P38A Bottom ball joints steering.

J L Carr · Jun 30, 2018

Hi Guy's , how hard is it ti change the bottom ball joints on the steering as mine just failed it's MOT on these, do they have to be pressed in to place or do you just put them in the hole and it will settle it self. I can do most things myself but never done these before. Thanks.

tarphenry · Jun 30, 2018

You need to press them in but its not difficult. You can buy the press on Ebay and then you can sell it again,it will be cheaper than someone doing it.soak the old joints in plus gas the night before and wirebrush all the crap off.Put the new joints in the freezer overnight this will reduce the diameter slightly which will help. you need to change both joints on each side.

Datatek · Jun 30, 2018

J L Carr said:
Hi Guy's , how hard is it ti change the bottom ball joints on the steering as mine just failed it's MOT on these, do they have to be pressed in to place or do you just put them in the hole and it will settle it self. I can do most things myself but never done these before. Thanks.

If you mean the swivels for the hub on the end of the axle, then you would be best to do upper and lower while you are at it. You need a special tool to align the hub to get the axle centred. I also replaced the axle oil seal whilst at it.
Tools to press out and back in again are available on Ebay for not a lot and it turned out to be easier than expected.

J L Carr · Jun 30, 2018

Got a twin set of top and bottoms for £34 and a press for £26 , so that's not to bad just need a bit of time to do these. Thanks guys for the help, never thought about the freezer bit.

. I'll let you know how it goes.

ukadamwest · Jul 1, 2018

after you've done a trial run on yours.. you can do mine!

pete12345 · Jul 1, 2018

I've u can put some pics up I may attempt mine I've it's easy enough job

J L Carr · Jul 1, 2018

Here's another question, as it failed it's MOT on the ball joints I was told it had just passed it emissions even tho I had just given it a good blast down a bypass around 10 miles just in case any ideas as to why this may happen, same as last year .

Datatek · Jul 1, 2018

J L Carr said:
Here's another question, as it failed it's MOT on the ball joints I was told it had just passed it emissions even tho I had just given it a good blast down a bypass around 10 miles just in case any ideas as to why this may happen, same as last year .

Probably because it's V8.

biketeacherdave · Jul 1, 2018

Here you go this guy is actually bothering to film all the jobs he has been doing

wammers · Jul 1, 2018

biketeacherdave said:
Here you go this guy is actually bothering to film all the jobs he has been doing

But don't do it like he did for Christ sake.

ukadamwest · Jul 1, 2018

J L Carr said:
Here's another question, as it failed it's MOT on the ball joints I was told it had just passed it emissions even tho I had just given it a good blast down a bypass around 10 miles just in case any ideas as to why this may happen, same as last year .

Old MAF.... old O2 sensors..... old plugs..... old air filter.... clogged breathers... any one or all ??

biketeacherdave · Jul 1, 2018

wammers said:
But don't do it like he did for Christ sake.

I didn't say it was perfect lol

J L Carr · Jul 7, 2018

Well job stopped, as I cannot get the axle nut off it is stuck solid even had a 4 foot bar on it and nothing budged. So back to the drawing board.

tarphenry · Jul 7, 2018

you dont need axle nut off remove 4 bolts holding hub on and withdraw all including cv joint (it may be tight and full of rust ) but it will come off

J L Carr · Jul 7, 2018

Thanks I'll give that a try in the morning, just could not figure it out.

J L Carr · Jul 8, 2018

Well the job is now stopped as the bottom ball joint is completely stuck in and cannot get it out, it's completely stuck so it looks like a garage job. Been at at all day and no joy of it coming out. It's had heat on it and tapping around the joint and not a dot, these to me seem like the original one's. As I'm at work all week and the only time I can get on the car is at weekends. So garage it is.

ukadamwest · Jul 8, 2018

J L Carr said:
Well the job is now stopped as the bottom ball joint is completely stuck in and cannot get it out, it's completely stuck so it looks like a garage job. Been at at all day and no joy of it coming out. It's had heat on it and tapping around the joint and not a dot, these to me seem like the original one's. As I'm at work all week and the only time I can get on the car is at weekends. So garage it is.

tapping the ball joints out wont work they need to be pressed out with some degree of force. that was wammers issue with the vid that BTD posted, using the carrier itself as a press could distort the carrier due the potential forces involved.

Grrrrrr · Jul 8, 2018

How about spraying the inner part with that freeze spray that plumbers use?

Rangie Disco Sportsman · Jul 9, 2018

If you're using a G clamp type balljoint press to get them out spray a liberal amount of white grease on the threads and wind it in and out to cover evenly before starting. Once it's under a lot of pressure it might pop with a sharp smack with the old Irish spanner.

J L Carr · Jul 9, 2018

That the problem Guys, it is stuck, I took the 4 bolts out of the back of the carrier, top ball joint came loose no problem but the bottom 1 it totaly stuck in to the ajusting nut, even the ajusting nut is solid.I've had heat the cold on it but it's solid, so after 6 hours trying to get it out it's time to take it to the garage.

P38A Bottom ball joints steering.

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