I was worried because I couldn't get my Kangoo ball joint. Clio and Kangoo seem to have the same structure. This video was helpful. Thank you very much. I am Japanese.
On my 02 clio I just replaced the whole lower wishbones which had the ball joint included. The two 18mm bolts on the front and rear arms are easier to remove too. This also give you the chance to replace the anti rollbar bushes too which means not having to undo the impossible T30 torx bolt securing it to the wishbone. Take my word for it, they are so cheap you might as well just replace the lot. Other advice. The pinch bolt is a pig to remove, but if you remove the nut then spend a few minutes turning the bolt back and forth to loosen it first, it will hammer out much easier. Mine just tapped out with a small hammer after loosening. They are 16mm by the way! The head of the bolt is quite shallow so be careful to not round it off. BUT the big bit ot advice here? Be careful of the passenger side (left hand side)! It is possible to pull out the drive shaft from the gear box and break the inner CV gaitor or pull off the retaining clip. If you do this, you will lose all the gearbox oil and get a messy driveway to clean up! I did this and it didn't need much force. It then took me hours to repair the driveshaft seal and refill the gearbox with oil. I suggest you use some rope to tie the wheel hub up to the engine so you cannot pull outward on the drive shaft. This doesn't apply to the driver side (right hand side).
You make it look easier than I found it. Mines a 1.2 8 valve, and the socket fitting the three nuts is 16mm. The nylok nut on both vertical fixings is very tight, and won't come off when it reaches the end of the thread, I couldn't wedge it off either, had to saw the bolts. 5 hours. Pinch bolt still stuck in. Looks like a simple job, is actually an absolute pig. Good video, I wish you'd have filmed the pinch bolt part so I know how hard to hit it.
After studying this and the other video, there are some hints I'd like to give those attempting this job. I thought it would be a quick job, it wasn't. Firstly, the sizes of the nuts on the downward fixings, and the head of the pinchbolt are 16mm A/F on my car, a 2000 1.2 Clio MkII. Get a good 6 point 16mm socket if you don't have one, they are £5. Tackle the pinchbolt first, you should be able to undo the nut of the pinchbolt relatively easily. It is shielded from road splash. Once off, you can't see any clearance in the thread to the casting, it looks screwed into that too. It isn't. As Retrorestore says, you'll need a club hammer to get the bolt out. I put the nut back on leaving a gap of about 5mm nut to casting. I made up a slide of wood so I could rest the hammer on it as I swung it, and after about 5 blows with a sledge hammer, it shifted. Take the nut off once the bolt moves, carry on hitting the bare screwed end. At this point you'll need a punch of about 6mm diameter as the bolt thread disappears into the casting. I made up a wooden block to hold the punch, so that you can sure of hitting it. Once you start driving it inside the casting, you can put the punch in the hole directly and continue. The pinchbolt flew out a few hits later. Then, separate the ball joint. Even that takes some effort. You want the hub to be as solid as you can when you start hitting that which is why you I didn't take the two ball joint fixings off first. The new ball joint was £5, a fork ball separator £6. It's a fiddle getting the new fixings in as retrorestore says because the anti roll bar is loading the wishbone, I lifted the other side of the car up but it was still awkward. Overall, it's a pig of a job. The new kit has 17mm nuts and 17mm pinchbolt head of a regular depth. Shallow headed original just rounded when I got an impact wrench on it. You don't need to turn the pinchbolt head it if you are confident with the hammer, or fix up a guide to avoid smashing your car to bits. Good luck.
Cheers for the vid. I’m about to tackle this job, (both sides on the front), along with ABS reluctor rings and ARB to lower wishbone drop links on my Kangoo van. That is of course if it isn’t going to be pissing it down with rain tomorrow. Edited to add: On the strength of this video, I’ve just subbed to your channel.
A good thing to always do is put a tad of copper grease on the bolts so that it saves you all the stress later on whenever you need to take them out again. 👍
I've got to do this on my corsa soon. I plan on replacing the whole lower wishbone as it comes with a ball joint. My old ball joint is riveted onto the wishbone. Good vid though.
