Drag strut problems

[maverick]

Hello Fellow Staggers,

Hope someone can help.I am in the process of replacing my drag strut bushes for the MOT,got passenger side off fine by undoing the anti roll bar link at the bottom ,loosened drag strut nut at the back then nut an bolt on strut/control arm,all ok I thought till I tried the drivers side,managed only just to get the nut off control arm /strut but cannot shift the bolt at all.

Therefore I forced to take off the whole unit,and sort the awkward bolt in the vice later my question,

The bottom ball joint that I need to undo,can this be done with a standard ball joint seperator the screw bolt type ?,or does the need to be pressed out professionally.

I have read previous posts on this but there is little info about seperating the bottom/lower ball joint.

Any advice concerning any of this procedure ,ie removing the whole unit control arm/drag strut would be very welcome.

All help would be gratefully recieved,feel quite proud to have got this far and am desperate to get my car back on the road.

Thanks in advance,

Mark

[whereufromnosecity]

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Mark

The ball joint should separate ok with the screw type splitter and a bit of gentle persuasion with a hammer, if you do end up damaging the ball joint then it will require pressing out and the new one pressing in, i managed to do mine in my vice and some suitably sized sockets and tubing

Once thelower arm anddrug strutis off you should have no problem getting the offending bolt outin a vice

Stu E

[Guest]

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My ball joints came apart quite easily with the use of a Brummy screwdriver (4lb lump hammer) Undo the nut but leave on, then hit the nut to "shock" it free!

Jason ( Kryten will be shacking his head at me now for using my trusty hammer!!):P

[alan_thomas]

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stagstan wrote:

My ball joints came apart quite easily with the use of a Brummy screwdriver (4lb lump hammer) Undo the nut but leave on, then hit the nut to "shock" it free!

Jason ( Kryten will be shacking his head at me now for using my trusty hammer!!):P

No he won't, he's a ex-professional mechanic so his hammers are bigger, chrome plated and he swings them with more force!

"May the force bewith you my son"



- Alan

[singapore stag]

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when I had to replace the ball joints for the MOT the driver sidewas ok but I had to angle grind the n/s TCA bolt that connects with the drag strut and the o/s and n/s TCA bolts that has the bush going through it, it was a nightmare the bolts were sized. the ball joints were ok to separate I used the hammer style separator.

It is well worth preparing in advance,I ordered new bolts from ANG Triumph( very reasonable and fast delivery). a garage near me charged me £10.00 to have the ball joints pressed out and push in new poly bushes. TCA's then were painted in smooth black hammerite.

Sukh.

[maverick]

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whereufromnosecity wrote:

Mark

The ball joint should separate ok with the screw type splitter and a bit of gentle persuasion with a hammer, if you do end up damaging the ball joint then it will require pressing out and the new one pressing in, i managed to do mine in my vice and some suitably sized sockets and tubing

Once thelower arm anddrug strutis off you should have no problem getting the offending bolt outin a vice

Stu E

Stu and fellow Staggers,many thanks for advice and witt ,made me laugh !.Brummie hammer,and let the force be wiyh you.!

Think I can remember reading somewhere to remember to remove a circlip on ball joint can someone confirm that this is the case.

Also any advice if I get so far with the ball joint and cannot seperate,what is the plan B or fall back as the car will obviouslybe immobile.

ALL HELP APPRECIATED,

KIND REGARDS,

MARK

[maverick]

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singapore stag wrote:

when I had to replace the ball joints for the MOT the driver sidewas ok but I had to angle grind the n/s TCA bolt that connects with the drag strut and the o/s and n/s TCA bolts that has the bush going through it, it was a nightmare the bolts were sized. the ball joints were ok to separate I used the hammer style separator.

It is well worth preparing in advance,I ordered new bolts from ANG Triumph( very reasonable and fast delivery). a garage near me charged me £10.00 to have the ball joints pressed out and push in new poly bushes. TCA's then were painted in smooth black hammerite.

Sukh.

Thanks Sukh,if its not a silly question how did you isolate the ball joints to get them pressed out at the garage.

thanks in advance

[whereufromnosecity]

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maverick wrote:

whereufromnosecity wrote:

Mark

The ball joint should separate ok with the screw type splitter and a bit of gentle persuasion with a hammer, if you do end up damaging the ball joint then it will require pressing out and the new one pressing in, i managed to do mine in my vice and some suitably sized sockets and tubing

Once thelower arm anddrug strutis off you should have no problem getting the offending bolt outin a vice

Stu E

Stu and fellow Staggers,many thanks for advice and witt ,made me laugh !.Brummie hammer,and let the force be wiyh you.!

Think I can remember reading somewhere to remember to remove a circlip on ball joint can someone confirm that this is the case.

Also any advice if I get so far with the ball joint and cannot separate,what is the plan B or fall back as the car will obviouslybe immobile.

ALL HELP APPRECIATED,

KIND REGARDS,

MARK

Mark there is a circlip on the ball joint, not to hard to remove/refit

The ball joint will separate but i would renew it if you have to give it some severe hammer, if the bolt doesn't want to come out you can always buy some recon/second hands parts

Have a look on Paddocks web site they do recontrack controlarms supplied with new ball joints and poly bushes for £40 exch and drug struts for £30

http://www.jamespaddock.co.uk/Stock....amp;category=1

So at least if you do damage a part beyond repair, parts are available and some members might even have some spares available in exchange for beer tokens

Plus the forum is only ever a few clicks away for advice etc

Good look with it

Stu E

[maverick]

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Thanks Stu,

Do I need to remove the circlip to free up the ball joint?

I know about the Paddocks replacement units,just not got the budget at the mo,and I do get a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment from doing jobs on the car an have come a long way since I first started doing my own repairs ,have learned alot with the help of people like yourself and forum contributors.

I am grateful for your time,

Mark

[singapore stag]

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Once the bolts were off, the TCAs with the ball joints still attachedwere taken to garage to have the ball joints separated from the arms. I did not want anymore hasslefreeing the ball joints, had enough with the angle grinding hammering etc and I did not have the equiptment to free the ball joints(vice ,ect)

Sukh.
P.s The circlips have to come off to get the ball joints off, got the circlip pliers from Halfords, (cost quite a bit.:X)

[maverick]

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Thanks again Sukh,Im much clearer now.

Kind regards Mark