Ball joints and steering ball joints

[bhardy]

Hmmm getting a bit confused with the English words for parts.... Going to get parts for my 1988 350i tomorrow in order to pass the MOT. The leaky swirl pot will be taken out and we will connect the fuellines, (swirl pot will be replaced with home make or maybe one from RT if possible after Zolder). The other things that need to be done are the lower ball joints and the steering ball joints (is this a good english term?) on both sides. Did a quick search but couldn't be sure of the right type of parts. So questions are: are the lower ball joints granada mk 2 or cortina mk4 and what make are the steering ball joints?? If anyone knows what the right makes are and maybe with partnumbers, it will make it a lot easier for me!!

Thanks,
Bernard




>>> Edited by bhardy on Friday 18th June 22:09

[sevans]

I am fairly sure that the track rod ends (steering ball joints) are MK5 Cortina. I don't know if the lower ball joints are MK2 Granada or MK5 Cortina. It seems that the suspension may be a mixture of the two.
It could be the ball joints are the same for both. It may be worth asking if the part number for the two are any different.....if not then you haven't got a problem.

[my 350i]

The lower ball joints are Granada Mk2 and track rod ends / steering ball joints are Cortina, Mk3,4 or 5, they are all the same.

[bobble350]

my 350i said:

The lower ball joints are Granada Mk2 and track rod ends / steering ball joints are Cortina, Mk3,4 or 5, they are all the same.

After trying to fit MkII Granada bottom ball joints to my 350 I would have to disagree The plates were a slightly different size. Believe Cortina are the ones but I ended up sourcing from David Gerald since our local Motor Factors are funny about changing stuff if they have given you what you've asked for.

Mark

[bhardy]

I have bought cortina mk4 track rod end and the lower ball joints. Read a few posts about ball joints but no one knows for sure, maybe because TVR just uses the parts they have in stock. Got the partnumbers from wedgepages so i thought i would stick to that and see if it fits.

[19560]

I've changed the bottom ball joints. Bobble 350 is correct they are Cortina (the same for mks 1 to 5 I believe!)

[sevans]

Questions around the front suspension seem to arise regularly and there seems to be a difference of opinion about what the bits are off, MK2 Granada or MK5 Cortina.
I would be interested to know if anyone knows for sure what the bits are off. It seems pretty sure that the track rod ends are MK5 Cotina, the disks are MK2 Granada, as are the calipers.
The problem area seems to be the upper and lower wishbones. I don't know if these are different from Cortina to Granada, but it would be good to confirm this. Anyone know the definitive answer and put us all
out of out misery????

[19560]

sevans said:

The problem area seems to be the upper and lower wishbones. I don't know if these are different from Cortina to Granada, but it would be good to confirm this. Anyone know the definitive answer and put us all out of out misery????

Cortina, mk 3, 4, or 5. The ball joints are the same on the mk2. Don't know about the mk1 or the Granada but from what people have written here I would guess that the ball joints off a mk2 G would fit but not the wishbones.

[wedg1e]

The lower balljoints on my Tasmin were rivetted to the wishbone as opposed to bolted, suggesting they were original when I changed them. Alas, as I recall I simply asked the motor factors for both Granada and Cortina items on the understanding that I could return whichever I didn't use... and then promptly got them mixed up! As I recall the difference is that the mounting plate is longer one one than the other, so the holes won't line up. It's then immediately obvious which one DOES fit... and must also imply that whichever balljoint fits, that donor car must have supplied the wishbone too.
I did have a sketch of the dimensions but I've been through the 390 file and can't find it, so it probably went in the paperwork with the Tasmin
Track rod end (steering balljoint) is Cortina though... in fact I think the Granada item is the same
anyway.

Ian

[shpub]

sevans said:

Questions around the front suspension seem to arise regularly and there seems to be a difference of opinion about what the bits are off, MK2 Granada or MK5 Cortina. I would be interested to know if anyone knows for sure what the bits are off. It seems pretty sure that the track rod ends are MK5 Cotina, the disks are MK2 Granada, as are the calipers. The problem area seems to be the upper and lower wishbones. I don't know if these are different from Cortina to Granada, but it would be good to confirm this. Anyone know the definitive answer and put us all out of out misery????

Yes. Wishbones are Mk iV Cortina. The Grandad ones are similar but are longer and screw up the camber. SO don't use them. The ball joints are also slightly different but can be made to fit by elongating holes. The upright is Critina/Granada (same item) fitted with a Granada hub.

The track rod ends are dependent on which of the several racks TVR used was fitted. Manual are usually Cortina.

[sevans]

Cheers guys. Cortina it is then, with Granada hubs, disk and calipers.

[bhardy]

Lucky me then!!!

[grahamw48]

I did a lot of customising on Cortinas back in the 70s/80s, including swapping front subframes beween the various marks, and rebuilding their suspension/braking components.

From what I remember, basically the subrames from mk3 to mk5 are the same as to their components, except differences in the length of the top subframe mounting lugs, which won't affect TVRs of course.

It affected me at the time, as I'd put a mk4 subframe into a mk3 body, and then fitted an Essex V6.
The different lug heights resulted in the engine sitting lower.

I still have the Haynes books for the cortinas (well-thumbprinted with oil ), so may come in handy again.