Rock solid ball joint
Turbo Mini Forums

Hi folks, anyone had trouble with removing lower ball joints before? I'm having great difficulty removing the driver side lower ball joint dome nut (the cup that holds the swivel pin in), i spent a few hours trying to free it up with a ball joint socket and ratchet but it wouldn't budge one bit.

Any ideas for freeing it up without removing the hub? Is this a common problem?

Edited by Carl S on 20th May, 2009.

yes it common, use a blow lamp and get it stinking HOT! then use some shock treatment ..... (ie) hammer on the end of the ball joint bed spanner

Ok, thanks for the advice Steve. I'll source a blow lamp from somewhere.

try using a long breaker bar or if its a decent ratchet, a pipe over the handle to give more leverage. They can be tough but they should move

133.5 bhp 123 lb torque 116mph @6640rpm 9.5psi
Shakespear RWYB 14.995 91.83mph

i'm currently using a torque wrench with the torque setting up high as it's the only half inch drive ratchet i have. It's a decent quality one and is about a foot long (there abouts) so has reasonable leverage.

DON'T USE A TORQUE WRENCH!!!! it'll never work again; go get a decent breaker bar

As Steve said, get some heat into it; ideally, strip it off and get it in a vice though - it'll make it much easier puting the new one on.

you should be able to get a decent breaker bar from the likes of Halfords for the job - not sure how much but money well spent in my opinion as you'll get a fair bit of use from it

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/US-Pro-24-Power-Brea...%3A3%7C294%3A50

looks like it could more than handle most mini jobs and doesn't cost a fortune like some.

133.5 bhp 123 lb torque 116mph @6640rpm 9.5psi
Shakespear RWYB 14.995 91.83mph

I remove my hubs and stuck them in a vice. Makes the job a whole lot easier.

Also, as above, get some heat into it.

In the 13's at last!.. Just

There is a special single hex totally flat "flogging" spanner for this job (and also stubborn flywheel bolts).

I don't think they've been made for years but I have seen them come up on eBay occassionaly. (I've had mine for decades...)

Because they are flat, you can give them a really hard clout to free the threads off without any risk of it jumping off the hexagon.

EDIT - jjust looked, there's one there now
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mini-Flywheel-and-Ba...93%3A1|294%3A50

Edited by Rod S on 21st May, 2009.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

MiniSpares sell them at half that price:
http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?ty=...&title=FLYWHEEL FLAT SPANNER 1.5...

Amazing - I didn't think they were even made any more.

Anyway, they are great on tight ball joints.....

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

That does look rather good, I may well pick that up. Cheers Rod, and Greame for finding a cheaper alternative!