Drop arm ball joint help.

Adam1979 · Aug 30, 2012

Having some trouble with my drop arm ball joint. Every time I fit a new one within a few weeks the rubber boot has come off and it fills up with crap which renders the bloody thing useless. Sick of having to change it every year for the MOT. Had a good look at it the other day and noticed that it seems to sit with a constant rearward pressure on it which is putting pressure on the boot at all times. Is there something else which I can adjust to help it sit level and make it last a bit longer or does it sound like maybe something else could be shagged??

jamesmartin · Aug 30, 2012

id get a new complete arm ,the raised part gaiter sits on gets damaged and ensure drag link fits on square and is not bending joint before you start

Adam1979 · Aug 30, 2012

Think my arm is ok. Does not seem to have any damage to it and looks in very good condition. Was not changed long ago. How do I ensure that the drag link sits square?? Is it a case of turning the steering arm to pull it forward a bit more??

Brown · Aug 30, 2012

Yes, after I did mine, my gaiter kept coming off. I scraped the accumulated rust out of the groove it sits in on the steering arm, so it can actually get a grip, and ended up using the old spring clip rather than the new one supplied. It seems to have stayed put lately, so I think it has settled down now. You've got a bt of adjustment by slackening off the clamp at the other end and moving the ball joint at the wheel side round a little in relation to the drag link tube.This may help it to sit at the angle you want. But ball joints are meant to be able to waggle around, and there are forces on it from the steering damper, gravity and everything else, so it will probably end up where it wants to be.

Shifty1962 · Aug 30, 2012

I used a thin nylon cable tie to keep the boot in the cleaned out groove. Still there after two years or so.

Adam1979 · Aug 30, 2012

Cheers shifty will give that a try.

666 george · Aug 30, 2012

Shifty1962 said:
I used a thin nylon cable tie to keep the boot in the cleaned out groove. Still there after two years or so.

Mine's still holding on after 4 years.

Shifty1962 · Aug 30, 2012

Cable ties and gaffer tape. What would we do without them?

currymunster · Aug 30, 2012

Hi I have same problem - If anyone needs the part number for just the gaiter its A0408 from britpart. It's called a dust cap as opposed to a gaiter on paddocks.

Hope that helps someone !! ??

666 george · Aug 31, 2012

currymunster said:
Hi I have same problem - If anyone needs the part number for just the gaiter its A0408 from britpart. It's called a dust cap as opposed to a gaiter on paddocks.

Hope that helps someone !! ??

I think you've just found out why they don't work

............Britpart.

Boris113 · Aug 31, 2012

When I put HD steering arms on my 90, I converted to a discovery 300tdi setup. It's simply a case of fitting the drop arm and buying a longer draglink and best of all, no more fiddly ball joints

Jason2 · Aug 31, 2012

Some track rod end ball joints come with a plastic cup to protect the gaitor during transport. I have used these in the past on over the top of the drop arm ball joint and never had a problem.

currymunster · Aug 31, 2012

666 george said:
I think you've just found out why they don't work ............Britpart.

Can you get hold of an original gaiter then mate? Interested if you can?
I'd love to have one in each hand to compare the quality vs price.
£1.40 + VAT at paddocks.

Drop arm ball joint help.

Adam1979

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jamesmartin

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Adam1979

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Brown

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Shifty1962

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Adam1979

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666 george

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Shifty1962

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