cabby3i

hey peep's, wanna change the front wishbone's on my mk mondeo but am stuck on the n/s the bolt seem's to hit the gear box,
some one point me in thr right direction on how to remove the bugger plz ?


thanks

tabetha

You have two options, dismantle enough to be able to raise the engine/box, or just hacksaw the head off, then replace upside down, making sure to use a NEW nyloc locknut and thread lock, if the car is a auto you will also need to shave a tiny amount of the bolt head, even better than locknut though is a K nut, easy to make, just squeeze the nut in a vice until slightly mishapen whereupon it will grip on the threads real tight.
I always install upside down, never seen any one have any issue with this way.
tabetha

cabby3i

cheer's m8, yeah i was guessing im gonna have to cut it out, i removed the bolt's on the gear box mount but it will only lift to a certain point before it catches the inner arch, the box and engine has to be lifted straight!
i hate ford's and there frigging bolt's!!!! may aswell have share's in the bolt company! LOL....... cheer's for the info m8!

t'is a manual b.t.w

tabetha

There's even less room with a auto box!!
tabetha

forevaford

iTrader: (2)

bodging buggers, its no hasstle to do it propperly. pin the radiater up, and remove the front subframe bolts, and the front gearbox mount bolt and then pull the front of the subframe down, plenty of clearance to get the bolt in and out. half hour max to change a n/s lower arm.. auto or not.
mart

clarke5700

i removed the bolt from the back mount and removed the 2 bolts from the n/s of the subframe leavered the box up and the bolt comes out no problem. i also fitted the bolt back this way as this is how ford built it!!

Fiddy

The ford job sheet states you must drop the subframe and correctly fit the bolts as one, you have the problem your having, and two, not dropping the subframe and fitting the bolts the wrong way round can pull the subframe out of alignment. its a lot quicker and easier to do it the way yours has been done, but can cause a lot of problems.

The Youth.

iTrader: (1)

i always invert the bolt, on an mk5/6 escort it's inverted from the factory anyway so whats the problem?? I always take a bit off the bolt tho as it does get close to the gearbox casing.

steve

Fiddy

Steve, i got both arms fitted by rapid fit, after having them fitted, the car was pulling all over, and i ran two tyres off very quickly, after going backwards and forwards with rapid fit and getting no where, i took it my local ford dealers, which is opposite my local rapid fit. my ford dealers put the car on the ramp and staright away said, there's your problem, pointed at the bottom arm bolts, and said there the wrong way round. long story short, the guy from ford took the ford job sheet to rapid fit, they brought there area manager, and i ended up getting two new bottom arms fitted again, with the subframe dropped, the bolts put in the correct way, and two 17" tyres, all free of charge. my local ford dealers even borrowed there subframe alignment tool to rapid fit to do the job as rapid fit didnt have one. the car was like a different car when i got it back.

cabby3i

after a second attempt at this i have manage to get it out, it is a pain in the ass but is do able and yes it didnt take me 45 min's to do so!





thank's for the help and info guy's!

this place rock's

tabetha

Amazing, my way doesn't even disturb the subframe, the bolt does not know which way up it is, so doing it my way works perfectly, and safely, remember what holds your wheels on, and they are spinning all over the place.
Of course there will be a MASSIVE difference if someone gets the subframe out of alignment, I dont though as I don't touch it.
The only reason why the bolt is the way it is, is because it was done on a production line, and was found quicker/easier to do it this way, in 25+ years I have never had a locknutted or k nutted bolt shake loose on anything, espcialy something that doesn't move unlike wheel nuts.
tabetha

forevaford

iTrader: (2)

as a professional, your way is wrong.
if i was working on a mondeo and saw the bolt up side down i woud laff to my self,
i like to do a job as tho u couldnt tell it had been done. as per manufacturers guid lines, i bet fords tech dock dousnt tell you to saw the bolt off lol.
same thing with using tip ex wit cam belt changes, u shouldnt have to. although i still do sometimes, but i make sure i remove it so it looks like i havent used it... its a reputation u make when working on cars. i dont like to be talked about in a bad way lol
pehapps i mite do stuff like that to my own cars in a quick fix type attitude

cossie legend

I disagree. As a professional the ford garage advised me to cut the bolt. If i see the bolt upside down i dont laugh, im glad as i change it super quick and dont have to cut it and get a new bolt. If ford had of been putting the wishbone in when the car was built they wouldnt have put it down the road. Why would the bolt come out, its the same way the bolts is in the subframe and they dont come out. Ive been doing it this way for years and never had any problems. Why mess about with a subframe when you dont have to?

The Youth.

iTrader: (1)

sounds like they disturbed the subframe when doing the job for some reason, as tabatha has said, inverting the bolt doesn't alter the subframe at all and there is no reason whats so ever to not invert the bolt, a mk5/6 escort has inverted bolts from the factory!!

steve

FMC Rep

Hi Guys, The wishbone mounting bolts were actually fitted from above on the production line in ERROR. The process engineers were not mechanics and failed to understand the problems they created in SERVICE. The sensible replacement method of cutting the the head off the one offending mounting bolt on the Mk2 Mondeo and the 1990s Escort is correct. Fit the new wishbones with NEW bolts fitted from below but remove the pointed end of the new bolt which is below the gearbox casing to ensure the original clearance, as failing to do so can cause the bolt end to foul the gearbox casing. Disturbing the sub frame is not recommended. In those dim dark days of yesteryear I was Chief process engineer for BMC (Leyland) and then Service Rep for Ford Motor Company NZ. Ford UK made the mistake of insisting that their incoming Process engineers and service reps held university degrees in engineering or similar even if they didn't know how to change a spark plug.

Rowe

7 year thread bump hahahahahaha