where to start

got home early from work to get started on changing the track rod ends and bottom ball joints on the mondeo, what could be simpler though i

how wrong i was

it seems that in order to get the wishbone out you must drop the subframe, and this means realignement of the whole lot

bollocks
you can't get the bolt out form the back because it's only got an inch worth of space before it hits the chassis leg

i didn't twig this until about 2 hours in when no amount of twisting and turning of the arm would do the trick

so it's now 5.30 and i'm pissed off but the bolt is out, as is the wishbone, now all i've got to do is ge the rivets out, a simpel matter of grinfing them out

again, how wrong could i be, 20 minutes later they still aint coming off and i'm seriously thinking of just getting new arms becase it seems that i might have fucked the rear bush

so it's hanging there in the middle of the garden until i decide if i can be bothered ot fix it or not

if i do decide to sort it, how do i realign the subframe? the bolts haven't come out yet, they've just been loosened a little

 

And i thought mk2 clio rear shoe's were a CUNT

 

I just cut the bolt heads and put in new one upside down, with lock washers then dab a blob of weld on just to make sure.
tabetha

 

appanreltty, the bible that is the haynes manual saysa that youmust renew the bolts in any case, but because they have a tapered head, i'm not sure they'll work the other way around

ther eis also the matter of one side being a 15mm head and the nut at the bottom being a 19mm version ;(

if i cold get into the space that there wan't (about an inch) to cet the head off, it would have been beheaded ages ago

on a sierra, with a bit of luck, 20 minutes and hardly bearking a sweat

this has taken 4 hours of my life and 2 grinding discs so far

i did take loads of pics but then i sort of gave up when i had to dismantle the wheel arch which means dismantling bits of the fornt bumper
and then there is the problem of wehre to put the scafold bar to pop he bottom ball joint out, there's no space at all

 

dojj

i would pack up and leave it till tomorrow.if your spellings anything to go by..

your heads proper fucked now



good luck with it tomorrow

 

dojj is this a mk2 mondeo? My mate changed the lower arms on mie fairly easily altho i had to buy new arms and new bolts. He put the bolts in upside down too like already been said.

 

it's a mk3 m8

steve

 

You also have to take about 5-10mm off the end of the bolt when you refit it or else if you have a gearbox mount go weak or give the car abuse, it CAN cause the end of the bolt to puncture the gearbox casing. This is not covered under ANY warranty either.

When I worked @ Ford, we saw this situation more than once where the bolt was refitted the other way (which I might add the techies did as well as it was easier than dropping the subframe) and the customer came back with the car on a flatbed as they'd given the car some grief and put the bolt through the 'box.

Internal TSB went round soon after stating that if any wishbone bolt on a Mondeo was changed and refitted accordingly, the end of the point was to be ground away before fitting or else the repair bill would be down to the individual techy .

 

so that means new bolts all round then?

 

I checked and used new SS bolts, nuts etc, the bolt is a whole lot closer on AUTO's as well, less than 1/3" clearance, but has not touched.
tabetha