The near side front balljoint on my car has suddenly decided to go dangerously floppy (after passing the MOT with flying colours five months ago) and I've just dicovered that the guy I used in the past for this job has retired. I've more than enough broken down cars already to keep me occupied so I'm not going to take it on myself. Can anyone recommend a reliable shop in or near South Somerset who can be trusted to do this job at a reasonable cost?
Me and Chris10 did both sides upper and lower in a half day, all you need is an angle grinder, your normal tools and a press, £35 one off ebay will do the trick.
Be aware that the Bearmach replacements i got did not fit. (They credited me back but fortunately Chris had a pair in his garage at the time)
Or have a word with Marty in Swindon. He's got the kit, the workshop and has done quite a few in the past.
Rcutler wrote:
Me and Chris10 did both sides upper and lower in a half day, all you need is an angle grinder, your normal tools and a press, £35 one off ebay will do the trick.
Be aware that the Bearmach replacements i got did not fit. (They credited me back but fortunately Chris had a pair in his garage at the time)
But the bearmach I had did fit, lol,,
I've arranged for a local(ish) garage to do the job as it's currently our only car and I can't afford to have something go wrong and leave us stranded.
There not that bad to do, once you’ve done one side, you fly through the other side.
As long as they've done them in the past and know what to expect, you should be OK. I needed one side doing on one car a few years ago (before I knew Marty and others) and as it was January, freezing cold and the work would have to be done outside (garage not wide enough to get the car in and be able to work alongside it), I got a quote from a local LR independent. Quote was £380 all in so I booked it in and left it with them. two days later they phoned to say they couldn't get the hub out as they couldn't remove the ABS sensor other than by drilling it out so there'd be the extra cost of an ABS sensor. Told them to get on with it. A further couple of days later they called to say that the joints had been changed but it needed the tracking doing and the adjuster was seized solid so they recommended replacing the link rod too. Finally, after about a week, they phoned to say it was ready so I went to collect it only to be presented with a bill for £1,050. Their excuse was that it was such a bastard to dismantle that the extra was in the labour......
Never taken a car anywhere since.
ABS sensor pretty much re-defines pig-to-shift if they have been in a fair while. Finally doing my nearside ball joints whilst I have everything out and up in t'air for brake calliper and line change. About 3 hours into the ABS sensor between multiple anointings with Plus Gas and its moved about 1/4". Pretty sure its not coming out in one piece but I do have a spare. Frankly at garage rates if it doesn't move easily sensible approach is to cut the top off, drilling is not the way to go as you are likely to end up with the drill jammed in half a mile of wire, pull the innards and "operate" on the case so the drive shaft comes out. 15 minutes tops with it up on a lift if you have the gear and know what you are doing. What I should'a done but not so easy on axle stands.
Frankly if I were a pro new ABS sensor and Lemfoder link arm would be on the bill automatically. Professional's do it fast, do it once and do it right. Hard to find real professional garages. Most can't get their head round relative cost of parts and time. Especially when new, decent quality but not manufacturer parts are now so relatively inexpensive that fast destructive working is better than careful 'cos I should be able to re-use that unless things are clearly recently changed. Even at home I try far too hard to save things.
Clive
A couple of cars I've worked on recently the ABS sensors have just pulled out no problem. In fact one needed a rear wheel bearing so I got a complete hub and halfshaft assembly to swap in making it a much quicker job and as I pulled the old one out it rolled over and the ABS sensor just fell out! Unlike my daughter's MR2 that needed a rear wheel bearing and the ABS sensor came out in 3 pieces joined with miles of very fine copper wire. That showed how cheap parts are for our cars, Toyota price for an ABS sensor, £360 +VAT, Eurocarparts, £245 but out of stock, Online Car Parts.co.uk, who are actually based in Germany despite the .co.uk web address, £28 including delivery for a genuine Denso one too. Admittedly I think the courier they used put it in his pocket and walked from Germany as she drove around for almost 3 weeks with the ABS fuse and relay pulled and a permanent warning light on the dash.
Gilbertd wrote:
As long as they've done them in the past and know what to expect, you should be OK. I needed one side doing on one car a few years ago (before I knew Marty and others) and as it was January, freezing cold and the work would have to be done outside (garage not wide enough to get the car in and be able to work alongside it), I got a quote from a local LR independent. Quote was £380 all in so I booked it in and left it with them. two days later they phoned to say they couldn't get the hub out as they couldn't remove the ABS sensor other than by drilling it out so there'd be the extra cost of an ABS sensor. Told them to get on with it. A further couple of days later they called to say that the joints had been changed but it needed the tracking doing and the adjuster was seized solid so they recommended replacing the link rod too. Finally, after about a week, they phoned to say it was ready so I went to collect it only to be presented with a bill for £1,050. Their excuse was that it was such a bastard to dismantle that the extra was in the labour......