Martin, Nice job a forked tappered ball joint splitter would be handy for that job. It would move the ball joint shaft down evenly. I know what you mean about working on the floor. Been there done that but at my age just getting up & down for tools would be harder than doing the whole job. Take care David.
tell you what I picked up at my local odds shop, a ball joint fork type tool for a fiver, my wife looked at me as much to say why lol. 2 years it sat in shed until just after easter when I did a track rod end.
Working on the ground again Martin? My knees and back would be killing me. Good video. I noticed the CV boot loose, Dirt would be inside now, I can see a failure coming . Probably in January, snow on the ground. Maybe replace those before the crap weather hits you. I need a nap now after watching you work so hard. zzzz ZZZZ zzzz
Hi, thankyou for the video, I'm going to have a go at doing mine however on euro car parts it has 2 or 3 of these with different sizes, 10mm, 12mm and 16mm, I'm not sure what they are referring to, any ideas and how do I know which one I'm going to need?
Love your vids Hate all the Tw$t's that are better than you lol. You did say it wasn't the best situation to do this job, but you did say you were doing the job with what you had a couple of times, are people deaf? Thank you for all your time making these vids.
Exactly Steven, Some commenters don't seem to realise that the stupid comments some people make are not constructive at all. I've been working on cars since I was 14 from a mini to a V12 and got over most problems but the job got done with what I had to hand. I have a ball joint splitter but can't find it so I have to still get the job done but some people forget that I have hundreds of hours of me working on vehicles and they come up with stupid comments. God I'm ranting lol
great video. DO DO READ this amateur mistake!! MY MISTAKE !!! when trying to open up the bolt on the suspension strut. The single one. (not the pair) BE VERY VERY careful not to push drive shaft out too far. My came out too far and popped the seal on the drive shaft at the gearbox. big oil spill !! now trying to work out how to sort. when trying to open the fitting to drop the ball joint out. Do put one of the other bolts back. use that as a retainer/safety. Back underneath and try and work out how to sort it out !!!
A balljoint separator would've made the job a bit easier. I had to replace a lower balljoint on my Xsara Picasso and it subsequently failed the MoT because the pinch bolt was worn. WD40 isn't the best penetrating fluid (it was originally developed as a water dispersal). You need PlusGas or Double T which are far better. An impact gun would've made short work of the rusty nuts & bolts. You need to get yours back if you're gonna be doing more of these spannering jobs.
yeah, I know all about Wd40 but you gotta use what's at hand. In an ideal world, I would know where all my tools are but this is real life where you sometimes have to adapt.
hope you can help ive just got a little clio as a run about ..its rattling a little over bumpy roads .ive just replaced the drop links ..its still rattling ..could it be the ball joints ?
On my clio the ball joints are pressed in, rather than screwed. Garage says he has to remove the suspension arm to do that and then he might as well replace the whole thing. He also says you can´t access the bolts without dropping the cross member for which the bumper need to be removed first. Total cost over 500.
Hello I was doing this today but on Scenic I fl ball joint looks the same. But why the hell when I unscrewed those bolts from ball joint my control arm jumped up and stucked on the driveshaft boot... I had to step on the crowbar putted in the control arm to move it down and another person was screwing in new bolts. On your video control arm stayed almost in the same place. Really strange.
![How to change a ball joint [AUTODOC TUTORIAL]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jnFWGtJP1tA/mqdefault.jpg)
![How to change a ball joint [AUTODOC TUTORIAL]](/img/tr.png)
I was worried because I couldn't get my Kangoo ball joint. Clio and Kangoo seem to have the same structure. This video was helpful. Thank you very much. I am Japanese.
Nice one Martin. Surprise that CV gator wasn't a failure either. Nice to see the nuts and bolts videos back again!
there you go. I agree.
