Bottom ball joint binding?
Discussion
I'm refitting my front suspension. I've replaced the upper and lower balljoints and the lower wishbone. When I came to roughly position the upper balljoint I noticed it would only just fit at the outer end of the adjustment. It seems that with everything at full extension the lower balljoint is bound by it's innermost position not allowing me to push the upper balljoint further inboard. As everything is new I don't have any real datums to work from to establish if everything is as it should be.
With the wishbones being unequal it will improve as the suspension moves up but obviously I don't want anything reaching the full extent of it's travel before the shocks limit the travel. Now I can retrieve the old wishbones etc from the scrap pile and check dimensions etc. but I thought I'd ask if anyone else has come across this?
With the wishbones being unequal it will improve as the suspension moves up but obviously I don't want anything reaching the full extent of it's travel before the shocks limit the travel. Now I can retrieve the old wishbones etc from the scrap pile and check dimensions etc. but I thought I'd ask if anyone else has come across this?
Some of the pattern ball joints are not suitable for the Griff. They have insufficient movement in the joint and this locks out. End result is that the metal cup fails and the ball joint comes apart. See http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
shpub said:
Some of the pattern ball joints are not suitable for the Griff. They have insufficient movement in the joint and this locks out. End result is that the metal cup fails and the ball joint comes apart. See http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Thanks for reminding me of the consequences of getting it wrong 
I had read about problems with pattern ones so I got mine from one of the usual TVR suppliers to be safe. How can I tell if these are actually the correct ones? They are marked TRW 2 0 on the underneath with three dots in an umlaut style above the W.The pic shows mine at the full extent of their travel and the lighter is there to help show the angle.
ETA: If I squeeze the bellows I can feel the pinched waist referred to on the other topic.
Edited by TheGriffalo on Thursday 14th February 09:19
I bought a pair of joints that had larger bodies than the originals, they were too big to adjust fully in. In fact the camber was almost but not quite acceptable with them right against the wishbones. They came from a TVR dealer who insisted they were OK. I went to another dealer who sold the right ones. Another solution would have been to grind a few mm off the wishbone.
steve-V8s said:
I bought a pair of joints that had larger bodies than the originals, they were too big to adjust fully in. In fact the camber was almost but not quite acceptable with them right against the wishbones. They came from a TVR dealer who insisted they were OK. I went to another dealer who sold the right ones. Another solution would have been to grind a few mm off the wishbone.
That's the uppers' isn't it? I thought that could be my problem at first even though I had checked them for size against the ones I took off. It was only when I looked underneath I noticed the angle of the lower balljoint. It *could* be that I just need to jack the lower wishbone a fraction but as it's blummin Valentines Day today I can't get out in the garage to check 
Evening all.
I too have been re-furbing the front suspension in anticipation of spring/summer. I purchased SAAB 900 ones as identified by owners on these pages (Carried out a search) and I too have encountered the same problem of insufficient adjustment of the camber angle due to the outer diameter of the top ball joint fouling the top wishbone.
I took the ball joint to a friend who is an independant SAAB specialist and he identified it as being of a SAAB 99 (Delphi pt.no. TC125) and not the 900.
I duly purchased a pair and they are exactly the same as the Griff. ones.
Not sure if the 5.0ltr is the same as mine? my Griff is a 4.3 (92)
hope this may be of help.
BB- it may be of use identifying this in the Griff pages!
Regards Dave
I too have been re-furbing the front suspension in anticipation of spring/summer. I purchased SAAB 900 ones as identified by owners on these pages (Carried out a search) and I too have encountered the same problem of insufficient adjustment of the camber angle due to the outer diameter of the top ball joint fouling the top wishbone.
I took the ball joint to a friend who is an independant SAAB specialist and he identified it as being of a SAAB 99 (Delphi pt.no. TC125) and not the 900.
I duly purchased a pair and they are exactly the same as the Griff. ones.
Not sure if the 5.0ltr is the same as mine? my Griff is a 4.3 (92)
hope this may be of help.
BB- it may be of use identifying this in the Griff pages!
Regards Dave
I think it is worth reaffirming that with these cars it is always prudent to carefully inspect your new components against the old ones... I don't think that advice should be ignored whether you buy parts from the market or the factory 
. I knows its nice to chuck the old away & get on with the new, but taking a little time to compare them will save you grief in the long run IMHO.
Dave
. I knows its nice to chuck the old away & get on with the new, but taking a little time to compare them will save you grief in the long run IMHO.Dave
My problem isn't the upper balljoint, it's the same as the one I took off the car although it does have the slightly larger head. I can get the movement I need inboard with the upper one detached from the suspension, it's the angle of the lower balljoint that seems to be the problem.
My new lower balljoint is waisted as per the other thread and I *think* it's the correct part as I bought it from one of the regular suppliers mentioned on PH.
Perhaps a better question (which has probably already been answered) is "is it normal to need to apply some compression to the lower wishbone during assembly to get everything in the correct alignment"?
I'm happy to bin new components for the sake of a few quid and keeping the car safe, but I want to ensure that I'm following the correct assembly procedure first.
My new lower balljoint is waisted as per the other thread and I *think* it's the correct part as I bought it from one of the regular suppliers mentioned on PH.
Perhaps a better question (which has probably already been answered) is "is it normal to need to apply some compression to the lower wishbone during assembly to get everything in the correct alignment"?
I'm happy to bin new components for the sake of a few quid and keeping the car safe, but I want to ensure that I'm following the correct assembly procedure first.
900T-R said:
60maxx said:
I took the ball joint to a friend who is an independant SAAB specialist and he identified it as being of a SAAB 99 (Delphi pt.no. TC125) and not the 900.
- Eric (2x Saab 900, 1x Chimaera)
out. The 99 and the 900 definitely use exactly the same part number.ETA: I've just spoken to a man who actually *knows*. The part number is indeed the same, but some manufacturers have switched from a pressed steel construction while some still use pressed steel. Our cars use the pressed steel version.
Edited by TheGriffalo on Saturday 16th February 12:42
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