Splitting the lower ball joint

[Da]

Do I need a joint splitter for this?

Thinking of refreshing the 182 and want to replace both lower ball joints before it's MOT in May

 

[sideways danny]

a splitter would be your best bet. Fork type one will damage the rubber boot, but as you're changing the balljoint that's ok

 

[Da]

Cheers Danny, this the kind of thing you mean?

Or is this one worth the £3 extra?

 

[SBV116]

Dude, replace the complete arms if your going that far!!!

 

[Da]

Really?

Thought that bumped up the price quite a bit mate?

*edit* Just looking now - do the lower arms generally come with the lower ball joint too? Could help keep costs down.

 

[sideways danny]

Cheers Danny, this the kind of thing you mean?

Or is this one worth the £3 extra?

fork one


I'm not actually sure you can even buy the balljoints alone, despite them being listed by a couple of places. Pretty sure it's full arm only

 

[Brasseye]

Rentech did just the joints on mine

made the front suspension so much better and tighter

for a great price too i may add

 

[maynard]

megane coupe 95-03 2.0 16v ball joint fits

 

[Da]

ClioSpares (amongst others) list the lower ball joints for circa £30 a side.

Lower arms are listed on the bay for around £40 - £50 a side and I think they include the joints - seems like the logical option.

 

[f0xy]

Ive had them from EuroCarParts, GSF, General Traffic and a Local Factors before...As said above they're the same as meg coupe too

 

[maynard]

ClioSpares (amongst others) list the lower ball joints for circa £30 a side.

Lower arms are listed on the bay for around £40 - £50 a side and I think they include the joints - seems like the logical option.

personally i'd just whack a new arm on. bushes are probably starting to wear on the arm too so for peace of mind just replace the whole lot.

pretty sure genuine renault ones are still around the £50 mark.

 

[Da]

Yeah sounds like the best idea - thanks for the advice guys

Will have a nosey over at GSF etc cheers Jord.

 

[jordan172]

i would just stick new arms on tbh. genuine as the patern parts i have used in the past on my GTI6 are crap and only last 2-3 years

 

[Da]

Ok cheers, will give Renault a call tomorrow and see if I can drag a price out of them for both arms

Don't suppose anyone's got a P/N to hand?

 

[jordan172]

here

8200257956 - Susp Arm - £53.63 (Trade £47.50)
8200257957 - Susp Arm RHF - £53.63 (Trade £47.52)

someone might want to confirm 100% as this is what martin 172 sent me last year when he bought some

 

[Da]

Excellent, thanks Jordan

 

[jordan172]

thats ok,

 

[.Ben.]

I was quoted £70+ by Pete @ Auto Nation for OE lower arms (inc ball-joints). He's normally much cheaper than your local dealer.

However, if you decide to just replace the ball-joints - Motaquip (owned by PSA, IIRC) ones are available on eBay at a very reasonable price. I've also been told that they're of OE quality. Can't comment from experience though so may be inaccurate.

When I did mine, I replaced the top mount bearings too (ECP) and it made the car feel MUCH tighter and more direct.

If you do replace the ball-joints, this may not be the best way to do it, but I followed this procedure:
- Wheel off
- Loosen strut top mount
- Remove 2 strut bolts
- Remove top mount and strut (careful of the CV joint boot and not over-extending the CV joint/ driveshaft)
- Dismantled the top mount and replaced the top mount bearing
- Removed the caliper and carrier (access to the ball-joint cotter pin through the hub is made easier/ possible)
- Removed the cotter pin
- Put a piece of wood between the driveshaft and wishbone (splitting the ball-joint is pointless unless there is an obstacle to stop the wishbone forcing the ball joint back together)
- Undo the 2 bolts securing the ball-joint to the wishbone
- Remove ball-joint
- Replace and reverse above procedure.

FWIW, I used a fork-type splitter.

HTH.

 

[Da]

Thanks, that guide will help alot - I wont be doing the top mounts just yet though.

Oh and what's the cotter pin? Never heard of that before, everything else I understand.

 

[rich-6]

^^ No need to do all that, undo pinch bolt and remove (bit of heat may help too), remove two bolts off wishbone holding balljoint on and remove it with the fork bish bash bosh 15mins tops if its not a stubbarn bugger like mine was lol

As with Nero, if the pinch bolts well stuck you'l have to whip the caliper off, I did

 

[b33fy172]

I bought lower arms a few weeks ago they are around £70 each.

 

[Da]

^^ No need to do all that, undo pinch bolt and remove (bit of heat may help too), remove two bolts off wishbone holding balljoint on and remove it with the fork bish bash bosh 15mins tops if its not a stubbarn bugger like mine was lol

As with Nero, if the pinch bolts well stuck you'l have to whip the caliper off, I did

Lol, that sounds more like it Rich!

I've had the hub off before, so to speak, so didn't think it'd take much more to remove the ball joint.

b33fy - had it confirmed that they're £58 plus VAT each so that sounds about right.

 

[.Ben.]

Thanks, that guide will help alot - I wont be doing the top mounts just yet though.

Oh and what's the cotter pin? Never heard of that before, everything else I understand.

A cotter pin is the bolt that goes through the groved part of the ball-joint post and through the clamp in the hub.

^^ No need to do all that, undo pinch bolt and remove (bit of heat may help too), remove two bolts off wishbone holding balljoint on and remove it with the fork bish bash bosh 15mins tops if its not a stubbarn bugger like mine was lol

As with Nero, if the pinch bolts well stuck you'l have to whip the caliper off, I did

Mine was a b*stard to get off so I may have taken some unnecessary steps to prevent actions I thought could have caused any damage.

It worked for me and was pretty quick to do (but not 15 minutes, LOL).

Both sides took me about 3 hours with tea breaks!

 

[Da]

Lol, well I'll be doing mine in the next week or so, so I will let you know how I get on

So the pinch bolt is the cotter pin? Am I reading that correctly?

 

[.Ben.]

Yup. That's the part!

EDIT: It seems a cotter pin refers to a split pin! ("web definition: in mechanical engineering a pin or wedge passing through a hole to fix parts tightly together"). Maybe my terminology is off, but you kind of get what I mean...

It really is very easy to do. Just be aware of the pitfalls (in my previous post).

Once you've done one, the other side is a breeze!

 

[rich-6]

Lol, well I'll be doing mine in the next week or so, so I will let you know how I get on

So the pinch bolt is the cotter pin? Am I reading that correctly?

A cotter pins, basically a pin which you split in two to hold a nut on! Not sure if theres one on the end of our driveshafts or on drum brakes havent taken a lot of notice TBH lol, Google it you'l see what one is

 

[Da]

Know what they are now, used them loads just never knew their name! ha!

This pic helps too...

 

[rich-6]

^^ Correctamundo but your looking for a bolt whenever you do it not a pin, to clear it up

 

[franx]

ClioSpares (amongst others) list the lower ball joints for circa £30 a side.

Lower arms are listed on the bay for around £40 - £50 a side and I think they include the joints - seems like the logical option.

That's not the price for one side, it's both sides mate. I got mine done for 25 :approve:

 

[.GAZ.]

Think i'l be doing the same.

 

[.Kev.]

Easy job. Even for a novice.

 

[Da]

Yeah gonna get these ordered this weekend.

NW Performance do them for £12 a side

Not bothering with the lower arms just yet, may replace the bushes though if anything.