Cheers
Martin
On my 02 clio I just replaced the whole lower wishbones which had the ball joint included. The two 18mm bolts on the front and rear arms are easier to remove too. This also give you the chance to replace the anti rollbar bushes too which means not having to undo the impossible T30 torx bolt securing it to the wishbone. Take my word for it, they are so cheap you might as well just replace the lot. Other advice. The pinch bolt is a pig to remove, but if you remove the nut then spend a few minutes turning the bolt back and forth to loosen it first, it will hammer out much easier. Mine just tapped out with a small hammer after loosening. They are 16mm by the way! The head of the bolt is quite shallow so be careful to not round it off. BUT the big bit ot advice here? Be careful of the passenger side (left hand side)! It is possible to pull out the drive shaft from the gear box and break the inner CV gaitor or pull off the retaining clip. If you do this, you will lose all the gearbox oil and get a messy driveway to clean up! I did this and it didn't need much force. It then took me hours to repair the driveshaft seal and refill the gearbox with oil. I suggest you use some rope to tie the wheel hub up to the engine so you cannot pull outward on the drive shaft. This doesn't apply to the driver side (right hand side).
Martin Connolly : Thanks for the tip Martin. I need to do both sides of mine tomorrow.
Second that the driveshaft pops out easy at gearbox side
wish i had read this before i tried. i have a drive covered in oil !
You make it look easier than I found it. Mines a 1.2 8 valve, and the socket fitting the three nuts is 16mm. The nylok nut on both vertical fixings is very tight, and won't come off when it reaches the end of the thread, I couldn't wedge it off either, had to saw the bolts. 5 hours. Pinch bolt still stuck in. Looks like a simple job, is actually an absolute pig. Good video, I wish you'd have filmed the pinch bolt part so I know how hard to hit it.
After studying this and the other video, there are some hints I'd like to give those attempting this job. I thought it would be a quick job, it wasn't. Firstly, the sizes of the nuts on the downward fixings, and the head of the pinchbolt are 16mm A/F on my car, a 2000 1.2 Clio MkII. Get a good 6 point 16mm socket if you don't have one, they are £5. Tackle the pinchbolt first, you should be able to undo the nut of the pinchbolt relatively easily. It is shielded from road splash. Once off, you can't see any clearance in the thread to the casting, it looks screwed into that too. It isn't. As Retrorestore says, you'll need a club hammer to get the bolt out. I put the nut back on leaving a gap of about 5mm nut to casting. I made up a slide of wood so I could rest the hammer on it as I swung it, and after about 5 blows with a sledge hammer, it shifted. Take the nut off once the bolt moves, carry on hitting the bare screwed end. At this point you'll need a punch of about 6mm diameter as the bolt thread disappears into the casting. I made up a wooden block to hold the punch, so that you can sure of hitting it. Once you start driving it inside the casting, you can put the punch in the hole directly and continue. The pinchbolt flew out a few hits later. Then, separate the ball joint. Even that takes some effort. You want the hub to be as solid as you can when you start hitting that which is why you I didn't take the two ball joint fixings off first. The new ball joint was £5, a fork ball separator £6. It's a fiddle getting the new fixings in as retrorestore says because the anti roll bar is loading the wishbone, I lifted the other side of the car up but it was still awkward. Overall, it's a pig of a job. The new kit has 17mm nuts and 17mm pinchbolt head of a regular depth. Shallow headed original just rounded when I got an impact wrench on it. You don't need to turn the pinchbolt head it if you are confident with the hammer, or fix up a guide to avoid smashing your car to bits. Good luck.
Just completed this job today thanks to this video thanks 😊
Great 👍
Good video glad I'm not the only one who rolls around the floor nice one Martin.
Haha, Col, Hate it on the gravel though.
My hats off to you Martin doing that job on the floor with no room it's not easy job well done
Exactly Leon, Not ideal but we got there,especially as this was a pig to remove.
bodgit and leggit garage I second this , many a time I've been on a cold wet floor thinking is this really worth it lol .
Another very educational video pal, much appreciated 👍
Thanks for watching bud.
Nice job Martin .Such a pain with no swinging room.
Cheers Pete.
Exactly Pete. Jobs like this should really be done on a lift.
True Martin so much easier , you can really give the joint a good welt with the hammer.
I feel your pain, a hoist would always make life more bearable. I am always rolling around in the dirt fixing my cars
Cheers for the vid. I’m about to tackle this job, (both sides on the front), along with ABS reluctor rings and ARB to lower wishbone drop links on my Kangoo van.
