General mot failure :-( nearside suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint

[peterainbow]

mot failure :-(

nearside suspension arm has excessive play in a ball joint

anybody know what this means and where i/the garage can get the replacement part from

also roughly how much it will cost?

also rubber boot cover split...

 

[totnesmonster]

The part should be £20 -25 for the ball joint and hub carrier. You can buy the ball joint seperately for about £5 and get them pressed into the old carrier, but I found it a pain in the a*** so would reccommend getting the more expensive part and saving the hassle.

Should take about an hour to fit.

 

[peterainbow]

The part should be £20 -25 for the ball joint and hub carrier. You can buy the ball joint seperately for about £5 and get them pressed into the old carrier, but I found it a pain in the a*** so would reccommend getting the more expensive part and saving the hassle.

Should take about an hour to fit.

i'm a bit confused as to which bit it actually is?

is it the outboard cv joint on the end of the drive shaft inside the rubber thingy?

dont suppose you know the page in the haynes manual.

also any idea where i can get them from or are they easy to get?

thanks in advance!

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Right, all the above sounds about right. This is a poor pic I know, but all I could find, and by chance it was when the suspention arms were being done on the 1000CL.

The bits circled are the Arms (I think, wait for confirmation from another member ) and you can see the left (O/S) one is in place and the right (N/S) one missing as it's being replaced.



Jon.

 

[totnesmonster]

Right, all the above sounds about right. This is a poor pic I know, but all I could find, and by chance it was when the suspention arms were being done on the 1000CL.

The bits circled are the Arms (I think, wait for confirmation from another member ) and you can see the left (O/S) one is in place and the right (N/S) one missing as it's being replaced.

View attachment 48288

Jon.

It sounds like its the joints at the other ends of those arms, which attach the bottom of the wheel hub to the track arms. Those are the only ball joints on the Panda suspension, apart from the two steering arms.

As for the boot cover, is it the inner or outer? The inner ones hold in the gear oil, so are pretty critical. The inners (including bearing and oil seal) are about £25 also, the last time I got one. Outers are cheaper, but the driveshaft has to come out to do either properly.

 

[peterainbow]

having stuck my head under to have another look i see what he means now

it is just the ball joint on the bottom of the hub carrier

the rubber split is on the ball joint itself so same thing

is it easy to get the hub carrier and ball joint off?

i assume that'll mean undoing the drive shaft end nut etc?

also any recommendations for motor factors that sell these things or is it fiat only?

thanks gain for the help!

 

[mightysisley]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Front-Ball-Jo...categoryZ10382QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

Found this^^ Looking at it, you do remove hub nut which WILL BE TIGHT 3/4" drive socket set recommended. Also make sure you slacken this first with the car on the deck and if possible get someone to hold the foot brake on while you slacken it. Wheel, brake caliper, carrier and disc next. Then 4 bolts hold the hub/wheel bearing assembly in place hub and bearing should come free maybes require a gentle tap with a soft hammer.

Remove the nut on the ball joint, if you have a fork shape ball joint splitter great, if not best way i find with a lot of cars is to put pressure downwards on bottom arm using a long bar and an assistant where possible and hit the area where the shaft of the ball joint passes through. Be careful of what you are barring off though as dont want to knacker anything else. Would personally defo get a ball joint splitter though much safer a generally easier.

Once thats free then remove bolts that hold this assembly to the strut.

Refit new unit in reverse order of removal of old unit. when tightening the ball joint nut will find that its a tw*t to stop it just turning. put a jack under the bottom arm and carefully lift until theres enough pressure to hold the ball joint still but not so much as to have lifted the car off the axle stand.

Think that just bowt it, im sure if i've missed anything someone will enlighten

 

[peterainbow]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Front-Ball-Joint-Fiat-Panda-1985-1994_W0QQitemZ380007258049QQihZ025QQcategoryZ10382QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

blimey very helpful indeed, think i might get the garage to do this as haven't got splitter anymore ( lost in moving ).

also not sure if that link is same as mines an L reg so moght be different ( probably not though )

i did find a motor factors that had it in at £35 + vat, or £5 for the ball joint only.

went to fiat dealer too for a laugh, quoted me £105 + vat

anyway thanks for the help has put my mind at rest that it's at least doable one way or another, been having an unlucky year so viewing everything as half empty

 

[pandamonius_maximus]

yes, mightysisley has it! I had to do it a few years ago, and opted for the easier hub and ball joint assembly. The ball joint splitters you have to hammer in (like a wedge shape) are very dodgy in my opinion. Came very close to splitting the rubber boots (not a problem if they are already gone I supose!!)

Good luck if you chose to do it yourself though, and if not I hope the garage give you a fair price!

Si

 

[mightysisley]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FIAT-PANDA-BA...ms=39:1|66:2|65:10&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1318

Heads up pete^ jus found these maybe of some use??

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Lol. I saw those and was wondering if they're what is needed

 

[peterainbow]

Then 4 bolts hold the hub/wheel bearing assembly in place hub and bearing should come free maybes require a gentle tap with a soft hammer.

Once thats free then remove bolts that hold this assembly to the strut.

quick question is there a risk that i'll pull the drive shaft out of the gear box?

just that in my first panda thats what a garage did and dropped the needle bearings into the gearbox, not that they noticed and gave the car back to be, went mad at 40mph the engine jumping around....

also what will be holding the drive shaft up when i remove the assembly?

 

[mightysisley]

quick question is there a risk that i'll pull the drive shaft out of the gear box?

just that in my first panda thats what a garage did and dropped the needle bearings into the gearbox, not that they noticed and gave the car back to be, went mad at 40mph the engine jumping around....

also what will be holding the drive shaft up when i remove the assembly?

Ah good point, case of being careful. Drive shaft wont go anywhere until you remove the wheelbearing assembly thereafter it may pull out of the gear box.

Best way I can think of is slacken the 4 bolts that hold the hub but dont remove completely. Slacken bolts holding the hub carrier/balljoint to the bottom arm again not removing completely remove ball joint nut and pop the joint but leave it sat in bottom arm.

Now take the bolts out holding the wheelbearing/hub assembly and remove as previously mentioned but keep eye on the driveshaft making sure you aren't drawing it out with the hub. now remove bolts holding carrier to the strut push or tap the strut back out of the carrier now take hold of the d/shaft to make sure it don't go anywhere tip the carrier towrds u and lift it off the bottom arm. now if you haven't got the new unit to hand or you have to swap balljoints in the old unit you can tie the drive shaft up to the strut with a length of string.