A beginners guide to stuffing up your trackrod end ball joint...

Its a ball joint therefore it will spin, that is what it is designed to do However you are spinning the ball when attempting to tighten it. Once in place the ball will remain still and the socket will move instead

And it is metal not rubber

Give the bottom of it an upward smack with a mallet to engage the splines and tighten away

However as the steering is a fairly critical part of the vehicle a new ball joint would be favourite

Tony

'Splines' on a trackrod end? I suppose some might have. All the ones I've seen have just a plain taper.

I find the best way is to put a small jack under the end and use pressure from that to provide enough friction to prevent initial turning as you do up the nut.

Certainly if you've used heat and or force to remove it. They're not exactly expensive.

What if it's one of those ends that go down into the knuckle, rather than up into it ;-)

A clamp of some description? I've not had much success with the mallet way. And really don't like whacking steering components.

Make sure it's not greasy (brake cleaner), stick a socket over the spindle and the back of the ball joint (if it's not a solid casting) & squash it into place with a g cramp.

Years ago, I used to have an old Granada Ghia X 2.8i Auto and one of the oil seals on the auto box was leaking. Already knowing that auto boxes are very specialized bits of kit and I would never dare delve into the mysterious inner workings of one, I consulted the HBOL to find that it was a simple job to replace said oil seal.

So, obtained new seal for £1.75 and set about dropping the box. Once the box was on the floor, the HBOL said, "Undo the six bolts holding the torque converter housing to the box, lift away the housing and remove the seal".

As I lifted away the housing the seal came with it and various springs, ball-bearings and other assorted stuff leaped out of the box like some satanic jack-in-the-box on steroids. If anyone finds themselves in the same situation, I can say that just shoving the stuff back in the box the same way it came out doesn't work :o)

A phone call to a local auto box specialist went something like this:

"Hi. Erm, how much would you charge to rebuild... " "A lot" came the reply "But you don't know what I need rebuilding yet" "Aye, but rebuilding anything's always a lot"

He then burst out laughing and asked what was wrong - by the time I'd finished telling him he was wetting himself with laughter but said that yes, he'd do it, and it wouldn't cost too much.

Talking to him on the phone, I could tell from his voice that he was probably middle-aged but as my mate and I carried in the main body of the box and various bits and pieces in an Asda carrier bag, the young lad at the counter shouted at the top of his voice, and with obvious glee, "Paul. He's here" - and about a dozen blokes came out of various places to have a look and take the piss :o)

They said that as long as Haynes kept printing the BOL they would never be short of work. Anyway, they sorted it and charged me about £20 or £25 IIRC (going back about 15 years or a bit more). That was Stephenson's Transmissions in Preston, Lancs, and I can highly recommend them - unlike the HBOL :o)

John.

John ( snipped-for-privacy@aiabsdC.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Ah, you let the pingfuckits out.

Sorry, blond moment, its some years since I did one of these I really meant taper

Tony

Seconded. I always love reading stories like this.

Is this a direct quote or from memory? ;-)

On most boxes the front seal can be replaced after removing the TC - and is rather obvious.

I have changed granada auto front seals without grief, as soon as the box is off you can change it easily.

Maybe he read the seal change directions for the manual box (at this point) the front seal on a manual box is often in a nose piece (to support the thrust race) and is held on by a ring of bolts (usually 4)

That said Haynes BOL are rubbish, I have often been tempted to send them bills based on following their instructions (such as 'you can now turn the engine' if you did, the valves would bend) 'The hand brake is self adjusting' No, it isn't, the footbrake is, the handbrake isn't. etc. etc. 'Reverse the procedure to reassemble' is another good one, and why can't they put in a picture of something useful, like what the brake springs look like when correct.

Mrcheerful

My favourite is "based on a complete strip down and rebuild", which means they don't get eg the car body in the way when doing a cambelt. Funnily enough that makes it an awful lot easier.

cheers, clive

Oh, very much from a very hazy memory due to the many hundreds of gallons of beer consumed in the 15 years or more between then and now :o)

But I do know that it happened and wasn't a drunken hallucination as we have photos of the bits that came out, lying on the garage floor and, somewhere, we still have the bill from Stephenson's.

John

Yes - I'm not familiar with Ford autos but on most I've worked on is part of the pump or bellhousing and easily removable.

Or perhaps confused removing the TC securing bolts before removing the transmission complete with TC? I'm also not quite sure which bits would explode when removing the bellhousing - unless you managed to pull out the input shaft with it too. But then I don't know Ford autos.

Indeed. They tend only to be of limited help if you already have a fair idea of what you're doing, while being aimed at the novice. The maker's manual usually gives better instructions for the novice which seems apex over posterior.

Go on then, post the photo.

We are currently in the middle of rewiring the house and then, of course, the redecorating so stuff like photos and important documents have been put out of the way for safe keeping but I've made a note so that I don't forget to do it and I promise that you'll all be able to laugh at me and my mate, looking dumbstruck and wondering what the hell we do now :o)

John