ball joint wedge bolt

The notched end is sticking out 3-4mm. I'm fairly certain the old one was flush. I've pounded on it with a hammer, it doesn't want to go in any further. The nut is torqued to 16 ft lbs.

I'm doing the tie rod ends next, does the tapered fitting go into the knuckle by torqueing the nut or is there another method?

As always your advice is appreciated.

Rob,

That wedge-pin is indeed supposed to be flush with the strut body at the non-threaded end. The stud of the ball-joint is mis-aligned, so knock the wedge-pin back out and gently separate the strut and ball-joint.

Be sure to use plenty of anti-sieze compound on the stud of the ball-joint. When you insert the stud of the ball-joint into the strut, use a tapered punch to align the stud from the hole that the wedge-pin is inserted from, not where the threads get the nut. Good luck!

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

Agreed Warren, only other possibility is that the bolt is rotated within the hole.

Okay, I could use some additional help here guys. Left work early today to try and get this finished so I could move on to the bearings.

After removing / reinstalling several times I now have the drivers side bolt sticking out 1mm but not flush. The passenger side is worse in that it sticks out 2-3mm. The bolt is lined up with the notch in the correct direction. The wedge appears to be going right were the notch is in the ball joint. I can't imagine hammering on this any harder. I guess my only other option is to go to a shop but this means finding a trailer and going to a dealership that is less than helpful.

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Rob Fix
'78 SC Targa

Also, the manual give a torque of 30lbs for the bolt and 15.9 lbs for the nut. Which is it?

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Rob Fix
'78 SC Targa

[This message has been edited by robfix (edited 12-26-2000).]

My guess now is that you'll be ok. If you've tapped the bolt as far as it will go, and torquing the nut doesn't draw it in. My guess is that there is no more play. I'd get a 2nd opinion on this before I set off on a 1000 mile journey though..

You may have mushroomed the end of it, preventing it from going in any further. You may need to replace the bolt. But if the ball joint doesn't move up and down in the strut, you're probably O.K.

Rob,

From my spec book, it is 2.5 Kg-Meters, which by calculator, is 18.0 lb-ft, the same as ordinary M8 nuts.

Are you sure the ball-joint stud isn't slightly turned so that it can be seen by eyeball that it (a very slight amount) is visible through one opening or the other? What I am saying is that NO PART of the stud 'shank' should be visible from either side of the strut openings. When perfectly aligned, you will beable to see the 'ground away' part of the stud, but NONE of the shaft out at the edge of the holes in the strut.

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa