Quick question:
I've fitted Mk6 Transit front hubs to my Mk5 Transit County but the County has the suspension spring on the bottom arm where as the Mk6 uses a Mac strut. This has resulted in all the vans weight hanging on the front ball joints.
Should this be a problem? Is there a chance the ball joints can pull out?!

This shows the County ball joint which is a large screw-in unit.


This shows the Mk6 ball joint which is smaller and held in with a circlip.

Looks wrong to me, as you point out you are relying on the circlip to take all the load as opposed to just locating the arm in it's original application, the other thing to have a look at is which direction the ball joint is designed to be loaded in or you may pull the joint out of it socket, looks as if it is designed to be compressed not used in tension.

If you are happy with the robustness of the upright could the county ball joint be fitted to the mk6 up right? You would need a the upright machined for size and a thread an possibly a nut made to suit the external thread on the ball joint but at least it would future proof you for spares.

Regards
Davie

The County ball joint is one of the reasons for the conversion. They are £150 each and out of stock.....

How did the original ball joint interface with the hub? Was the main body threaded or was it a plate with nutsbolts? Just thinking there may be some kind of work around.

The County ball joint had a huge thread. I think I'll cut open an old Mk6 ball join and see how it's put together.......

don't know anything about transit suspension, but could you use the mac strut on the county too?

It would be very difficult but not impossible. I'd have to graft a pair of strut tops onto the inner wing/wheel arch which would encroach into the foot wells. Not a huge problem on the nearside but the accellerator pedal is in the way on the offside! I could make smaller top mounts and alter the spring seats and use smaller diameter springs.
I think I'll chop open a Mk6 ball joint and see how it's put together....

Not only the ball joint, but I'd be questioning whether the upright itself is strong enough in that area. The casting looks relatively thin where the balljoint mounts, and is effectively a cantilevered platform sticking out from the main casting which is reasonable for it's original application where it only takes lateral loading.

Compare it to the very beefy construction of the County upright in this area.

quote:

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Originally posted by owelly
It would be very difficult but not impossible. I'd have to graft a pair of strut tops onto the inner wing/wheel arch which would encroach into the foot wells. Not a huge problem on the nearside but the accellerator pedal is in the way on the offside! I could make smaller top mounts and alter the spring seats and use smaller diameter springs.
I think I'll chop open a Mk6 ball joint and see how it's put together....

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Thanks for the input guys.
I may just finish putting it all together and hammer up and down a few kerbs and see what breaks.......

Further to my 'suck it and see' method of testing, I think I'll chop the end off an old Mk6 ball joint and see if our 25t press will push it out of the socket. If a knackered ball joint can take 25t then it should be fine!!

Just to update:
The 25t press couldn't push the circlip off. It just tried to bend the 20mm plate the ball joint was 'fitted' to. Twatting the BJ with a huge hammer didn't move the circlip but did 'bounce' the BJ a bit which left a 2mm gap between the seating face and the clip. Enough movement of this sort could wear the fixing so I drilled and tapped a 6mm hole and plopped a bolt in to hold everything snug.
1000miles later and.......
Two problems.
1. The mk6 strut bottomed-out when a couple of big potholes defeated the County bumpstops. This wrecked both struts and left us with zero damping...... Boingy.
2. Mr Ackerman must be spinning in his grave. On full lock, the wheels go crazy. So much so, that boarding a wet steel ferry deck, started to sound like mating whales using kazzoos....
I'll be converting to full mk6 coils on new struts and pondering the geometry.

i have seen std worn transit balljoints pull out
makes a bit of a mess i can tell you