owain
Post #401
Decided to sack off the wiring for now, hazards are working via the old switch dangling and the rear fog can be bodged for the MOT if needs be. Got Woodbridge booked up for the 5th of March, so best get those wishbones on; I suspect they'll make more of a difference than a couple of toggle switches.
I'd had a good look through the Wishbone Replacement FAQ, and it all seemed very common sense. I also read the instructions that Rich_w sends out with the roller bearings, but as I'd had him fit them for me both were fairly irrelevant.
Before I did anything, I finally got around to changing the spark plugs. The time saved by the previous clown not bothering with any difficult cover bolts and only using four was cancelled out by the other (same?) clown having seemingly hammered a torx bit into one of the coilpack hex bolts to remove it, but managed to get it out in the end. Rather than going through that again, bought up a bag of shiny new bolts from Screwfix.
I don't care if it's simply a placebo effect, the car does seem to run smoother now
So anyway, axel stands under, brakes off.
Need to remove this bolt at the front:
This pinch bolt under the hub:
And the other two holding on the p-bush, which I couldn't get a decent picture of.
Once they're all out, ball-joint separator if you have one (hammer if you don't...) and get the ball joint out of the hub carrier.
The whole wishbone should them come out. *Whatever you do*, do not pull the assembly towards you with the driveshaft attached, unless you wanted to flush your gearbox oil over your driveway.
It's a massive surprise that the front end of the car felt a little wooly.
Factory condition.
As you can see, there really is absolutely no difference in build quality or level of engineering between the standard Pug ones and Rich's:
I know, you can barely tell the difference. Now, if you even consider putting the crappy old bolts back in, just beat yourself around the head with the nearest metal object you have until you see sense. I popped down to the friendly bolt man down the road who sorted me out all the bolts I needed *and* new strut bolts for a fiver. No-brainer.
I got some new balljoints from GSF which luckily they had in stock, I didn't want to pre-order until I knew for sure whether I had the 16- or 18mm ones. They went on with no issue, then started putting it all back together.
The only fiddly bit is getting the washers either side of the front bearing, as they need to go inside the housing. Still, you're only talking 5 mins max, and job's a goodun:
It's then just a case of tightening everything up, and getting the balljoint back in. To make sure it was in properly before putting in the new pinch bolt, I prefer to stick a jack underneath it.
All tightened up and replaced, took it for a drive. Hard to tell absolutely on roads, but the front end certainly feels far more planted and exact than it did before. You can feel bumps and bits more as expected, but you really get a good feel for the road through the steering wheel.
Probably not what you'd want for road use, but for anyone using their cars on track these really are a worthwhile purchase.
Beer-o-clock.
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Posted 22nd Feb 2011 at 22:22
once all the bolts you've said are removed does the wishbone come off or are there other steps involved?
