Yeah I agree about bushes right enough, the big Rhododendron I have is just getting way out of hand.

[norman lovie]

don't recall exactly what I did but I was surprised by what worked really well
I was left with the outer shell stuck inside the wishbone and - using a dremel with a fibre cutting disc, was able to cut a slot out of the bearing shell very easily and it then dropped out
to get the new ones in I cut a pipe with a taper on it to match the taper offset on the wishbone ( obvious when you see it) and used this in a vice the press the new ball joint in

[Danevansgolf]

image.jpg

image.jpg

So. Quick update.. Springs and yokes have been scrubbed down and resprayed with a galvanised canister.see pic.
And these are the remains of the bushes and lower ball joint, now to scrub/sand and treat the wishbones.. Getting there I think.. Will look like a brand new front set up once finished, hopefully will drive and feel a lot better too. On the other side of things I noticed on the pas side there is a bit of fabric/ type foam secured to the car.. WHAT IS IT.it was all damaged and ripped off so I've replaced it with a new peice. Don't know what it is for though??? Trying to upload pics. But when I'm previewing the images the pics are all upside down. Hopefully they don't upload like it. If they do can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong. And no im not taking them standing on my head !

[dapinky]

Hi Dan,

Having done the same project myself this time last year I feel both your pain and sence of acievement

In my case, I went a tad further (as we all tend to do!) as I was only intending to swap the shocks/springs....but you know how these things escalate.

I also swaped the bushes in the rafts, and all the bolts for stainless ones (except the very high tensile ones for the yokes and top ball joints, which I just replaced with new ones), then the CV joints, wheel bearings, and anything else I could find........

It certainly made a good improvement in the driving experience - but exactly which bits helped more than others is impossible to say.

What I would say, is that it is well worth the time and effort to set the angles up in accordance with the design specs (camber, caster, toe-in, ride height etc) as even by replacing like-for-like there is a probability that things may be a little bit different.

These things can be done on a flat bit of road with simple tools of measuring tape (I used a set of digital calipers, but a good ruler will do the job if your eyesight is better than mine!), a spirit level (but i have a 'proper' camber guage - which is really just a spirit level with a graduated scale), and a piece of paper/pencil (or calculator if you're so minded) to do the simple trigonometry.

I know of others who have taken their cars to a properly equipped garage who have had the 4-wheel alignment setup done in a short time, for a reasonable price (shouldn't take more than half an hour if all the bolts are free) - doing it myself took a couple of hours, but once I sussed out how to hold all the bits in place with only 2 hands, I could do it again in an hour, tops.

Anyway, for your "what is it" question, - it is the air intake pipe for the heater vent system - they commonly disintegrate as it is really just a piece of thin foam wrapped round the solid plastic pipes to allow some flexibility into the system - I replaced mine with some offcut of plasticy/foamy packing material which my new telly was wrapped in, held together with some cable ties and duct tape.

[norman lovie]

a bit of a high jack - but see the point ref: setting up the camber etc..
I want to do this with just a chassis assembly
what I need is a base line position for the wishbones - i.e. the angle they sit at, when the car is in the necessary ride height position when loaded up
obviously I will not have the body shell etc.. as a ref: point, and I will only have dampers on
I could use the damper static position - if you know this - or the wishbone angle - just something that will give me a base value to work from
any idea's ?

[dapinky]

Norman,

Setting angles is going to be a bit tricky, I would imagine, due to any rusty bits sending the protractor quite a bit out......

....how about adding bags of sand onto the chassis (or breeze blocks, or anything else) until the ride height is as per the workshop manual? - this will only really work if you still have fixed height shocks, not adjustable platforms, but it seems reasonable to me

[norman lovie]

Norman,

Setting angles is going to be a bit tricky, I would imagine, due to any rusty bits sending the protractor quite a bit out......

....how about adding bags of sand onto the chassis (or breeze blocks, or anything else) until the ride height is as per the workshop manual? - this will only really work if you still have fixed height shocks, not adjustable platforms, but it seems reasonable to me

simples when you go and look, I can set the chassis on spacers at the given 165mm and 154mm value, with the springs removed and get a half decent base setting
thanks

[Tuga2112]

Well here's the update..
Firstly if anyone has rusty lower front wishbones and wanting the urge to change the ball joints and bushes.. I urge you to change your mind and leave them be.........
I had use of a
press
Drill
Chisel
Angle grinder
Screwdrivers
Hammers
Hack saws
Drill bits( useless)
And a very full swear box..

You can guess how it went, if you put all this together.. Eventually got them all out, now just to clean the rust off ,remove all shite, and spray them with a nice new looking black galvanised spray. Then back to putting the ball joints and bushes back in....
P.s I don't think I have ever seen bushes so stubborn before!!!!!!!!!

i seem to be in the same position
unfortunately, the reason im replacing mine is a MOT failure which i have only 5 days left to address before needing to pay for a second test.

psoted on facebook the same cry for help, but i guess this is equally a suitable place to ask if anyone got any ideas.

i have a screw removal tool that i struggel to use properly because of access, however the original attempt to remove ended up with the pivot coming out and the bushing and sleeves are still attached to the wishbone
im giving the task a break for a few hours now and depending on the advice i get i may start the process of removing the lower wishbone in order to be able to put the whole thing in the vice and try the use of a demolition sledgehammer and if all else fails, taking it to a garage to attempt a 20t press.

[TorqueHorse]

If you aren't trying to save the bushing, you could try to 'boil' the rubber out, then hacksaw https://vimeo.com/141591718

[alan e]

Have you got 2 sockets one wider then the sleeve so it can slid into it and one as wide has the sleeve and some stud to fit thru the sockets and the sleeve, put a washer and a nut on one end and thru the sleeve and socket put a washer and nut the stud and screw down the nut and if you are lucky it will pull the sleeve into the large socket.