denzel2364 Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 Hi all, I wanted to post a pic to get your advice. I took the clam off to repair it and wanted to see what the condition is like underneath. I noticed the knuckle joint on both N/S and O/S looking sorry for itself. My gut doesnt like what i see but do you guys think I should change this? If so, is it a big job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cakes Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 Think that’s been living under the sea!! Some tlc required and not limited to that hub carrier by the looks. 👍🏻 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWill Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 Very similar to mine before I refreshed everything last year. TBH the rust on the hub carrier is largely superficial; if unsightly. Mine was worse than yours and You'll be surprised how well they'll come out after some vapour blasting and painting or powder coating. In fact it's so satisfying there's plenty of folk who just do the whole suspension refresh - money and time permitting. If your ball joints, bushes, bearings & struts work as intended then that's great: you're good to go for the time being. Unless you want to make a start renewing things. If any of the above suspension components need replacing that should be your priority as the need arises. Ideally when your suspension is like that and you are going to replace parts yourself it makes sense to refurb the hub carrier or wishbones if the part you are replacing requires removal either of these. If you do nothing else right now; For a small outlay you could replace all the nuts and bolts. To take the sting out of preceedings when you do renew items. Just a thought.. Some of those look like they'll put up a good fight. 😬 Nothing there is particularly difficult to do if you have a selection of tools / weapons and some tanacity to revert to plan b, c, and d 😉. There's usually someone here on MLOC (or SELOC) who's been there and done that and got the answer when @#£t happens. Good luck👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lithopsian Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Replacing the balljoints is certainly DIY-able. The suspension can be dismantled with a couple of spanners, a socket or two, and probably a lot of swearing given the amount of rust. To separate the balljoints you'll probably want to get a special tool. There are generic forks (EuroCarParts) or you can get ones specific to the Elise (Eliseparts) which are more convenient. You might want to check if the balljoints need replacing first. You can check for movement in the joint, but it can be hard to judge. Eventually the joints will start to knock over small bumps, and some time after that will fail. If the balljoints are worn, the bushes probably also need looking at. They'll be past their best at 50,000 miles and probably in serious need of replacement at 100,000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denzel2364 Posted April 27, 2020 Author Share Posted April 27, 2020 On 20/04/2020 at 21:24, The Cakes said: Think that’s been living under the sea!! Some tlc required and not limited to that hub carrier by the looks. 👍🏻 Funny enough, i live next to the sea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denzel2364 Posted April 27, 2020 Author Share Posted April 27, 2020 On 20/04/2020 at 21:30, MrWill said: Very similar to mine before I refreshed everything last year. TBH the rust on the hub carrier is largely superficial; if unsightly. Mine was worse than yours and You'll be surprised how well they'll come out after some vapour blasting and painting or powder coating. In fact it's so satisfying there's plenty of folk who just do the whole suspension refresh - money and time permitting. If your ball joints, bushes, bearings & struts work as intended then that's great: you're good to go for the time being. Unless you want to make a start renewing things. If any of the above suspension components need replacing that should be your priority as the need arises. Ideally when your suspension is like that and you are going to replace parts yourself it makes sense to refurb the hub carrier or wishbones if the part you are replacing requires removal either of these. If you do nothing else right now; For a small outlay you could replace all the nuts and bolts. To take the sting out of preceedings when you do renew items. Just a thought.. Some of those look like they'll put up a good fight. 😬 Nothing there is particularly difficult to do if you have a selection of tools / weapons and some tanacity to revert to plan b, c, and d 😉. There's usually someone here on MLOC (or SELOC) who's been there and done that and got the answer when @#£t happens. Good luck👍 Ive been 'at it' with the wire brush and its coming together nicely. I think the bearings need changing though as ive used it for a few times before taking the clam of and its sounds rough. I like your idea on replacing the nuts and bolts though, that could be a good start. They look evil at the mo! 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denzel2364 Posted April 27, 2020 Author Share Posted April 27, 2020 On 21/04/2020 at 15:38, Lithopsian said: Replacing the balljoints is certainly DIY-able. The suspension can be dismantled with a couple of spanners, a socket or two, and probably a lot of swearing given the amount of rust. To separate the balljoints you'll probably want to get a special tool. There are generic forks (EuroCarParts) or you can get ones specific to the Elise (Eliseparts) which are more convenient. You might want to check if the balljoints need replacing first. You can check for movement in the joint, but it can be hard to judge. Eventually the joints will start to knock over small bumps, and some time after that will fail. If the balljoints are worn, the bushes probably also need looking at. They'll be past their best at 50,000 miles and probably in serious need of replacement at 100,000. Brill, thank you. I will have a look at these Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWill Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 4 hours ago, denzel2364 said: Ive been 'at it' with the wire brush and its coming together nicely. I think the bearings need changing though as ive used it for a few times before taking the clam of and its sounds rough. I like your idea on replacing the nuts and bolts though, that could be a good start. They look evil at the mo! 🙂 If you're replacing a bearing then I'd get the hub carrier vapour blasted if you have somewhere to post it off to. When I refreshed the suspension I ended up doing everything in pairs ie what I did to the left, I did to the right. I know that only really applies to struts/springs rather than wheel bearings and ball joints but it's just what I did... That and while the car was in the air / under trays off and car out of action for a while it made sense to just do the same job on both sides. If you end up doing ball joints I can send you my eliseparts ball joint tool to use if you'd rather avoid buying. It's one of those seldom used tools. Happy to lend out than just sat in a draw for another couple of years. Re nuts and bolts. My plan a, b c and d put onto use a various times were: Wire brushand Plusgas spray a few days before Breaker bar Impact driver Set of locking/grip tight sockets Dremel with angle grinder attachment Big hammer and metal chisel Tunnocks caramel wafer Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denzel2364 Posted April 29, 2020 Author Share Posted April 29, 2020 On 27/04/2020 at 15:25, MrWill said: If you're replacing a bearing then I'd get the hub carrier vapour blasted if you have somewhere to post it off to. When I refreshed the suspension I ended up doing everything in pairs ie what I did to the left, I did to the right. I know that only really applies to struts/springs rather than wheel bearings and ball joints but it's just what I did... That and while the car was in the air / under trays off and car out of action for a while it made sense to just do the same job on both sides. If you end up doing ball joints I can send you my eliseparts ball joint tool to use if you'd rather avoid buying. It's one of those seldom used tools. Happy to lend out than just sat in a draw for another couple of years. Re nuts and bolts. My plan a, b c and d put onto use a various times were: Wire brushand Plusgas spray a few days before Breaker bar Impact driver Set of Dremel with angle grinder attachment Big hammer and metal chisel Tunnocks caramel wafer Cheers HAHA "Tunnocks caramel wafer". Prefer mine from the freezer so ill have to keep it at home 🙂 Thank you for the offer too. I will have a look in more detail and i'll be in touch if these need to be changed. As for doing things in pairs, i couldn't agree more. Tyres, brake pads, suspension, all done in pairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWill Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 Apologies, That 'set of' line should have read set of locking sockets... You know the ones that grip onto rounded bolt heads. Good luck👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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