Step 15: Fully install the wishbone balljoint pin into the pinch bolt clamp:
(which doesn't mean push it up as high as it will go, as I once found to my cost...)
a) If the tip of the balljoint pin is already in the mouth of the pinch bolt clamp, I found that just shaking and pushing the bottom of the wheel hub inwards caused the pin to locate deeper into the clamp. In fact on my recent wishbone I was lucky - doing this caused the pin to go straight up the clamp to exactly the right height! so that the pinch bolt then went straight through the clamp without any adjustment of the pin height. Assume you won't be as lucky...
b) If not, you need to get the tip of the pin into the clamp. Here's what I did: I lay down on my side on the ground with a long 5 ft lever (1in diameter length of steel pipe from the scrapyard), one end wedged under either the subframe (OS wishbone) or a triangular bracket sticking out under the front of the gearbox (NS wishbone) (see photo), and using my bodyweight on my end of the lever, I levered the wishbone and balljoint down below the clamp, removed the plastic protective cover off the balljoint, then shoved the wheel hub and clamp over the balljoint pin, and released the lever so that the pin went into at least the mouth of the clamp. If you can get the pin in further, fine, otherwise now do step a) above.
c) Once the pin is firmly inserted into the clamp, you need to manoeuvre the pin up and down to get it to the correct height. The correct height is where the semi-circular cut-out in the pin (which the pinch bolt eventually fits through) (see photo) is at the same height as the pinch bolt holes in the pinch bolt clamp.
To move the pin up the clamp: gently tap on the bottom of the balljoint with a hammer. Move the pin up gradually and keep checking for the correct height in the clamp (shine a torch through the pinch bolt hole(s), and check to see whether the pinch bolt will go through the holes). If you're too low or too high you will see the pin and/or edges of the cut-out obstructing the pinch bolt holes.
To move the pin down the clamp: either use the aforementioned lever to lever the wishbone and pin down (which is what my local garage did), or tap down on the projections either side of the wishbone balljoint as you did on disassembly.
Tip: It is better for the pin to be too low than too high, as I found it harder to move the pin down (new wishbone bushes exert a greater force upwards on the pin than old wishbone bushes), so try to start with pin low, and tap it up gradually, continually checking, to get to the correct height.
That's all the tricky bits done.
Photos:
- Levering down the wishbone
- Cut-out on balljoint pin (for pinch bolt to go through)