RR Steering Drop Arm, Ball Joint Replacement

Hi, I don't know about availability Down Under, but here in the states I was able to get a rebuild kit for that ball joint.

and look for PK115 under Parts Kits andthen Tie Rod Ends. Maybe if you write these folks, you can find a suppliercloser to you, or maybe they'll ship you one out. Good Luck, Tor

Haven't we just been here, and discovered that there are at least 3 styles of drop arm/ball joint combination?

Niamh.

you can buy repair kits from paddock spares here in england .

be carefull when refitting new ball joint though because you dont want to damage the lip on top of the arm where the rubber gaiter is held in place .

there is a hardened sleeve pressed into the lower arm which you have to remove and it needs a piece of solid bar turning down the size so it will just fit on top of the sleeve so you can press it out but will pass thru the hole in top of arm without damaging the top lip area.

you then press new sleeve in from bottom of arm , up to the shoulder , with the cup facing down .

the ball is then inserted from underneath arm , just lightly tapped in with mallet and then a spring and flat circular plate or possibly another cup /spring/plate also to go on top of the ball , then a circlip to hold it all in place .

you have to probably hold all under tension in a vice when you put circlip in because it is a tight fit , just use a bit of 16mm rod to hold the spring tensionside down and a piece of tube that fits over the threaded end or the rod end down whilst in vice and then you can fit circlip easily .

by far the hardest job in all this can be removing the large nut holding the drop arm in place , ive had some come off very easily and some needed heat from oxy/acetylene to loosen the nut .

it is possibly to replace the ball joint with the arm in place , but some work and fiddling to do this .

remember there is only a very small lip protruding at top of the inner sleeve which you use to tap it out with , you DO NOT hit the TOP of the arm where the gaiter lip is as this is part of the forging .

the sleeve is somewhat lower down inside the hole .

hope this helps .

Philip,

What year model? Some have replaceable balljoints.

I bought a kit for my previous '86 RR here in Sydney from my local LR mechanics - KLR Automotive in Kingswood tel (02) 4721-3675

If you are in Melbourne, try Ritter or Rangie Spares.

Ron

By far the hardest part is removing the drop arm itself (if you go down this route). Its on a tapered spline - it will be VERY tight indeed and probably requires the special puller and a very large hammer - even then it'll be a bast*ard of a job unless you are very lucky. If you do manage to get hold of a suitable puller, leave the nut on (but loose) as the arm comes off with one hell of a bang when it finally lets go.

DO NOT be underneath it at the time!

Worth doing a Google search of this group for more advice and experiences. THere are some threads.

Oxy / heat will not do the seal in the box much good so go a bit careful with the torch.

Mike.

I used an hydraulic puller and it was, as Mike states, a mongrel to get off.

Ron