Discussion
is it possible to lube the front swivels uppers and lowers as mine seem to be a bit stiff and the nearside one has a sqeak and the steering is over stiff ( no self centreing) , do they have a grease nipple and what is used grease or oil. and what are the track rod ends from please....
Balljoints are sealed assemblies, no grease nipples. You may be able to remove the rubber boots and inject some oil or grease, but if they're squeaking, they're probably kaput anyway due to water ingress.
The balljoints were originally rivetted to the wishbones: if yours are bolted, they've been replaced before. Last time I did a lower it was about £12. The uppers rarely fail although wear and tear must be an issue by now on original parts.
Track rod ends are generally Cortina Mk.4.
Ian
The balljoints were originally rivetted to the wishbones: if yours are bolted, they've been replaced before. Last time I did a lower it was about £12. The uppers rarely fail although wear and tear must be an issue by now on original parts.
Track rod ends are generally Cortina Mk.4.
Ian
thanks ian , the things are rivetted on so i will have to drill them off , no probs . are the swivels from a cortina as well if so which mark, seems odd really to use bits from a car that handles like shit and use them on a high performance vehicle with a v8 lump. dont tell me that the dampers are from a cortina as well , mind you with the way that my wedge is handling they could be ......regards ian
Yup, Cortina balljoints! 
The Wedge wasn't originally intended to be a V8, remember... Ford didn't change the Cortina when they put the V6 in that, so it MUST be OK
If you look under a Lotus Esprit, you'll find Triumph Herald(ish) suspension: the Herald wasn't designed to do 135 mph either...
The Wedge wasn't originally intended to be a V8, remember... Ford didn't change the Cortina when they put the V6 in that, so it MUST be OK
If you look under a Lotus Esprit, you'll find Triumph Herald(ish) suspension: the Herald wasn't designed to do 135 mph either...
right i have pin pointed the problem to the lower swivels as they are bone dry , which model cortina do they come from ( ie which mark) , also the upper swivels have a plastic bung in the side which when removed has a small threaded hole for a grease nipple or somthing like that , does anyone know about this bit , and what do the rack gaiters come from and track rod ends , are they also cortina and would that be the later mark 4/5 , if i go to TVR they will charge a bomb but if they are cortina bits i can get them from my local motor factor....
ssc1 said:
right i have pin pointed the problem to the lower swivels as they are bone dry , which model cortina do they come from ( ie which mark) , also the upper swivels have a plastic bung in the side which when removed has a small threaded hole for a grease nipple or somthing like that , does anyone know about this bit , and what do the rack gaiters come from and track rod ends , are they also cortina and would that be the later mark 4/5 , if i go to TVR they will charge a bomb but if they are cortina bits i can get them from my local motor factor....
IIRC all the Mk3/4/5 Cortinas were the same balljoints anyway, but if in doubt quote Mk4. I have Motaquip VSJ 355 as the part number for the botom b/j.
Standard rack was also Cortina so those rod ends are fine; however later cars had one of a selection of racks so MAY differ (but probably not). You probably won't be able to get genuine rack boots though, and will have to make do with 'universal fit' ones that cost about £4 a pair. They never seem to last very long in my experience, as they're always trying to turn inside-out, which stresses the rubber. You'll see what I mean if you get some. Ford might be able to get the genuine article; you may like to decide in advance which arm and leg you can do without
Ian
wedg1e said:
IIRC all the Mk3/4/5 Cortinas were the same balljoints anyway
And mk1&2. Yes we're all driving around on ball joints designedabout 1959 I'd guess.
I didn't know that the Esprit was on herald suspension. Did you know that that basic Triumph set up dates back to at least the Mayflower - 1940s - and canalso be found on Spitfires, Elans, Vixens, Ms...
19560 said:
IIRC all the Mk3/4/5 Cortinas were the same balljoints anyway
And mk1&2. Yes we're all driving around on ball joints designedabout 1959 I'd guess.
I didn't know that the Esprit was on herald suspension. Did you know that that basic Triumph set up dates back to at least the Mayflower - 1940s - and canalso be found on Spitfires, Elans, Vixens, Ms...
I suppose 'Herald-based' or at any rate 'Triumph-based' would be a more accurate term - in the same way that the TVR wedge is 'Cortina-based'.
On the Esprit some of the susp. parts are still marked 'Stanpart' which is of course a relic of the Standard-Triumph days. However some parts eg the steering arms are specials for Lotus owing to changes in Ackerman angles etc.
I keep reading that the Esprit susp. was originally Opel Ascona based; why they don't say Vauxhall Cavalier I don't know; maybe the previous Ascona differed from the shared floorpan version?
In the case of the TVR, of course, the designer tried to be clever, using the tie rods in compression instead of tension, leading to the infamous rough ride of the early cars. Once it was reverted to the original (Ford) set-up, it does look almost identical to a Cortina...
well thanks people espesialy wedgie (ian) now i can go and get some bits , i oiled the rough swivel and it transformed the steering ,so i'll change both swivels as they aint much, pity the car is based on the cortina as that had really crap handling ,but then the wedge dont handle that bad ( not as goodas chimaera's though) , but then the bits should be cheap. thanks ...regards ian....ps is the ford sierra suspension the same or is that more like the mondeo. just thinking if sierra bits will fit as well.
>> Edited by ssc1 on Friday 20th August 10:40
>> Edited by ssc1 on Friday 20th August 10:40
The 520 is still running the Cortina front suspension and is currently about 10-15 seconds faster then Griffs and Chimaeras on the sprint circuit so it isn't that bad a setup!
There is also a big psycho thing when people ask if you have a "unequal double wishbone design with low roll centre using asymetric arms and rose joints" and you reply "Dunno. It came off a Mk IV Cortina!"
There is also a big psycho thing when people ask if you have a "unequal double wishbone design with low roll centre using asymetric arms and rose joints" and you reply "Dunno. It came off a Mk IV Cortina!"
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