That is of course if it isn’t going to be pissing it down with rain tomorrow.
Edited to add: On the strength of this video, I’ve just subbed to your channel.
Thanks bud
CV shaft will be next. I really like your video's; keep up the good work
Thanks bud.
Cheers
Martin
Thank you Martin. A very helpful video.
Glad the vid helped.
Cheers
Martin
A good thing to always do is put a tad of copper grease on the bolts so that it saves you all the stress later on whenever you need to take them out again. 👍
Nice work Martin I always enjoy watching your videos you should have your own TV show :)
Haha, I make too many mistakes lol
We all do Martin but I still enjoy watching your videos because I learn something new every time :)
I've got to do this on my corsa soon. I plan on replacing the whole lower wishbone as it comes with a ball joint. My old ball joint is riveted onto the wishbone. Good vid though.
I've done that many times as well.
Cheers
Martin
nice one always a pain working on the floor bit of old carpet comes in
handy
Yes, I got a bit as well but always forget it lol
This is a good idea especially on gravel!
Great vid Martin.can't beat a big hammer to get the job done
Cheers
Jamie
Having a big one makes all the difference Jamie lol
retrorestore lol true Martin
Martin, Nice job a forked tappered ball joint splitter would be handy for that job. It would move the ball joint shaft down evenly.
I know what you mean about working on the floor. Been there done that but at my age just getting up & down for tools would be harder than doing the whole job. Take care David.
I do have one Dave but can't find it so the job had to go on.
Cheers
Martin
Great job Martin , Enjoyed .. Thumbs up !
Many Thanks, simple and clear video
Glad it helped
Great video Martin. Those ball joints can be stubborn at the best of times, just have to give it the old wd 40 and persevere lol.
Cheers, Jeff.
Exactly Jeff, well done on the Dave Jaguar t shirt, it's in the post today.
Cheers Martin.
Ace video Martin they should give you an O B E for services to us back street mechanics
Haha, Robin, Old Boy Entertains = OBE lol
Nice job, I have to agree with Zed, that cv boot is a goner. Next video will be replacing cv axle.
Haha, you may be right.
Nothing like watching a ball joint being replaced and listening to some ska music.
What are the deep hilka 3/8s like ? also love the 3/8 drive extension bar .You need a us pro tools trolley in your life 😀
They have hot me out of trouble on many occasions so handy and cheap as well.
Cheers
Martin
might be better off trying to undo pinch bolt, and free that end off first. i normally change anything like this both sides too
Yes that's right Rob I sussed that on lol
tell you what I picked up at my local odds shop, a ball joint fork type tool for a fiver, my wife looked at me as much to say why lol. 2 years it sat in shed until just after easter when I did a track rod end.
nice find, I always give them a clout normally and they free off but not today lol
I reckoned the same Rob.
Was the outer cv boot missing a retaining clip on the wheel side?
Yes, I cable tied it afterwards.
retrorestore that cable tie will not last martin , I tried that and learnt the hard way , cv grease everywhere lol
Yeah I'll tell him to get the proper clip.
@@retrorestore You can get stainless steel cable ties on eBay, one of those should do the trick!
Working on the ground again Martin? My knees and back would be killing me. Good video. I noticed the CV boot loose, Dirt would be inside now, I can see a failure coming . Probably in January, snow on the ground. Maybe replace those before the crap weather hits you. I need a nap now after watching you work so hard. zzzz ZZZZ zzzz
Haha, I thought people would spot the lack of clip, I didn't mention it in the vid but we'll be putting one on asap.
Hi, thankyou for the video, I'm going to have a go at doing mine however on euro car parts it has 2 or 3 of these with different sizes, 10mm, 12mm and 16mm, I'm not sure what they are referring to, any ideas and how do I know which one I'm going to need?
Not sure bud, sorry
Nice bit of easy ska or reggie going on there Mr B :)
It's the only way Ian lol
Liked that you used a screw driver as a pin
Can't find the pin anywhere lol
Very helpful mate, cheers 👍
I have a 2004 clio that needs both front rack knuckles doing :/ don't suppose you have a vid on that? Haha. Good clear video, cheers!