Never taken a car anywhere since.
I called a local (to where I used to live) LR specialist to quote for flushing my brake fluid a couple of years ago. They wouldn't give me a quote as they said they didn't know how bad it would be until they had the car there. The bleed nipples might be seized, might need new calipers, might need this that and the other.
Took it to Marshalls in Peterborough. Can't remember the exact numbers but they gave me a quote and actually charged me less than the quote!
Clive603 wrote:
ABS sensor pretty much re-defines pig-to-shift if they have been in a fair while. Finally doing my nearside ball joints whilst I have everything out and up in t'air for brake calliper and line change. About 3 hours into the ABS sensor between multiple anointings with Plus Gas and its moved about 1/4". Pretty sure its not coming out in one piece but I do have a spare. Frankly at garage rates if it doesn't move easily sensible approach is to cut the top off, drilling is not the way to go as you are likely to end up with the drill jammed in half a mile of wire, pull the innards and "operate" on the case so the drive shaft comes out. 15 minutes tops with it up on a lift if you have the gear and know what you are doing. What I should'a done but not so easy on axle stands.
Frankly if I were a pro new ABS sensor and Lemfoder link arm would be on the bill automatically. Professional's do it fast, do it once and do it right. Hard to find real professional garages. Most can't get their head round relative cost of parts and time. Especially when new, decent quality but not manufacturer parts are now so relatively inexpensive that fast destructive working is better than careful 'cos I should be able to re-use that unless things are clearly recently changed. Even at home I try far too hard to save things.
Clive
That's pretty much what we do here (DAF trucks main dealer) - if the ABS sensor doesn't come out easily it just stays in the old hub. If the techs have to put that much effort in to removing it chances are it will get damaged in some way anyway and start causing faults in the not too distant future.
No customer (not even the manufacturer on a warranty job!) will pay several hours of labour to undo seized parts so why bother? Much easier to justify the cost of a sensor that's seized in and can't be removed.
Happens with ball joints, rod ends etc.
I have found a way to get the ABS sensors out in one piece, which has worked on my car. Admittedly only tried on 3 or 4 sensors so far but sucessfully.
It involves getting a very thin spanner under the head of the sensor and then using a fork type ball joint separator.
I filed a narrow cycle spanner, the type used for adjusting cones on a bike, so it just fitted across the narrower body of the sensor under the head. It is only about 1/8" thickness and hard steel. There was enough space to get the fork end of a ball joint separator under the spanner. Then a couple of blows with a hammer to get it moving. The spanner acts to spread the load out on the head of the sensor. Also lots of WD40 and wire brushing before you start.
Everything polished with emery paper and coated with copaslip before reassembly.
dave3d
Great minds think alike and all that jazz. Excellent idea and well worth trying if the sensor is tight, but not too tight. Made similar back in the summer when I did my drivers side swivels. Naturally had to be fancy and over think things by starting with a sheet metal spanner out of some self assembly thingy saved into the "might be useful" box. Bridgeport made short work of opening out to 16 mm with inch (ish) long forks and putting a taper on the end 'cos basic spanner was too thick to go in. Theory being that tapping in would lever up the sensor as it ran over the taper. Didn't work out. Stretched the sensor body to the point where it started to snap. Same thing today doing the passenger side ones. Oh well.
Chopped the protruding end of the sensor off first thing this afternoon with a multi-tool saw so the hub can come out of the swivel without the sensor arguing with the shield. Now there's optimism for you. Bolted a scrap rear brake disk on inside out and two hours of bashing has had no effect. Rain forecast tomorrow so i get to rest up. Suggestions for effective and less agricultural methods gratefully received.
No wonder the drivers side ABS sensor didn't shift back in the summer. Ended up having to cut the sensor out of the carrier thingy and cut that out of the hub. So solidly glued that it wouldn't even collapse. Clearly assembled dry without the lubrication stuff. Expecting same battle with the remains of the nearside one.
Off over t'workshop now to draw up an adapter so my 12 ton hydraulic taper splitter will fit the steering box end of the drag link. Just laughs at the ordinary screw one which managed the the swivel end. Impressive bang!
How do folks without on site machine shop facilities manage when things turn stubborn?
Clive.
We cry and tow/trailer the thing to a garage!