Hi guys,

My girlfriends KA has got really bad scrubbing on the inside of both front tyres. You can see fabric stuff in the tyre on the inside with 3-4mm tread on the outside. Same story on both sides.

When I was looking at the tyres I noticed that one of the drop links on one side had failed. Could this be causing scrubbing this bad? I am going to replace both drop links tonight, then get to the tyre place tomorrow for a new set of fronts, but will the scrubbing continue do we think? Or should I book it in to get the tracking done as well?

I personally would get the tracking done for peace of mind but the gf wants it done as cheap as possible.

Cheers all!

Get the tracking checked as it sounds like it's toeing out quite badly.

Is it a street ka or a regular ka? Have you ever had the bottom arms changed?

regular ka, just an 2002 1.3 model.

She's only had it for a few months, so not sure if the bottom arms have been changed. Is it quite a common thing?

What happens to the bottom arms that means theyll need replacing?

It is unlikely that it is the drop links causing problems as they do not affect the steering geometry.

As said, it is the tracking that is out. This could be wrongly set or because of poorly repaired accident damage or more likely worn components.

In no particular order

Track rod ends
Track rods
Lower arms - rubber bushes wear out quite quickly and arms are relatively cheap.
Ball joint - can be changed on its own but is riveted to the arm so needs drilling out, some say it's easier just to change the arm
Top rubber strut mounts

I run a couple of old fiestas for the kids, parts are cheap, if you were to replace track rods, top mounts, arms and drop links you should get change out of £70 excluding labour.

Check for play in the above components, if they seem ok get the tracking checked.

[Edited on 24/3/14 by Brook_lands]

Get up on a ramp, have it checked for accident damage first. If it is a badly repaired car, you probably wont
want to spend money on it. Check the lower arm, they dont cost much and come with lower joint anyway. Check everything else
while your there but definatley have the tracking done. I always have tracking checked with new tyres.

Cheers guys,

No accident damage, checked it all when she bought the car. (well none that was evident anyway!)

Local place has the arms in stock so will pick them up on the way back from work and swap them over tonight.

Garage said itll check tracking for free and only charge if its off when they do the tyre swap so will just do that.

Cheers for all the advice.

arms are prone to go, cheap ones last about 6 months

tracking needs checking its cheaper than replacing tires every 6 months!

I tried replacing the arms last night. Managed to swap one out. The pinch bolt holding the ball joint to the hub was comepletely seized in, ended up drilling it out! Anyway I put a set screw in for now just to get the wheel back on, but it wont be driven like this. I need to get a new bolt to put through it.

Anyone know where I can get a bolt to put through to hold this in place securely?

I will probably need 2 bolts (when i do the other side) and dont want to have to buy a pack of 50 just for two of them!

Try the place you got the wishbones from. They are a special bolt where the shoulder is larger than the thread to locate the pin in the correct position. They are available genuine Ford or non genuine.

Cheers DW.

Dunno why I didn't think that! Glad i asked, i would have just stuck a normal bolt in if I didn't find anything! Just given them a ring and they do have the bolts in stock!