Club 80-90 Forums

I originally stuck this in the Wheels and Tyres section but maybe better here. Just fitted merc steels on my pickup and front n/s is close to rubbing wishbone. Offside is fine! I'm wondering if ball joint has failed though no noise or wobbles or camber out? Runs straight with no issues but could tracking have been adjusted to compensate the camber. Wheels are 7x16 et31. going to have a proper look at weekend but any ideas appreciated

What size tyres are you running, may need a small spacer say 10mm.

Odd why one is closer than the other though.

on 205/55/16, looking at it earlier the camber def looks different to o/s. wishbone seems to sit further across the arm on n/s and ball joint looks 'shorter'' between the wishbone and arm and quick measure confirms this. very odd as if it was that worn/knackered i'd expect serious knocking and wheel wobble

Not that this is the problem but wheels are et33 not 31

Well after pushing/pulling and prying with a bar there is no play in the ball joint(s) just the usual acceptable play in wheel bearings. However, quick measurement does show that there is a marked difference in length of the ball joints, n/s joint, measured between the wishbone and the arm, is around quarter of an inch shorter than the o/s. They are clearly different manufacturers parts as appearance is different too. Because of this the wishbone sits alongside a different area of the tyre sidewall. Guess it's time to fit new joints both sides and see where it all sits after that then!!

Those tyres are too small

215X65 16 would fit better

yes i know and I planned to change them at some point, they were on wheels when i bought them and have decent tread so i was going to run around on them for a bit. Until i sort out why they sit differently it's a bit immaterial at the moment

Those tyres have a wider footprint iirc
I have 16's on with the 215/60 tyres and they don't rub.

Really? I would have thought 215 would be wider even with a larger profile? Given all that i still have the issue of the o/s being fine/plenty of clearance and the n/s being close to rubbing. All 4 tyres are matching Dunlops so it cant be due to manufacturers differences. Something is amiss!

It doesn't work like that.
Profile is a percentage not a measurement
But you're right they would both be a problem
Brickwerks supply the right quality joint.
I would be fitting that first as you suggest.

Ah ok well i now know something i didn't, every day's a school day. Yes need to get hold of some 'decent' ones as opposed to £15 cheapies! and go from there

well a sort of update, a complete lack of time due to work and other things has meant couldnt get round to sorting balljoints (have them, just no time to fit) however, the camber was out quite a way one side/negative. re-set it, which made no difference to the tyre clearance but did throw out tracking and after a week or so it had gone back to negative! This i think was caused by the wishbone bushes being replaced but not welded in allowing them to creep round, they are now! camber set again and see how we go. hopefully get some time to do balljoints shortly

Fitted new upper balljoints today and thought i'd cracked it as the old ones were definitely different when placed next to each other. however, tyre clearance is still different with n/s being very close to wishbone. anyone got any thoughts? the only thing i/we could see is that the wishbones look different, one being 'chunkier' than the other, are there different ones late/early?. I did think about grinding off a small amount of metal on the end to give the clearance

theres 2 early ones and one later type that I know of

oh ok, thanks. dont suppose you know which is which/what difference is? looking at any fore sale they dont state early or late fitment.the n/s one protrudes past the upper balljoint further, which is whats causing the problem.