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Bottom ball joint mod.
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speedfix   
Mon Nov 05 2012, 09:26pm
Joined: Sep 28 2012
Member No: #1043
Location: south west
 Agree on the caps why did I not think of that.

Brings me to the failing hand brake cables.
Angles of cables with split bellows is asking for cable siezure, next mod or has something already been done?
gmerry   
Tue Nov 06 2012, 10:30pm
Joined: Dec 11 2009
Member No: #21
Location: Scotland
 Speedfix, the degreasing I mention is just on the external spot face so that the loctite will set and seal the rivnut bush.

There is no thread tapping involved, thats why I used a rivnut bush. The metal of the bearing housing is too thin to take a proper thread (as per previous post on this subject).

Regards
G
speedfix   
Mon Nov 19 2012, 10:51pm
Joined: Sep 28 2012
Member No: #1043
Location: south west
 "milling a tight tolerance hole (milling minimises the swarf going into the joint), cleaning out the spot of grease on the inside which will hold the swarf."

This is just what I replied about.
Milling a tight tolerance hole will fill the joint with swarf as you confirm with the grease holding it, washing out is washing it in around and above the roller joint.
Fast wear will take place to the seal and rollers etc.
S.
gmerry   
Mon Nov 19 2012, 11:58pm
Joined: Dec 11 2009
Member No: #21
Location: Scotland
 Speedfix, you are imagining my method...
G
speedfix   
Tue Nov 20 2012, 02:12pm
Joined: Sep 28 2012
Member No: #1043
Location: south west
 gmerry,
First IMO you are making a simple job of putting a nipple into the joint a time consuming job by just doing a replacement joint with the rivet bushes.

There are many cars out ther with joints that are ok and just need a nipple greaser fitted by the on car simple means.

For those that choose to replace a good joint for the rivet type the removel of the joint can be carried out by not removing the hub but still time consuming job.
S.
ChrisW   
Fri Nov 27 2015, 05:05pm
Joined: Jun 18 2013
Member No: #1335
Location: Surrey
 I can confirm that Speedfix's method works well - no need for any dismantling apart from removing the wheel. My NSF lower swivel joint failed MOT after 5 years 37000 miles and was replaced by garage.

The OSF failed after 7 years 52000 miles. I asked garage to fit nipple but they said no - apparently they are liable if they modify a part.

I followed Speedfix's method on the 2 year old joint using 3/16in barb-fit nipple as above (£3 for 10 from ebay) and a 3/16 bit on a hand drill. I then used a magnetic 1/16 drill into the hole to remove swarf (actually the "swarf" was very fine filings), followed by blasting solvent into the hole to flush-out (an old aerosol of carburettor cleaner, WD40 would work too).

Tapping-in the nipple was easy using a short length of rod drilled at one end to hold the nipple. After 40 or so pumps the seal went pop and grease started to come out. The old grease was black but in good condition. I pumped until new grease came through.

Any remaining drillings after flushing would have been carried through and out of the bearing by the first shots of grease. One word of advice - buy a good preferably cobalt drill before starting the job - I tried to do it with an old drill from my toolbox and wasted half an hour getting nowhere!

I will do the new swivel joint in a years time and it will be a regular yearly greasing from then on. Thank you to Speedfix and all who posted above - much appreciated.
ChrisW   
Sun Nov 27 2016, 04:20pm
Joined: Jun 18 2013
Member No: #1335
Location: Surrey
 It's now been a year since I fitted the grease nipple to the NSF bearing as above - all ok and MOT passed. I have now done the same job on the OSF bearing. It only took 15 minutes once the wheel was removed. A teaspoonful of water trickled out of the bearing when the drill broke though. The bearing was fitted a year ago by a Citroen main dealer, so I assume it was a genuine part fitted properly. It is clear that the sealing arrangement is useless!

Regreasing the bearing is very easy. With a flexible nozzle on the grease gun there is no need to remove the wheel.

I am sure that the car is significantly quieter with both bearings packed with grease. This may be my imagination, but I don't think so. Most of the wheel noise transmitted into the bodywork will go through the roller bearings. I imagine that packing the rollers in grease will have a damping effect, which would explain the noise reduction.

What's not to like - a low cost, simple job involving no dismantling that fixes the bearing problem and gives a quieter car. I only wish I had done it years ago.
gmerry   
Sun Nov 27 2016, 07:15pm
Joined: Dec 11 2009
Member No: #21
Location: Scotland
 Hi Chris, my only caution on this is that after pumping with grease, I found that a small amount of grease came out of the seal (which is good) pushing old grease and any water out of the bearing, and a small portion of this ended up on the brake disk. This must be wiped off (cloth then brake cleaner) to avoid contaminating the brake pads. But overall a very good mod that saves heaps of trouble and maintenance.
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