Elise S2 Front Lower Ball Joints.

[MGJohn]

One of these was an advisory on the last MoT Pass. My son decided to renew both sides and soon had both front Lower Wishbones removed. The Lotus has proved easy to work on over the years. We did not fancy whacking those old worn and corroded Ball Joints out with limited DIYer resources. Car is showing 90,000 miles now. So took it to a local one-man-band I've used over the years for jobs on our cars we do not fancy doing ourselves. He has access to a press. We supplied the B-Js and collected them today. There was a bonus for me when I dropped the job off yesterday afternoon. My man was working on one of my favourite blasts from the past. A 1964 Sunbeam Alpine in tidy condition.

Nice shiny new Ball-Joints.



I will suggest my son rubs the Wishbones down and give them a couple of coats of protective paint before putting them back on the car. I'm a great believer that Prevention is better than Cure..



The 1964 Sunbeam Alpine.

[Ganglandboss]

Lovely car, but you can do ball joints without removing the wishbone and one of these:

http://www.eliseparts.com/products/show/66/397/bal...

As they're off, it might be worth doing the bushes as well though.

[MGJohn]

Ganglandboss said:

Lovely car, but you can do ball joints without removing the wishbone and one of these:

http://www.eliseparts.com/products/show/66/397/bal...

As they're off, it might be worth doing the bushes as well though.

Thanks for that. Learn something new every day. One of the reasons I post things like this. Useful responses and feedback. The bushes at the other end of the wishbone look in good shape unlike one of the ball-joints which had seen better days.

Renewing bushes and swivel joints on any old car's steering and suspension can transform a car's handling. Been there done that a few times.

[Arisutea]

Ganglandboss said:

Lovely car, but you can do ball joints without removing the wishbone and one of these:

http://www.eliseparts.com/products/show/66/397/bal...

As they're off, it might be worth doing the bushes as well though.

I was going to suggest exactly the same thing... it really doesn't take long with this, maybe 20-30 minutes per side.

Another top tip: put the new balljoints in the freezer overnight. They shrink a little bit which makes fitting them that little bit easier.

[MGJohn]

Arisutea said:

Another top tip: put the new balljoints in the freezer overnight.

My son x-checked the application of these ball joints and it appears Lotus used those from an Astra/Cadet ( GM Opel ).

Yes, agreed. Get them nice and cold. Used that trick when replacing the similar ball-joints on my 620ti a few years back. What also helped after much careful application of the Club Hammer to drift the old ones out using a stout tube, was to use some 1000 Grade wet and dry used wet on their housings in the lower hub which ensure the new ones went in smoothly. The pictures tell the tale.



Needed to remove one or two of those closeby 12mm Bearing retainer bolts to extract and insert the B-Js.



Note the recess at the top of the new B-J to allow fitment past the bearing in the hub.



Note the empty slot location and the lack of a BIG CirClip B-J retainer. None were present when the old ones were removed and the new ones did not come with CirClips. Few years on, still good as gold.

Edited by MGJohn on Friday 17th July 18:53

[Flipatron]

MGJohn said:

My son x-checked the application of these ball joints and it appears Lotus used those from an Astra/Cadet ( GM Opel ).

This is true but you need to be careful when using the GM part code. The joints that your local motor factor supply look identical to the Lotus items but the tapered shaft is thicker. Not enough thread protrudes from the upright resulting in the locking nut not 'locking'.

[MGJohn]

Flipatron said:

MGJohn said:

My son x-checked the application of these ball joints and it appears Lotus used those from an Astra/Cadet ( GM Opel ).

This is true but you need to be careful when using the GM part code. The joints that your local motor factor supply look identical to the Lotus items but the tapered shaft is thicker. Not enough thread protrudes from the upright resulting in the locking nut not 'locking'.

Thanks for the heads up. Prior to fitting the new replacements, we checked their dimensions and they appeared identical.