I meant 2002
Sorry bud I don't.
nice video martin
Cheers Chris
Love your vids
Hate all the Tw$t's that are better than you lol. You did say it wasn't the best situation to do this job, but you did say you were doing the job with what you had a couple of times, are people deaf?
Thank you for all your time making these vids.
Exactly Steven, Some commenters don't seem to realise that the stupid comments some people make are not constructive at all. I've been working on cars since I was 14 from a mini to a V12 and got over most problems but the job got done with what I had to hand. I have a ball joint splitter but can't find it so I have to still get the job done but some people forget that I have hundreds of hours of me working on vehicles and they come up with stupid comments. God I'm ranting lol
good job m8 great video.
Thanks Dave
great video. DO DO READ this amateur mistake!! MY MISTAKE !!! when trying to open up the bolt on the suspension strut. The single one. (not the pair) BE VERY VERY careful not to push drive shaft out too far. My came out too far and popped the seal on the drive shaft at the gearbox. big oil spill !! now trying to work out how to sort.
when trying to open the fitting to drop the ball joint out. Do put one of the other bolts back. use that as a retainer/safety.
Back underneath and try and work out how to sort it out !!!
Is the ball joint connected to the suspension arms or are they a seperate component?
We don't have that car any more bud. Sorry.
A balljoint separator would've made the job a bit easier. I had to replace a lower balljoint on my Xsara Picasso and it subsequently failed the MoT because the pinch bolt was worn. WD40 isn't the best penetrating fluid (it was originally developed as a water dispersal). You need PlusGas or Double T which are far better. An impact gun would've made short work of the rusty nuts & bolts. You need to get yours back if you're gonna be doing more of these spannering jobs.
yeah, I know all about Wd40 but you gotta use what's at hand. In an ideal world, I would know where all my tools are but this is real life where you sometimes have to adapt.
Hi there do you know if this ball joint is all called a "drag link end ball joint" cheers great vid
No, this is a bottom Ball joint. The drag link or drop links have a ball joint on each end.
retrorestore thank you for you reply makes a lot more sense now 👍🏻
Nice vid bro
hope you can help ive just got a little clio as a run about ..its rattling a little over bumpy roads .ive just replaced the drop links ..its still rattling ..could it be the ball joints ?
Jack the front wheels up and give them a wiggle to see if there is any play.
seems to be a bit of movement up n down feels loose
could be lower ball joint then
chears ..thats what i thought too always good to have my thoughts confirmed by someone who knows whats what
One thing to watch out for- some Clios have M10mm retaining bolts, while others have M12mm ones.
I found Febi Bilstein part no. 39820, which comes with new fixings, works perfectly in my Clio, which has 12mm bolts.
I hope that wasn't a tommy walsh poundland screwdriver in the axle stand.
On my clio the ball joints are pressed in, rather than screwed. Garage says he has to remove the suspension arm to do that and then he might as well replace the whole thing. He also says you can´t access the bolts without dropping the cross member for which the bumper need to be removed first. Total cost over 500.
That's why I do these jobs myself.
Hello I was doing this today but on Scenic I fl ball joint looks the same. But why the hell when I unscrewed those bolts from ball joint my control arm jumped up and stucked on the driveshaft boot... I had to step on the crowbar putted in the control arm to move it down and another person was screwing in new bolts. On your video control arm stayed almost in the same place. Really strange.
Not sure bud. Check out a Scenic vid for doing that job. It might explain why.
I bet there were plenty of F words off camera with this one, Martin! BTW if ever you're stuck for a tool, give me a call - I may have it!
👍👍👍
10M or 12M Thread bolt?
you could of put the trolley jack under the break disc to stop the bounce would of helps a tonne also buy a ball joint splitter hahaha
Got a ball joint splitter but this thing was corroded well in.
The cars keep you busy bud. I went through no end of CV joints on my Clio.
It's all content for my channel Michael lol
Are you on Mike Ashley's Christmas card list?
get your self down to machine mart go buy the extendable pro200 ratchets there the dogs nuts