Bottom ball joints

[revbra]

imported post

had my car mot done no probs 3 weeks later n/s ball joint went only on the car for 2000 miles not only ball joints but a friend stag steering rack went in only 1500 miles surplyer did not want to know we got the new one from soc so far no probs i think its better to deal with surplyers you can trust as thereis a lot of rubbish parts out there as i have found to my cost steve

[Dave M]

imported post

Oh god here we go again, I had a hood fitted by a Stag specialist that regularly advertises in the owners magazine. The rear window zip failed after 6 operations, supplier said it was abuse on my part, funny how the last one lasted 30 years, 12 in my ownership, they then wanted £70 to replace zip with the same crap quality.:X

Perhaps itstime the club produced a league table of suppliers in order to protect its members from dodgy suppliers or the forum could focus on highlighting good suppliers rather than shaming bad ones. At least that way we all could benefit from other satisfied Stag owners experiences without the risk of any liable cases.

Dave

[Rubce]

imported post

Dave M wrote:

Perhaps itstime the <snipped>.........forum could focus on highlighting good suppliers rather than shaming bad ones. At least that way we all could benefit from other satisfied Stag owners experiences without the risk of any liable cases.

Dave

TOP idea

Bruce

[V Mad]

imported post

Dave M wrote:

Oh god here we go again, I had a hood fitted by a Stag specialist that regularly advertises in the owners magazine. The rear window zip failed after 6 operations, supplier said it was abuse on my part, funny how the last one lasted 30 years, 12 in my ownership, they then wanted £70 to replace zip with the same crap quality.:X

Perhaps itstime the club produced a league table of suppliers in order to protect its members from dodgy suppliers or the forum could focus on highlighting good suppliers rather than shaming bad ones. At least that way we all could benefit from other satisfied Stag owners experiences without the risk of any liable cases.

Dave

If you keep to the facts, and report bad traders, thats not libellous. Even if it were, how many traders would risk the bad publicity of pursuing a libel case on a poor unsuspecting Stag owner who is an innocentvictim of bad service?

[grahamb]

imported post

I collected my car today - I asked if there was any problem with the exchange and the supplier put a new one in the post without quible. Good service but you wouldnt do that if you knew that you sold good stock.

[StagnJag]

imported post

I am not sure quite sure how the law works, but as far as I can tell, the onus is on the person or company holding the published data to be able to prove that a statement is not libelous. This would probably include the owner of this forum and the host. If a member states truthfully that 'Company A' carried out a rubbish repair and he or she has proof on the forum then he or she hasn't committed libel. However the SOC or the Forum Hosting company will not have that proof and are therefore at risk of a libel case.

I could also be talking out of my A£$e so take this with a pinch of salt. (Anyone on here have any legal knowledge?)

I guess we could set up a post and get people to give suppliers a '*' rating, and add no further comments. I can't see that anyone would be able to sue for libel over an asterisk:shock:.

Dave

[stagstr]

imported post

Yesterday I decided to order the replacement bottom ball joints from LDpart after Dave highlighted them in this thread and they duly arrived this morning. They are now fitted to the car.

So the delivery was quick, I was off the road only for a short period, now let's hope the quality is good. Full marks so far to LDpart - no interest, just a satisfied customer.

Ray

[Kevin Garrod]

imported post

Regarding libel law, this was an interesting read!

http://www.urban75.org/info/libel.html

Particularly the bit about nicknames if you said "RB were awful" (for example only!)

You might still face a libel case if we knew who was meant by the initials.

[V Mad]

imported post

OK, so its not a good idea to say Supplier XYZ is crap, but if you state you bought a part from XYZ that failed the MOT after a few months, that is just a statement of fact. It is not saying anything libellous about company XYZ.

If we are going to beafraid to state a fact, what will happen to our right to free speech?

[grahamb]

imported post

Freedom of speech is the reason the internet is a success.

ISP's have an obiligation to provide an abuse@ control mechanism and keep out the very very bad stuff. Beyond that, they have something calledreasonable use policies which includes what you can and cant say and who is responsible if you dostep the wrong side of their line.

