swivel hub removal
Turbo Mini Forums

hi,i have tried to remove the ball pin on the lower ball joint but the retainer is seized solid,when trying to remove it the swivel hub keeps turning,will i have to remove the swivel hub so i could put the unit into a vice to remove the retainer and if so what is the proceedure for removal? dobber

I have to ask the obvious first, have you properly bent back the whole of the locktab from around the hexagon of the "retainer" - I've seen them with the locktab folded up against every available flat bit of the hexagon even though it only needs to be locked on one face.

Apart from that, they are very tight.

I have the special "flogging" ring spanner to undo them (even with them in a vice).

Removal of the hub is in Haynes etc.

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

yeah i've flattened the lock washer and it was bent around the whole circumference of the nut, i'll dig out me haynes

hi,i am still unable to remove the swivel hub,the haynes manual is a bit vague so i've been trying to suss it out myself, how can i lift the hub off when the ball joint on top of it is catching the arm that bolts onto the subframe,i can't seem to move the arm up to pull the pin from it? any help would be great as i'm losing patience!

you need a ball joint splitter to seperate the arm from the ball joint

If you mean you have successfully split both ball joints but can't get the pin out because the arm doesn't seem to move enough to clear it, it's usually because the rebound stop (the tiny rubber block) under the top arm is old and perished and the spring is pushing the top arm lower than it should go because there is no weight on the suspension.

What I do is put a long bar between the underside of the subframe and the top of the bottom arm and push it down lower than it would normally go until the pins become free. Because of the weight of the hub, pull the top pin free first while pushing the lower suspension arm down with the long bar.

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

okay i've levered the arm and have removed the hub!the rubber block is perished,will it be tricky to fit a new block?

nope

http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?ty=...id=33450&title=

just a screw or two

Easiest way is when you have everything re-assembled - except for putting the wheel back on - carefully put a second jack under the lower ball joint and jack the whole suspension up - not so far it lifts the car off the first jack - but far enough for the upper arm to no longer be squashing the perished bit.

Then it's "normally" one phillips headed bolt to pull it out (its moulded onto a small metal plate).

The Minispares picture shows a second bolt hole - which is impossible to get to without completely dismantling the suspension - but I have never know that bolt to be fitted, in fact I've never even seen a tapped hole for it to go into.

But there's allways a first time :)

EDIT - actually I seem to remember on one subframe I worked on ages ago there was a raised lug in that place so the second hole was to locate over the lug, but that was an older subframe, there may be differences with age. - end EDIT

You may need an impact screwdriver though, often the small bolt is seized and being a phillips head, it's easy to chew the star point out with a normal screwdriver.

Edited by Rod S on 7th Jun, 2011.

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

great thanks guys