1999 2l auto bongo MOT fail CO & bottom arms.......

[Purple Pixie]

Our Ford Freda (Purple Pixie) Failed her MOT (sad)

Failed on bottom arm ball joint dust covers
see: https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnbulla ... 3/sizes/o/

New bottom arms or just ball joints? DIY job?

Failed on CO figures see: https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnbulla ... 5/sizes/o/
Garage say I need a new CAT!!!

Thoughts of the collective most appreciated, I am a relatively proficient DIY mechanic

Dr B
Southampton UK

[pc13cb92]

Hi,
if its just the actual rubber covers, these are available separately - not sure if club shop do them, but are listed on AVA site that advertises here on the forum


1996 2.5td aft 2wd

[Purple Pixie]

various wrap around and glue up boots made by a company local to my home town BAILCAST http://www.bailcast.com/products/ball-j ... -pack-cars anyone know the diameter of the boot on the Bongo (cold and wet outside for lying down on the ground with a vernier caliper!!!!!)

others are here: http://www.clampcouk.co.uk/workshop-con ... -pack.html

What do you need to break the joint on the top of the balljoint to get the boot on??

[Northern Bongolow]

jack up so that the bottom wishbone is HUNG, then totally remove the nut, then strike the surround of the ball joint, the joint will spring/drop apart under its own weight, and will not be damaged with a joint splitter.
then fit these.

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 19#p562219

[Purple Pixie]

Obvious split in #1 swivel boot - 42mm diameter on the outside

Tomorrow is order s/h catalyst and a couple of new boots day

Tuesday is fit them! And retest and pass

[Purple Pixie]

Ordered 2 replacement "universal" boots on ebay from 2 separate suppliers on Sunday night to be on the safe side - both have been despatched.

Got a used cat and lambda sensor on its way down from http://www.bongospares.co.uk

Will report back if things go well or badly

Question: anyone care to share the torque setting for the bottom suspension swivel lock nut??

[Purple Pixie]

jack up so that the bottom wishbone is HUNG, then totally remove the nut, then strike the surround of the ball joint, the joint will spring/drop apart under its own weight, and will not be damaged with a joint splitter....

bigger version here: https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/137 ... 542e_o.jpg

Hi, can you describe what you used to get the castle nut off? Without removing the stub axle to get the ABS rotor out of the way, you cannot get a socket on the castle nut, hopefully the 26mm ring spanner I just forked out on will be ok... w.r.t torquing it back up, I think a grunt on a bit of scaffolding pole might suffice ... and a P clip...



(P clip http://www.toolsandleisure.co.uk/10pc-2 ... s-19-p.asp) or possibly a torque spanner!


(http://www.anchortools.com/product.php?product=437)

[Purple Pixie]

Well........ I bought 2 ring spanners from Halfords since my local "proper" auto factors didn't keep them, this for undoing the castle nut holding the bottom arm swivel taper in... the 26mm was too big and the 25mm a wee bit too small, since using a grinder is even more anti-social than a bit of hammering, after which it fitted and undid easy peasy!

Tomorrow the 24.75 spanner will get a bit of grinder attention!

The ball joint was in for the duration so I dusted off a scissors ball joint splitter oft used on the Mini and used it on the castle nut wound down level to the top of the screw thread.. a bit of grunting and BANG!!!! the 2 halves separated



The shaft pulled out of the hub easy enough but I would suggest tying the bottom of the hub to the inboard side of the bottom arm as the spring load on the strut likes to resolve outwards putting strain on the hoses and possibly hitting you in the teeth or the nuts

The boot was split and on closer examination it can be seen that the rubber extends down the side of the swivel joint into the arm and is inaccessible.... once the rubber is removed there is little for any replacement boot to grab on to.... i can't see how a replacement Mazda boot can grip on to anything



Can anyone who has retrofitted a boot please confirm it grips on the edge arrowed?

Need to order some 20/50 replacement boots with the expectation they can be used

[Purple Pixie]

Update: having surveyed the remains of the boots, I decided to try replacement bottom arms, sadly the swivel joint boots on all the s/h ones at southernbongos (http://www.southernbongos.co.uk/) were either perished or split.

