drop links

[john170277]

car just failed on front droplinks both sides quoted £190 to fit
ive just bought a brand new pair for £24, my question is can i fit them myself as a novice without any special tools
any advice welcome
thanks

ps car is 52 110 hdi

[plod]

£190!!!!! There having a giraffe

Depends on make of droplinks fitted

Should require an allen key and a spanner - can't remember what size but I'll bet it's a 16mm for the spanner

Some droplinks don;t have the allen key hole and just have a flat on them, so will just require 2 spanners

[ally406]

Yes, a ridiculous price! But not to worry, it's a straight forward job and a good place to start for a novice!

The only problem could be the nuts being seized due to corrosion. You might find that if you have the allen key type, the allen key hole thing at the end of the thread will round. Not to worry, just whip them off with the angle grinder or carefully drill out. Give them a good clean with a wire brush and a soak in WD40 prior to starting work and that will reduce the chances of this happening.

[lozz]

As above,
there fairly easy to fit,

if the ball part on them turn whilst your trying to un-due them cut of the rubber and grip the ball part with some mole grips,
somepeople grind them off to make the job quicker, but mole grips is the safer option,

if your local to manchester, drop us a pm and iwill help you change them,

[john170277]

not to bad ajob 19mm spanner and a angle grinder ,do they need to be torqued up when refitting

[john170277]

well thats that job out of the way now on to the lower ball joint just screws in so hopefully no problems there then?

[omega]

well thats that job out of the way now on to the lower ball joint just screws in so hopefully no problems there then?

think you need a special socket for this

[john170277]

well thats that job out of the way now on to the lower ball joint just screws in so hopefully no problems there then?

think you need a special socket for this

don`t tell one you can only get from a pug stealer

[ally406]

Have a look on ebay for a sealy peugeot balljoint tool. Lower balljoints are somewhat more involved than a drop link! Most likely you will have to take the strut/hub assembly off the car and get it in a vice. The buggers are torqued up very tight, and with years of corrosion they can be very difficult to remove. You will also have to split the balljoint from the lower arm, which can be another pig of a job even with a splitter tool. Haynes should detail the steps fairly clearly, and I would recommend refitting with decent quality balljoints so you aren't doing the same thing next year. I got a pair of Motaquip joints for £20 delivered. I would say get stuck in, I'm sure the folk on here will advise you if need be. A decent blow torch will help get things moving, but watch you don't heat the bearing in the hub too much, it's not good for it.

As for droplinks, there will be a specified torque, but I'm sure if you nip them up tight all will be fine.

[john170277]

looking at the balljoint supplied it screws into the hub and then bolted on to the wishbone

[marco2002]

Hi
When you split the balljoint from the lower arm use a lump hammer and give it a good bash either side to shock the balljoint free it may take a while doing it this way though.Use a bit of wd40 on the threads and let it soak in. I've found that giving it a good bash with the hammer works out better than using a balljoint splitter which would be the last resort. I've never done a lower balljoint i think if you are lucky you might be able to get it off using a chisel and not have to take the whole hub off. I had to take the n/s/f hub off a while back to do a wheel bearing and it was quite involved. drain gearbox oil, driveshaft out, track rod end off,balljoint out,brake caliper and pads to take off. If you can do it in situ and you have enough clearance underneath then it will be less hassle. Hope this helps. One last tip put a bit of grease on the lower balljoint shank use some copaslip if you have it so that if you ever have to split the lower balljoint again it won't corrode or seize. I'd probably put a smear of grease on the balljoint threads where it screws into the hub as well. I've found lower balljoints don't last very long i seem to have to replace them about every 2 years. Good luck let me know how you get on with the balljoint.

[ally406]

Marco's advice is good, but I would advise against using a chissel. If you knacker the grooves that the tool slots into, you might well end up with a balljoint stuck in the hub that you can't remove. You shouldn't have to remove the driveshafts if you are careful, you can seperate them in situ from the hub once everything else if removed using a rubber mallet or similar. Make sure they are sufficiently supported after that, I usually tie them up with some cable ties. This will avoid having to drain and refill the gearbox.

[raccoon]

I have just changed the nearside drop link for the second time in 18 months. The one I took off and the new one had a flat on the back edge of the joint for another spanner. I just gave the threads a rub with wire brush then a spray with AC90. The bottom joint came straight off but the top one I had to use the spanner behind the bracket on the suspension shocker. Took me 35 minutes.
I now want to replace the rear springs and shockers. As I understand there is no need for special tools, Is that right. Called to Halfords for something the other day and just asked how much for them to change just the shockers on the rear..................£350. I was laughing as I walked out of the shop.
Is there a link anywhere on here guiding me to a possible run down of how to do the job myself please. Thanks everyone for a great forum.

[ally406]

Hi Raccoon, I've just changed a rear spring and should be doing the other one today. I would say it's an easy enough job. Undo the nut and bolt on the outer lower arm and from the shock. The arm should now lower sufficiently for you to get the spring out. I believe if you remove the trim from inside to boot, you can then remove the upper shock nut and it will just drop down.

I purchased a pair of these springs:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370534138648

They are German made and come with a 2 year warranty, so far so good! I also replaced the upper and lower rubber spring cups as they were very perished, I think the bits for both sides are about £20 from a dealer.

[raccoon]

Cheers ally thats what I needed to know. I will be getting them springs and doing the job shortly.
Thanks again.