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Ford Ka creaking suspension update

A while ago I mentioned that the Ka had been creaking from the n/s/f for a couple of years and that I thought it was down to the lower arm bushes which had started to come adrift after only 8k miles.

There were a couple of people who said that the creaking would most likely be coming from the lower arm ball joint and not the bushes. At the time I used one of those hypodermics that you get with inkjet refill kits to get some light oil under the ball joint gaiter and it made no difference.

Yesterday I replaced the lower arm assy and I can confirm that the creaking was definitely caused by the bush. The ball joint was free, smooth and noiseless. Inserting a bolt or bar through the bush and wiggling it reproduced the creaking noise that we used to get when installed in the car.

I used a non-Ford lower arm @ £34 because I figured it couldn't last any less that the original Ford part which as I mentioned started to fail at

8k and was completely knackered at 25k miles.
Reply to
Paul Giverin
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Is it more trouble than it's worth to put new bushes in then?

Reply to
Doki

The bushes are difficult to change unless you can make the support pieces to stop the arm folding up when you use a press or big vice to push the old out and the new ones in .

I have found that pattern arms fail even faster than ford ones and you definitely will need the tracking checked after fitting.

MrCheerful

Reply to
MrCheerful

Reply to
Mindwipe

Bugger. I'm tempted to buy my own tracking kit, the amount of times I've had it done.

Reply to
Doki

In message , Doki writes

Bushes are only £6 but you need a press. I've got a press at work but work is 35 miles away from home. As I was unsure if the creaking was caused by the bushes or the ball joint, I decided it would be easier to replace the arm. When I do the other side, I may decide to change only the bush.

Reply to
Paul Giverin

In message , MrCheerful writes

I couldn't give a toss. I'm not giving Ford £60 for a genuine arm which starts to fail at 8k miles.

Reply to
Paul Giverin

I agree, usually rears are straightforward, but front arm ford bushes are definitely harder, plus the arms are every weak and would easily distort.

MrCheerful

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Reply to
MrCheerful

In message , Doki writes

I looked into buying one of the Gunson trakrite but I found them to be expensive but..... I just checked their website and its currently £52 + vat which is cheaper than I thought. We have got three cars in the household so it may be worth considering.

Reply to
Paul Giverin

I was thinking more along the lines of a full laser setup. ISTR there was one in C&CC a while ago at around £250.

Reply to
Doki

In message , Doki writes

That's a bit of an overkill for the DIYer IMHO. My local tyre dealer has been using the Gunson thingy for about 15 tears and I've never had any problems with my car when he's used it.

Reply to
Paul Giverin

Really? I'd have thought it would be pretty difficult to use - surely you need one for each wheel so you can do both at the same time, and avoid problems from the wheel being moved etc?

Reply to
Doki

In message , Doki writes

You only use one of them. You drive over it with one of the wheels and it tells you how far its out and in what direction. You just have to make sure the wheels are straight when you drive over it.

Reply to
Paul Giverin

Just put pattern ones on my Mondeo again. Was going to use ford ones but when they ask you for £72 each and the pattern ones are £22 each, what more can I say. Yes they are a pig to do, but they can fail times 3 and you still haven`t enough cash for a ford one.

Reply to
John Woodhall

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