Basically their stance is that they are as liable for what fuel you put in your car as they are for what you publish - They dont regulate but enforce.The service provider just has to make sure they react if someone takes offence or it is clear that laws are being broken.

That principle should flow down, with the responsibily sitting with who ever makes a statement, not the provider of the forum who allowed the expression in the first place

This forum is a fantastic example of self regulation.

That said, I think that calling Pimento Red "orange" is very libelous. I have the family lawyer on stand-by - you have been warned. :X

[tonypy1]

imported post

Because of the concern over this part I contacted LDPart to see if they could verify the quality of the items they stocked and received this detailed reply:

Tony
We try to be best or cheapest or both.
Where we can offer very best we will.
Where we can only offer same as everyone else we will try to be cheapest.
The ball joints we offer are made by an OEM supplier in Turkey. They
make ball joints for many marques of cars made in Turkey that cover
huge mileages over there.
For example Ford, Land Rover, Renault, Fiat are some of the local brands that started out in the 60's as kits of British or French/Italian parts for local assembly. Gradually over 20/30 years they learned the technology, acquired the machines and now the cars made there are similar to the cars made here about 10-15 years ago with virtually 100% local component production.

I have a feeling that many of the ball joints on offer by the
various suppliers are made in Turkey, although one importer (not a stag specialist) has recently sourced Jaguar ball joints to India which may start something. Also there was a job lot that came in from Taiwan a few years ago which may still be around. These would have been built to a price I imagine.

There is one British manufacturer claiming to make high quality ball joints.
They look very much like the ones sold by one of the other suppliers,
but even they may also suffer the short life syndrome
I find myself asking what would be different that would improve the
quality of the British ones.
I expect the steel is the same, the CNC machines are the same, the Rubber
and the nylon inside are the same. The only difference I can surmise
is that they pay UK wages and have higher rent. They have higher
energy costs. They have lower overall Volume and business scale.
I may ask them to test the ones we sell and tell me why theirs are
better at nearly twice the price.
I can say that our supplier sells to some of the big players, like
Quinton Hazell.
On the basis of my own car I expect ours to last about 30,000 miles or
more but thats obviously no guarantee.
We did however sell our joints to a trade customer who has fitted
several cars and over two years later there are no complaints. I rang
them today for any feedback and coincidentally one car was in the
workshop and the play was checked but the joint is still nice and tight.

By contrast modern cars ball joints will regularly run over 100,000 miles.
However we must remember

A) Replaced Ball joints are often not part of a complete suspension
overhaul, and get weakened by other already worn parts moving more
than they should.
B) Some cars have rubber lower wishbone bushes, and they can get very
sloppy and that adds too much flexing and further stresses the joint.
C) If the cars are left standing for longs periods, no doubt damp can
get under the rubber and cause the top of the ball to rust. If used
regularly this rust would never get a chance to start as the ball is
constantly polished in service.
D) No doubt most cars have antiroll bars that have lost their rigidity
and are suffering metal fatigue after 30/40 years.
E) Correct fitting extends life. Remove the boot and press the joint
into the wishbone with adapters and a press. (Note the Kingpin photos
and the bricks in the background) Fit a new circlip and grease the top
of the ball amply before fitting the rubber boot and offering the
assembly to its mounting in the car.


So I think we have to be philosophical and change them every third
12,000 mile service on a daily driver and possibly at 20000 on a car with lower usage.

Peter H


--No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG.Version: 7.5.549 / Virus Database: 270.8.2/1741 - Release Date: 23/10/2008 07:54

[Andy Rundell]

imported post

stagstr wrote:

Yesterday I decided to order the replacement bottom ball joints from LDpart after Dave highlighted them in this thread and they duly arrived this morning. They are now fitted to the car.

So the delivery was quick, I was off the road only for a short period, now let's hope the quality is good. Full marks so far to LDpart - no interest, just a satisfied customer.

Ray

FYI - i replaced mine (MOT failure)with a pair from Peter at LDParts in the summer of '07, used daily since and have had no issues.

cheers......Andy