Seating ball joints

[mcflurry]

Hi guys,

I recently removed my Tie rod and Drag link from 2009 GU Patrol Knuckle when removing a swivel hub. Now I have put both the Tie rod and Drag link ball joints back on the knuckle and it almost seems like they aren't properly seated however the castle nuts are both on fine and split pins installed.. How can I check whether they are properly seated after reinstalling them?

I'm hearing some clunks in the front end and wondering if this is the cause.. I did replace the wheel bearings and hoping this hasn't caused any issues due to an oversight.. What possible ways could I have stuffed that job up

Cheers
Brad

 

[typhoeus]

the ball joints and tierod ends are tapered fit so they cant be stuffed up really, unless the nut is not tightent up to spec. Have you given it a hard jiggle to see if ther is any play in them?. The swivwl hub bearings and the wheelbearings can be problematic if not set correctly, and that definitely could cause clunks and crunches coming from the frontend, as they can be too loose or too tight.

 

[mcflurry]

Thanks Typhoeus, I believe I set the preload correctly for the wheel bearing and tightened them to ~150 ft lbs and rotated the hub a number of times. The swivel hubs I didn't pay as much attention to and just left the original shims in place. How could I determine whether this would be causing issues without stripping everything back?

 

[mcflurry]

Also - I've noticed no wobbles or anything doing 80+ so figures the swivel hubs were probably okay?

 

[Chatty]

I thought the approved technique for ensuring correct seating was to tighten the nut until it strips, then back off a quarter of a turn and insert the split pin?

 

[2002GU3]

If you want to be absolutely certain that they are seated properly, hit a speed bump or two at around 80kph and if nothing breaks or falls off it's all good.

 

[Chatty]

If you want to be absolutely certain that they are seated properly, hit a speed bump or two at around 80kph and if nothing breaks or falls off it's all good.

I thought this was the recommended technique for identifying the suspension components that needed replacing?