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Sprinter /LT35 lower ball joint
deep blue - 14/5/12 at 08:23 PM

I know it is not Locost or even remotely kit car related , But the lower ball joints are worn on my LT35 tow/ sleeper van,.
They press fit into the wishbone and look a pain to do, i did think about removing the wishbone entirely but thought there must be a practical way of pressing it out in situation, the proper tools are an alarming price. as anyone any ideas or home made tools they have done this awkward job with, or is there no quick route.


NigeEss - 14/5/12 at 09:56 PM

They're not too bad to do in situ.
They hammer out, remove the strut to give yourself room to swing the FBH (F'in Big Hammer). Find a tube that
fits under the wishbone but slightly bigger than the ball joint and lower the truck till the bone and tube are on
the ground and beat the old balljoint out. Sometimes a bit of heat helps.
To fit the new one get a tube that fits under the new joint and wedge this against the floor, get another tube
that will fit over the rubber boot and against the wishbone upper surface and hammer the bone onto the new joint.

Took me an hour each side.

[Edited on 14/5/12 by NigeEss]


froggy - 14/5/12 at 10:32 PM

I do lots of these and my tip is grInd a tiny bit of a lead onto the first few mm of the new joint before fitting to get the joint in and square before hitting it with the big hammer , they have a knurled edge to grip the arm and I just touch the first few mm with a soft pad on the grinder . I do use some heat to speed up getting the old ones out as they can be very tight


dray13dad - 15/5/12 at 05:14 AM

+1. only going to add that if you do warm up the arm to help get out the old drill a hole it the bottom of the ball joint as they do go off with a great bang when grease gets to hot.(but is fun)