Did anyone ever give these balljoints a go?
https://classicminisjapan.com/products/steering-and-suspension/maintenance-free-ball-joints/
I went for them as I was ordering some rubber replacement parts.
I used them on one of my Minis and I think Dave (MiniDave) has used them as well.
They are not totally "maintenance free" in that you do have to lube them when first installing, but you do not have to ever shim them and are not supposed to need to re-grease them.
It is the shimming that gets to me. My back doesn't like multiple torque and retorque sessions.
I will give it a try.
I did install a set or two for a couple of guys, I will def use them in the future.....they are really expensive compared to the standard ones I get from Spares, and even the website says they're only good for about 30K miles, but given that no one drives their Mini THAT many miles any more, they should last the lifetime of the car.....or at least your ownership of it.
I plan to give them a shot next time I need to install ball joints. I really hate the shim, test them, re-shim, re-test, repeat, repeat process. Plus the hassle of buying all the shims of various thicknesses to try to find just the right combination.
And I hate greasing with uncooperative zerk fittings.
Yeah, sign me up for a better way.
Quote from: BruceK on November 23, 2022, 05:56:01 PMI really hate the shim, test them, re-shim, re-test, repeat, repeat process. Plus the hassle of buying all the shims of various thicknesses to try to find just the right combination.
And I hate greasing with uncooperative zerk fittings.
Yeah, sign me up for a better way.
This is where I am at...but with three Minis I am not sure they will all get the treatment.
I do have 120K+ plus on our sedan, 15K+ on the 64 Traveller and 30K+ on the 65.
The sedan was a daily driver for 15 years.
Makes me wonder: how did they assemble these ball joints at the factory? They couldn't have done it the trial and error way we do.
I save old shims and pull out the baggy for when it's time to do a new set. It is a process but I've just come to accept it. Make sure you lap your joints if you're still doing it the old school way so they don't slacken up shortly after they see some use.