Technical 20V Marea front suspension wishbone changing

[MarkB]

Hi all, I need to replace both front wishbones on my 1999 Marea Weekend (2.0 20V) because the balljoints are worn.

I've done plenty of wishbones and balljoints on other Fiats, Alfas, Lancias, is there anything I should be aware of on the Marea?

Any tricks/advice welcomed.

Thanks,

Mark.
Auckland, New Zealand

 

[polecat]

Hi Mark and welcome to our forum

Fairly standard job, get a Haynes or a Porters manual to help you.

 

[MarkB]

Thanks,

I've been lurking for a while.

Are there significant differences between the two manuals? Any preferences?

Am I corrrect that neither of them cover the 2.0 20V engine?

I'm a little surprised to find that the balljoints have worn at only 80,000km, is this normal?

Thanks,

Mark.

 

[polecat]

Both manuals cover slightly different subjects so work well together. Haynes is probably slightly better if you only have one.
Neither cover the 20v engine, but you can get a coupe workshop manual from eBay that covers the engine.
I have heard about problems with the front suspension, but not that many and not at 50k.
Good luck.

 

[mareabarth]

I've just ordered new wishbones for my 1.6 (plus sump, see other mail).

Mine have worn at 75 thou, i started to get the wandering and sudden movement like driving in a strong side wind, £39 a side as opposed to the £85 from the main dealer. Doesn't look too bad of a job but local mechanics doing it for me as i haven't the time at the moment.

Cheers

Jeff

 

[Alex]

75,000 miles is about 122000km. But depending on driving styles and road conditions, wishbones can go at any time.

 

[MarkB]

I haven't managed to find a manual locally, so will need to order one from the UK. In the meantime, so I can do this job before it arrives, could someone with a manual PLEASE check the relevant bolt torques - presumably I need:

- Ball joint clamp at bottom of hub
- Antiroll bar mount
- Mounting bolts at inner bushes to subframe

The car has done some travelling on unsealed roads with a very full load, but the Croma we had before had exactly the same usage and was still on original wishbones when we sold it at 170,000km. Shocks were stuffed by then though...

GTV's waterpump died on Friday, if it's not one thing, it's another... :yuck:

Thanks,

Mark.

 

[MarkB]

Anybody got the torques in their manual... please....

Thanks,

Mark.

 

[polecat]

Mark,
PM me your email and i'll send you them.

 

[MarkB]

Thanks Dave,

Did them both last night. Wasn't too bad a job, although had two of us and hoist to help! Took less than 2 hrs total including finding putting car on hoist, finding tools and tidying up. As always, the second one was much quicker than the first.

The guide at http://www.703725.co.uk/Guides/wishbone.htm is useful, although the Marea antiroll bar doesn't attach to the wishbone as it does on the Coupe so you don't have to worry about that.

The only awkward bits are:
1. Getting the old wishbone out (after it is unbolted), and the new one back into position - it takes a bit of wiggling and levering to get it past everything else, the LH side was slightly worse, loosened off the antiroll bar mounting bracket to give a bit more freedom. Get the wishbone back into its general position before putting the balljoint into the hub.
2. Getting the bolts back in to the inner mounts - it helps a lot to lower the car onto something (like a length of wood under the end of the wishbone) to push the strut upwards, getting the wishbone more horizontal before levering the brackets into position to align the boltholes. Put the outer (short) bolts back in first.

It would be a more difficult job with only one person - it helps a LOT to have someone to lever things around to line up the bolt holes.

Regards,

Mark.

 

[polecat]

Well done

Thanks for the write up, very useful, rep on the way.