Technical Panda gear linkage / 4wd selector ball joint fix

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Technical Panda gear linkage / 4wd selector ball joint fix

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Feb 8, 2006
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Greetings all,

I have recently had trouble once again with the plastic ball joint fitting that regularly breaks on out wee little pandas with rod selectors...

So I thought, I'll fix this for good and bought myself a ball joint off the eeeebay like this one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140795197185

Hacked off the original end taking note of the centre point of the ball joint (for positioning the replacement and welded on the new end:
DSCI3172.JPG


All painted up it looks almost like it was meant to be...best part is the ball joint was pretty much the right size (with a little slop) but this is ok as there is a spring inside which ensures it is held in and a further clip (see left in the picture below) and a rubber protective boot to stop crud getting into the joint as well:
DSCI3173.JPG


And fitted with lots of grease:
DSCI3174.JPG


Job done. That's not going to wear out anytime soon I don't think :devil: The grease is held in nicely with the rubber protector boot that comes with the little ball joint.

I'll try to remember to report back after I get some miles on it (although this is the 4wd selector linkage so not going to get too much use really). Will likely need to do the same for the gear selector linkage though so can probably report back on that!

Hope this helps! Might consider making these for peeps as it doesn't take long and uses little resource (although the ball joint wasn't cheap as a one off purchase!!). But I think we wait to see how it goes first!

Cheers,
Si
 
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Nice work Si count me in for one as I'll surely bust mine apart soon :rolleyes: I haven't forgotten that I am going to provide you with the roof rack design either, just haven't had time :mad:

I had forgotten about the roof rack haha, you could have gotten away with it :p

But yes please, it's a sturdy design!

also..I've been given the videos of the panday yorkshire experience so will try to get them uploaded Wednesday.
 
These type of ball joints are common on tailgate gas struts, picking some up from a breakers might be a cheaper source? Rose joints are another option, although you would have to mod the lever on the gearbox too.

Good point about the gas struts, think I may have even had one to hand as well :doh:

But yeah, will spend more time browsing for a cheap option next time. I needed this quickly as it was stuck in 4wd and I didn't want to ruin tyres etc :eek:

Si
 
OK, with the engine swapped and a "working" panda I decided to finish off this job and replace all gear linkages / ball joints with metal ball joints for I hope hassle free gear changing for another 28 years :slayer:

Here are the ball joints I used:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-PACK-M8x1-25-RH-LINKAGE-BALL-JOINT-ZINC-PLATED-WITH-CLIP-NUT-/140743039544?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item20c4f05a38

so once again I cut off the bit that holds the plastic rubber ball joint and welded on the metal ones. I even added a tie rod to allow for gear lever position adjustment...

Oddly though I seem to be having trouble uploading photos on FF:confused: I'll wait a bit and try again....stay tuned! haha
 
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Yay we have pictures again! :slayer:

So where was I :D

I cut off the old rubber ball joint and end piece and welded a nut onto the linkage. I could then fit the replacement ball joint as a tie rod set-up which will allow me to fully adjust the position of the gear lever:
Photo1094.jpg


Bit of zinc primer...
Photo1103.jpg


Next up the main gear linkage rod which controls left to right movement of the gear stick. I had a temporary fix which replaced the ball joint with a spring and bolt set-up. This worked to a fashion but not as smooth as a ball joint of course!...
Photo1096.jpg


So before...
Photo1097.jpg


Cutting off the old ball joint fitment was a little depressing / scary...
Photo1099.jpg


But welded on the new one and felt a lot better about it :eek: This is the socket bit not the ball of the joint. Just a bad angle on the photo...
Photo1105.jpg


Better image showing the socket and all painted up zinc and black...
Photo1106.jpg


Then fitted and all working nicely:
Photo1106DSCI3221.JPG

Photo11141.jpg


No more sloppy gear changes and finding gears is no longer a quest :D
 
Very good idea, that was also my plan to improve the mechanism, but now I am thinking of making a hybrid of lancia y10 4wd gearbox with box from panda 1.0 fire 1994 with cable gear selector inside the cabin. I hit the ground so many times with gear change mechanism that it is a miracle that it is still working despite lots of bends and overall molestation. It is also prone to be "stuck" with mud and other stuff, that few times disabled my gearchande, while bogging in deep mud. I think from 1994 all 4x4 pandas had cable gear selector inside cabin, a "must have" for serious safe offroading.
 
Well I can report back in a year or so to make sure it is all still tight and working. And of course Pandaraid is going to be a good test :eek:

Bartpanda - Definitely post up some photos when you replace with cable linkages please! If mine doesn't last then this could be a good plan B! :slayer: But I am fairly confident this will last another 28 years or so :cool:
 
Definitely post up some photos when you replace with cable linkages please!
Ofcourse, I think it will work fine, my friend did the same thing but with 965ccm 4x4 panda mk1 gearbox , but he used cinquecento 900 box and gear change mechanism as a parts donor. I can have good gearbox from 30k miles panda 1.0fire with quiet bearings { btw car has been brought from UK:) }plus all the cable mechanism for good money, so will inform you guys about the outcome of this mod. as soon as it works.
 
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