rear ball joints

[StealthyGecko]

hey folks I wonder if you can help me,

basically I was told a couple of weeks back that there is some play in the rear ball joints on my Rev 2 N/A and I have three questions
1) where can I get these from
2) how much am I looking at to get new ones
3) how difficult are they to replace??

any help is appreciated here

Ta

SG

[Blue_5]

1) Toyota, Ebay, TCB Parts, etc. Your local motor factors should be able to order them. TCB car parts are good though. http://www.tcbparts.co.uk/

2)about £10-20 for pattern ones, no idea for Toyota.

3)see here: http://www.mr2-tech.com/bgb/mechanical/ ... d_axle.htm

In theory its pretty simple, just gets hard if stuff is corroded/seized, which it usually is

[StealthyGecko]

thanks for your reply think I'll defo give this a go are there any specialist tools I need? I can't see mention of anything on the link you sent me but I just want to make sure before I get stuck in.

[iangex]

Having spent 2 whole days replacing the rear balljoints (2 days, and 2 cheap balljoint separators were destroyed) I feel qualified to give you advice;

-Allow time to complete this, they can be SERIOUSLY stuck in there (mine were)
-Buy a hinged separator, preferably a decent one that wont break too easily
-Buy a fork type separator in case you break the hinged one
-Have a big hammer ready

The easiest way to remove them is to remove the split pin and loosen (but do not remove) the castle nut. Put the hinged separator around the joint and nip the bolt up to apply pressure. Then take the big hammer and smack the balljoint in the direction the splitter is pushing.

The other side just would not budge using this method hence I used the fork type for a while then on reverting to the pivot type it relented. The fork type really mangled the joint but it must have cracked the bond in there.

I have replaced balljoints on other cars before without any issue, possibly I was unlucky but this process was a serious nightmare on the '2.

Sorry for the long-winded reply!

[Blue_5]

They do seem to have a tendancy to weld themselves onto the hub as well!

When i did the fronts, i bought a cup type as the BGB SST is one. Didnt fit! Grabbed my trusty hinged one - screw was too short to close! I ended up having to jury rig another screw on top of the original one - worked though!

[StealthyGecko]

thanks for your replies could you post links to some where that sells these tools just so I know what they look like? sound daft but seeing as this will be my first time of doing it I want to make sure I buy the right tools the first time

[Mr2_NA]

I bought a joint from Mr T, £38 or something. Didn't need replacing in the end. keeping it for future.

[StealthyGecko]

who is this Mr T I keep hearing about? surely he hasn't actually taken time out from advertising chocolate bars and refusing to get on planes to sell MR2 parts?

[Blue_5]

Mr T = Toyota

As far as i know, they do not pity fools.

[foxy-stoat]

Mr T = Toyota

As far as i know, they do not pity fools.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Just spat my morning diet coke all over my keyboard after reading that !!!

[jdbecks]

just done mine today, couple of hours...disconnect the two suspensions arms the one that goes down the front of the car and the other that connects to the subframe, undo the two bolts, holding the ball joint on.

put ball join in a vice, screw down the nut a little bit so its flush with the thread, get your club hammer and give it a few good hits and wolla..

dont take long.

[StealthyGecko]

just done mine today, couple of hours...disconnect the two suspensions arms the one that goes down the front of the car and the other that connects to the subframe, undo the two bolts, holding the ball joint on.

put ball join in a vice, screw down the nut a little bit so its flush with the thread, get your club hammer and give it a few good hits and wolla..

dont take long.

sweet good job I have access to a vice looks like I'll be asking the mother if I can borrow her garage lol

[asdrewq]

For anyone interested EuroCarParts are now selling proper LEMFÖRDER ball joints for the MK2 MR2 for £13 each.

These are not the usual cheap pattern parts you get from ebay and motorfactors and if my past experiences are anything to go by they will be BETTER than the OEM Toyota ones which can't be said very often.

[Ian Geary]

I also cracked a Clarke joint seperator, but swapped it for the fork type ones

using the smallest of the 3 from machine mart will force the joint out, but it took a few wallops with a lump hammer. it will also tear the joint open.

removing the split pin and nut stumped me the first time - so I just angle ground it off. but a small punch or good small pliers may be needed.


refitting (rear) - I found I had to disconnect the suspension arms, which were also a pain to refit, as the 3 of them are under a lot of tension and don't just line up.

I found it easeir to refit the rear, then the middle and finally the forwards facing arm, as this has the most space to force and jack it into place.

hth

Ian

[StealthyGecko]

For anyone interested EuroCarParts are now selling proper LEMFÖRDER ball joints for the MK2 MR2 for £13 each.

These are not the usual cheap pattern parts you get from ebay and motorfactors and if my past experiences are anything to go by they will be BETTER than the OEM Toyota ones which can't be said very often.

sweet will get them ordered from there

and Ian Geary, thanks for your advice will bear that in mind

one question do I actually need to take the suspension off to do this or is it a job that can be done with it still attached to the car?

[iangex]

I completed both of mine with the suspension in place (the only thing I removed was the wheel).

It did take a lot of force to line it all back up again before bolting it back together (pry bar!)

[Ian Geary]

hi there

you don't need to undo the suspension arms

certainly have a go at lining up the ball joint before you start undoing the arms


but you either

- slot the ball joint into the arm, and try and bolt it into the bottom of the hub, or;
- bolt the ball jount to the base of the hub, and try and slot the arm onto the ball joint.

I found with both of these ways, it was hard to get enough leverage. So after about 10 minutes I opted to undo the suspension arm (making the ball joint connection easy) but of course giving the headache of re-doing the suspension.


Ian