wishbones sitting high

[Chimp871]

fitting repainted arms on all 4 corners, all went well but near side front isn't drooping under no load.

Did use jack to push up suspension to preload to torque nuts but NS front arms didn't drop down I removed jack.

I don't know why it's doing this, everything seems in good order. Top ball joint was stiff and thought that was the problem, but I'm not sure.....

[J400GED]

Chimp871 said:

fitting repainted arms on all 4 corners, all went well but near side front isn't drooping under no load.

Did use jack to push up suspension to preload to torque nuts but NS front arms didn't drop down I removed jack.

I don't know why it's doing this, everything seems in good order. Top ball joint was stiff and thought that was the problem, but I'm not sure.....

Looks like your bottom ball joint isn't fitted correctly.

[NZ fan]

If you have replaced the suspension joints check to see if the new ones have the same articulation as the old ones. Have seen a post clearly showing a replacement joint with less slot for the ball to travel in limiting movement.
Found it. http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by NZ fan on Thursday 14th May 02:01

[J400GED]

J400GED said:

Looks like your bottom ball joint isn't fitted correctly.

The reason it isn't drooping at the moment is because you only have the weight of the hub acting against the friction of the clamping load of the bushes, which as you said in your original post, were torqued correctly at nominal ride height.

If you connect your lower balljoint correctly - with it correctly fitted, one wouldn't be able to see the taper of the balljoint - then it will droop as you would expect.

Hope this helps.

Ged

[s3c chris]

Hi.
I seem to recall reading about this problem on the "S" thread when I had one of those.
I have, ready for the rebuild (one day!) a pair of First Line bottom ball joints and was wondering if anyone had fitted these without problems? I'll get some different ones if they will cause a problem!
Regards Chris.

[Chimp871]

Thanks for the comments. I'll try and push the taper in further and hope it fixes it.

The other side has a new lower ball joint but drops normally.

[CHIMV8]

Chimp871 said:

Thanks for the comments. I'll try and push the taper in further and hope it fixes it.

The other side has a new lower ball joint but drops normally.

More pressure dear boy.....get someone to stand on it with a lever

[J400GED]

Chimp871 said:

Thanks for the comments. I'll try and push the taper in further and hope it fixes it.

The other side has a new lower ball joint but drops normally.

The balljoint taper shouldn't need a lot of effort to get it to seat correctly.

[Chimp871]

Removed lower ball joint from upright, jacked up again to check and it hasn't fixed the problem the car lacks off the jacks with no compression on the strut.

Removed the strut, installed ball valve and jacked up. No problem both wishbones moved with no chassis lift.

The shocks are original bilstein, can they be adjusted? Perhaps I adjusted accidentally?

[NZ fan]

I think I might have spotted your problem. I don't think there should be a "ball valve" down there. Also not sure what to make of "lacks off the jacks" but reading between the lines it looks like your shock is seized or stuck mid way down its travel. There is no adjustment on them. I would be putting the shock in a press and see if it will move. Should take less than 500lbs to make it travel so even the lightest of presses should move it. Alternatively you could measure its un loaded length and compare it with the other side? Good luck.

[Chimp871]

NZfan - auto spell checker on phone screwed up.

Should be when car is jacked up it comes off axle stands.

Strut length is same as other side with no load. Perhaps it is seized, if that's possible? Will remove spring and check Strut travel.

[NZ fan]

That's a bit confusing, if the shock is the same length as the other side then surely both hubs would be sitting at the same height unloaded?

[Chimp871]

Hmm, that's very true. Well, I'll remove the spring today or swap with other side to see if strut will compress.

[chimyellow]

Silly question but if you put the hub on an axel stand is there any bounce in the body or is it rock solid?

[Chimp871]

Jist to close the thread.

The problem was leverage. All 4 wheels off ground the near side wouldn't move as it needed other wheels on the ground.

Works as normal now. Thanks for the advice and opinions though.

[ClassiChimi]

Did you attend to the lower ball joint, that looks decidedly loose to me but it could just be the gator pressed a bit low! Glad you sorted the problem.

[roseytvr]

ClassiChimi said:

Did you attend to the lower ball joint, that looks decidedly loose to me but it could just be the gator pressed a bit low! Glad you sorted the problem.

As Al says something not quite right with the lower ball joints, maybe you have the bolts going the wrong way but unlikely to effect performance

[Chimp871]

I whacked it hard and torqued up.

Seems fine driving, but I'll check after a month to see if it's settled more.

[spend]

ARB locking 2 sides together, and offside droop is restricted as it fouls on the steering linkage?

[bobfather]

I take it you dropped the bottom ball joint to fit the spring/damper unit. This puts an enormous strain on the suspension as you try to align and tighten the bottom ball joint back in. Better to relieve the tension by using spring compressors, the ball joint will then just slip back together easily.

I've swapped my suspension five or six times and I've never bothered dismantling the ball joints.