I will await receipt of my mega big swivel boots via ebay tomorrow and regroup



Meanwhile at FatBlokeRacing Pits, I produced a 25.5mm spanner for undoing the crown nut, it may be, however, that the jokers at Halfords have produced a spanner that is a victim of mold erosion (the mold wears so the thing it produces gets bigger than designed and gaps close up)



The passenger side swivel was less of a pig to deal with now the spanner fitted! The ball joint splitters I have are designed for Mini joints and were too small (the fork one did not fit as it could not go around the 20mm diameter swivel joint shaft and the scissor splitter could not get round the bulk of the arm - thus I decided the castellated nut could be sacrificed to the crush of the joint splitter - quick bit of ebaying to get a couple of replacement castellated nuts and bish bash BANG!!!! and it was loose!

As a stop gap between now and Friday I have put an old spanner (in the works) between the arms and the swivels to save having to break the taper when I take it all apart on Friday!



In passing, it appears the front discs are of the floating variety (held in place by the wheel) makes for an easier swap

Tomorrow: A.M. NOTHING - Evening will be (hopefully) fitting the Megaboots and a swift pint at the SouthWestern Arms after (new crown nuts will be a retrofit

QUESTION: Are "R" clips permissible for the MOT? (Item C)

[Northern Bongolow]

in the link posted above, and here.
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 19#p562219.
you may notice that the proper rubbers have a gripping washer moulded into the lower edge of the boot, when fitted the spikes grip the little step that you rightly say is sunken into the wishbone.
you will NEVER secure any copy rubbers to the lip of the ball joint, so if fitted they will always let water in and grease out so are a waste of time.

[Purple Pixie]

Passed the retest!

MOT tester begrudgingly passed one of the swivel lock nuts secured with a beefy R clip instead of a split pin, will sort that tomorrow

The secondhand catalyst and genuine lambda sensor were fitted and the CO passed

WHERE can I take the old cat to chop it in for cash?

Now I am happy splitting the ball joints I'll get a couple of replacement balljoint boots from the local Mazda dealers (only 2 days to get hold of since they are "listed in Europe but not in UK")

#s10h-34-551 (UOI 5) @13.28 + vat = 15.93 / -10% for 10!

My ball joint splitter might need swapping for a pusher

Dr B

[Simon Jones]

WHERE can I take the old cat to chop it in for cash?

Any scrap metal merchant will take it. You will need photo id (driving license etc) & it may be worth taking the receipt for the replacement as proof that the old one is yours to sell. Well done on the MOT pass

[Purple Pixie]

Will do....

I need to open up the V of my balljoint splitter to 21mm to get it over the swivel shaft so it down't chew the castle nuts

[Dodgey]

in the link posted above, and here.
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 19#p562219.
you may notice that the proper rubbers have a gripping washer moulded into the lower edge of the boot, when fitted the spikes grip the little step that you rightly say is sunken into the wishbone.
you will NEVER secure any copy rubbers to the lip of the ball joint, so if fitted they will always let water in and grease out so are a waste of time.

I second this. I've fitted 4 copy rubbers - that come with the keyring style clips to hold them on. They don't ever hold, and they often split in under 12 months. I've also replaced the ball joints with copy ones (I have my own 15 tonne press, though they need a little less than 1 tonne to press in), and they have perished (the rubber) in under 12 months too.

This year I bought genuine wishbones including the joints begrudgingly. I actually bought one genuine, and one of the new pattern ones. The pattern one is fitted and I'm keeping an eye on it. The genuine wasn't needed immediately so it's to one side until it's needed.

Some tips with the job - which you have mostly been covered here.

The castle nuts can be removed with a 1 inch spanner. Some of the newer pattern replacements are larger again. I have no spanner for them so I reused the original nuts.

The ball joint is a bu99er to separate. I have tuning fork splitters (they wreck the joint) and a regular bolt-tightening splitter. The latter doesn't fit as the drive shaft gets in the way. I spray the area with plus-gas and leave it for an hour, then beat to death with the tuning fork splitter. Hitting the cast iron with a lump hammer has never released one yet. It can be such a nightmare of a job that buying a replacement wishbone becomes a realistic option (you won't think this until year 2 or three when you KEEP failing MOTs and have to revisit the ball joints from hell)

[Purple Pixie]

I have on my to-do list:

(i) breaking the swivel taper with a modified scissors balljoint splitter (grinding the fork bit open to 21mm to get it around the 20mm O/D swivel pin) n.b. this is a RWD not 4WD so no front driveshafts

(ii) fitting one of the MAZDA replacement rubbers to replace my homebrew option that passed the MOT

both may be on the near horizon since have been paid AND the garage fairy has materialised a metal grinding disc among all the ceramic cutters!