wishbones - wishing ball joint would split.

[earthwormjim]

I've been replacing the wishbones;

Anybody got any ideas to split an outer ball joint? the offside wishbone gave up with a fork type ball joint splitter, but the n/s doesn't want to give.

So far I've tried the fork type splitter, the scissor type splitter (which just bent!) a blowtorch, and hammers of every variety.

What do you do when it just won't break?

any suggestions gratefully received.

[OldskoolRS]

If you're replacing the wishbone anyway, then is there space to hit the top of the balljoint with a club hammer? Leave the nut on the thread and strike that, it's worked for me in the past (not on Z3s but older Escorts), but obviously be careful of damaging the parts surrounding the wishbone.

[earthwormjim]

Yeah, I've whacked it with a club hammer from every angle to no avail. it's going to take something special to shift this one.

When a scissor type splitter just bends out, it's not a good sign I'm wondering if I need to hire an industrial strength splitter or similar.

[aceman]

I used the fork type on my old 2.8 which were stubborn like yours. Have a look for a different make of splitter with a shallower longer fork which will increase the splitting force.

[SledgeHammer]

Try a freezer spray, or one with a penetrating fluid.

[aceman]

Good point about the shock oil, halfords sell this and it does work although not tried on balljoints. You can also pick up proper freezer spray from likes of Maplins which will cool far more efficiently. With a bit of precise direct heat on the balljount socket then cooling the tapered shaft and a good whack with the splitter should hopefully crack it.

[earthwormjim]

A bit late, but I just wanted to say thanks for everyones ideas and suggestions.

I did finally manage to crack it last weekend, the trick was firstly halfords 'shock and unlock', which I'm not sure how much that helped, but I couldn't find any decent freeze spray locally, so it was the only option.

Secondly, and more crucially I suspect, was the scissor ball joint splitter that I got from the local hire shop for a fiver for the weekend. it was much more solid (and no doubt a lot more expensive) than the one I started with, and which by co-incidence is the one recommended above by Zedonist. My one of those is now an odd banana shape, and fit only for the bin.

It made a hell of a 'bang' when it finally split.

If anyone else is considering this job, from my experience at least, I would suggest the following;
1. An 18mm open spanner and socket - not common in a lot of tool kits, and all of the online guidance says 19mm, 18mm is the proper fit, and will save you lots of pain.
2. Don't forget imperial size sockets - 5/8" in particular was really useful (what can I say!)
3. Don't buy a joint splitter, particularly a cheap and bendy draper. Hire a quality one, cheaper and way more effective.
4. Loctite 'freeze and release' - like the halfords 'shock and unlock' but better.

The car drives way better btw. well worth the effort if anyone has the usual issues like tramlining etc. All sorted for summer

[pedro20001]

Cheers Jim. my next job. not looking forward to it

[OldskoolRS]

Glad you got it sorted Jim, did I get it right that you replaced the entire wishbones and the wishbone bushes? Did you reuse the short links from the arm to the roll bar (if your car has them) and any other parts? I'm going to do this job myself at some point before it's MOT as I'm sure there must be some play there (there is a slight clunk occasionally).

Also, did you use OEM parts or did you upgrade to heavy duty or polybushes?

[earthwormjim]

To answer the questions;

I used Lemfoerder complete wishbones with bushes from carparts4less.co.uk £136.80 delivered, which was the cheapest I could find.

I re-used the drop links from the arms to the control bar - they didn't look the best, but are ok, and would be easy enough to replace later.

The Lemfoerders came with the nuts for the control arm bushes, but some of the other nuts and bolts you'll have to remove are not supposed to be re-used, I got these from the dealer. I have a list of these somewhere, I'll try and dig it out.

The bushes I'd already changed to powerflex last year. These I have found better than oem ones.

Yes, the draper ball joint splitter is of poor quality. It had managed to split a few joints in the past, but the zed was too much for it to handle!
The splitter I got from the hire shop retails at around 100 quid, the draper 14 quid from amazon.

Anyone having a go at this - good luck. Some prep and the right tools will make it a relatively painless job.

[OldskoolRS]

Thanks for the feedback Jim, do I read that you have reused the polybushes on the rear part of the wishbone? I was thinking of just doing the bush for now if they can be reused. I don't want to start any job that might take the car off the road for too long incase this is our 2012 Summer.

[earthwormjim]

@ OldskoolRS - Yes, re-used. It's not a whole lot more work to do them separately if you want to. I had the car off the road for the weekend to do the wisbones, I'm just glad it was last weekend and not this one.

[OldskoolRS]

Thanks Jim. Might just buy a pair of polybush ones and stick them on for now. The MOT isn't due until September though I'll probably replace the wishbones and links before then anyway just to tighten everything up.