ball joint / strut install

[don911]

I have new ball joint and new strut. I expected the ball joint stud to slide pretty easily into the strut but no go. The stud barely goes into the strut and then sticks. I can rock the end around but it won't side into place. Bigger hammer or ??

[john walker's workshop]

be sure the wedge side of the pin lines up with the wedge in the ball joint shank, and the wedge cut in the ball joint is eyeballed in the center of the hole, then tap it in firmly with a hammer. the flat end should be pretty much flush with the strut.

[Evans, Marv]

John is right unless you accidentally bought the older type of ball joint, which doesn't take the tapered pin. The have a half round nitch in the part of the ball joint that goes up into the strut. Make sure your pin & strut hole have the flat tapered shape.

[Chuck Moreland]

John, I think he is talking about the actual stud of the ball joint - not the wedge pin.

These are very snug/ precise fit. Make sure the inside of the bore in the strut is clean and that there is no damage to opening. I like to put a little anti-sieze compound on the stud to keep it from sticking.

[don911]

yes, the stud on the ball joint, not the wedge pin. I put some grease on the stud but it didn't help. I'll try some anti seize tomorrow.

[jevvy]

Hi Don

I have just been through this verry issue - I even tried pulling the shock out the strut so I could hit it square on the top but it still didnt go on.

I posted on our local forum and got a reply from nic moss indicating that if I have to hit it that hard something is wrong:
http://www.impactbumpers.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=563&hl=

I looked back at the old ball joints and they slid right into the struts, then I measured the stud on the new and old and there was quite a difference - this is when I learned my lesson not to buy cheaper parts. I then but the bullet and bought 2 new OEM ball joints and they they slid in a treat. The other problem with the crap ones is that even if I had got them in far enough to get the wedge pin in there was no way they were going to rotate to accept the pin correctly - this I saw as a bad thing.

Have you got OEM or aftermarket? My OEM ones have green clips that hold the rubber boot on if that helps you identify them.

With such an important part on the car I wasnt prepared to take the risk with stuff that I had to bash together in a way that wasnt intended - I hope my ramblings help you in some way, good luck.

[don911]

I believe they are OEM ball joints. I can check tonight. I did measure the hold and the stud. The stud is slightly smaller so it should go in. I think I must not be lining it up straight enough. hopefully the anti seize will help.

[Zeke]

I have to agree the "bashing" is not a good idea. A light tap here and there might be OK. Before the anti seize, you could use some emory cloth to remove any rust or ridges inside the strut. You can make a "flapper" by sawing a slit down the center of a 1/4' shaft and chucking it up in your drill motor. The nice thing about something like this is that you can accomdate all sizes of bores by the length of emory cloth you wind onto the shaft. Just place one end in the slit and wind up so the abrasive side is outward and in the correct direction for rotation. Stick the emory up in the bore and have at it until it's smooth and shiney.

Take any burrs off your new BJ studs too. Should go together easily then or something else is wrong. One more thing: I think you can pound a screwdriver blade into the slot that the bolt clamps thereby wedging it slightly open taking some of the pressure off. Don't bend anything.

HTH.

[don911]

both ball joint and strut are new so there's no rust on either part. Hopefully some anti seize will do the trick.

[jevvy]

One last comment, have you already fitted the ball joint to the a-arm, if not you might want to fit it to the strut first then into the a-arm as you wont have to worry about alignment then.

I did this with the second batch of ball joints and it worked a treat.

[Grady Clay]

Porsche says to coat the wedge-pin with grease before installation. My practice has always been to coat everything with moly grease. That includes the bores in the strut, the ball joint pin and the wedge pin.

I agree with test fitting and looking for any burs. The Factory calls for seating the wedge pin with “… tapping with a hammer before tightening with the nut.”

The ball joint that didn’t fit – what did the pin actually measure? What was the bore in the strut? This situation shouldn’t happen. Everyone needs to understand the “why and where” of these parts. Nothing on a 911 is more critically “mission sensitive” than this.

Best,
Grady

[lateapex911]

Originally posted by don911
I have new ball joint and new strut. I expected the ball joint stud to slide pretty easily into the strut but no go. The stud barely goes into the strut and then sticks. I can rock the end around but it won't side into place. Bigger hammer or ??

I *thought* the ball joint stud that slides into the strut base was tapered? if so, you should get a lot more than "barely" some into it. Have you measured the new stud vs the old stud? Or the hole vs the stud? (Base to widest part of the opening if it's tapered)

I got mine from Chuck at Elephant, and it slid in with a little force, but nicely.

Now the castle nuts on the ball joint...THATs another story, LOL.

[Grady Clay]

No, the fit isn’t tapered. It is a straight fit where the
wedge pin forces the ball joint pin against the side of
the strut bore. Part of the reason for lubing everything
is so the ball joint pin aligns itself with the wedge pin.
Of course the other reason is prevention of corrosion.


(C) Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche A.G.

Numbers #1 and #2 are not regular M8 hardware. They
are a hardened washer and a steel lock-nut. It is VERY
important to have the proper hardware.

Best,
Grady

[don911]

A little anti seize did the trick. The right strut took a little tapping to go all the way down but not too much.

Now...the wedge pin won't go all the way in. Drivers side pin is about .11 out and pass side is .16 out. Did a check to make sure it wasn't a bad pin like I've read and the pins look just like the pins that came out. Put in the original pin on the pass side and it sticks out the same amout.
The wedge in the ball joint pin looks centered in the hole. I'm not hammering on the pins too hard but they sound pretty solid when they're done moving.

[Jeff Alton]

Hmmm, there was quite a thread recently about wedge pins not fitting flush. I *think* the general agreement was that there is two suppliers. Both seat fine but one will not end up a flush. The thread was a good read........

Cheers

[don911]

I read thru some of the wedge pin threads. The new pins look just like my originals. Even the old one won't go in flush with the new strut. If I can get them both around .10 out, I'll call it good...as long as I have enough threads on the other end.

[Jeff Alton]

Aren't these cars fun?!?!? I think you should be fine set up the way you describe. Glad the car is going together now!

Cheers

[jevvy]

almost there....

In Waynes 101 projects it does say "tighten the nut until the back of the pin is almost flush with the strut"

once I got mine all fitting together nice it did fit flush but I guess its cool to have a few mm sticking out.

You can always nip it up a bit once everything has settled.

[Nine9six]

Don,
I dont prescribe to tightening until the pins are flush, as that may never happen. Tap the pins in with a hammer, (not a BFH) and torque to spec.
Done.

[don911]

Yeah, I'm just going to get it as far as I can and just torque it down.
More fun installing the elephant bump steer kit. The knuckle on the steering arm was too big on the pass side strut. The "cage" on the bump steer kit wouldn't fit around it. Had to take a file to my nice new RSRs to get the cage on. Also had to file a bit on the drivers side. The cage would go on but the hole in the knuckle wasn't centered and the bolt would not go in with all the spacers installed.
I didn't have to file very much just enough to fit everything.