[T3] ball joints

Jim Adney jadney at vwtype3.org
Thu Mar 8 05:46:11 PST 2012


On 8 Mar 2012 at 0:03, Bobsnotch at aol.com wrote:

> Yeah, I used the floor jack to keep the upper ball joint tight to the  
> trailing arm when I removed the nut, then let the jack down to release it. Once  
> you have the top ball joint off the trailing arm, the entire spindle is  
> load free. And yes, I was very aware of the pinch bolts, that's why I chose 
> that  method.  

I use the same floor jack method to make the parts force neutral, 
then remove the pinch bolts first. Then I use a cold chisel in the 
pinch slot to open the slot slightly, once the bolt is out, to allow 
the ball joint to slide out of the knuckle.

The cold chisel is also useful if you're just trying to adjust the 
alignment, but you have to be careful to choose a chisel that's large 
enough that the cutting edge does not reach the shank of the bolt.

I once had a pinch bolt break, and had to drill, file, and pick it 
out, which took days to accomplish without damaging the threads in 
the knuckle. Once the parts were out, I could see where someone had 
cut into the shank of that bolt with a chisel, leaving stress risers 
where the bolt had broken. That was on my '68 and the bolt broke in 
'73, well before the parts were very rusty. I replaced all 4 bolts 
after that, and they all had chisel marks on them.

I had had the alignment checked at a VW dealership, but it had become 
clear that the person doing the work was either careless or 
untrained. The steering wheel was no longer straight after the work 
was done, and when I complained, they told me to just remove it and 
reset in straight. That was last straw with that dealership; I never 
went back there again.   

-- 
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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