430 - Lower ball joints | FerrariChat

430 Lower ball joints

Discussion in '360/430' started by mike32, Jul 10, 2019.

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  1. mike32

    mike32 F1 Veteran

    May 13, 2016
    5,828
    Isle of man- uk
    Anyone got experience changing the front lower ball joints on a 430.

    I have got the weight off the wishbone by disconnecting the anti roll bar and the 2 top mounting bolts for the shock absorber.

    I am trying to remove the bolt from the lower wishbone where it goes through the bottom fixing of the shock absorber ( bolt 19 on the drawing ) The bolt will turn ok but does not back out, so the threads on the bolt must be for the nut only and no threads in the wishbone.

    Tried giving it a tap but just wants to turn but not back out- do i keep on tapping it or am i missing something here.
     
  2. RedNeck

    RedNeck F1 Veteran
    BANNED Silver Subscribed

    Jul 8, 2016
    9,875
    The CSA
    Full Name:
    Me
    I believe it's similar to the 360...I put an extra jack under the control arm and lifted it up to ride height so it is straight and then used 2 wrenches to break the bolt loose from the strut bolt.
     
  3. mike32

    mike32 F1 Veteran

    May 13, 2016
    5,828
    Isle of man- uk
    My problem is getting the lower suspension pivot bolt to come out, no weight on it at present
     
  4. 24000rpm

    24000rpm F1 Rookie

    you are missing nothing

    just use a big hammer and hit the bolt with the nut on just a few threads.( hit the nut actually, because hitting directly at the bolt will ruin the threads)

    after you got that big bolt out, wd40 inside and out will solve the problem. unless, you have a crooked bolt because of potholes, previous accidents, etc.

    edit:
    your hammer should hit an socket extension(or any metal bar that will contact the nut nicely), then the extension should contact the nut, then the nut will transfer the hit to the bolt.


     
  5. mike32

    mike32 F1 Veteran

    May 13, 2016
    5,828
    Isle of man- uk
    Well the bolt is out with the help of a parallel punch and a lump hammer- they dont give up easy for sure.
     
  6. gatago

    gatago Karting

    Jun 28, 2019
    119
    Full Name:
    Marco
    I think there is a vid on youtube from "normal guy supercar" that goes through the whole procedure
     
    Fred Daniali, Lagunascorpio and APA#1 like this.
  7. Jgivoo

    Jgivoo Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Jan 22, 2016
    432
    New Jersey
    Mike,
    Sounds like the "more bigger hammer" did the job
     
  8. RayJohns

    RayJohns F1 Veteran
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    May 21, 2006
    7,398
    West Coast
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    Ray
    I have never done ball joints on the Ferrari, but I just did them on my pickup truck. Here is an excellent tool for separating ball joints. I use it and it's faster than anything else I've found for disconnecting the taper:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YVWHOE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    You can use the hammer on top of the nut method, but it's usually not the best idea in my experience. The tool above works great with an impact wrench or with a ratchet.

    Ray
     
  9. Motob

    Motob Formula 3
    Professional Ferrari Technician

    Nov 11, 2003
    2,238
    Frederick, Maryland
    Full Name:
    Brian Brown
    Umm, 360s and 430s don't have tapered studs on the ball joints. The ball joints are held to the uprights with regulars bolts that can just be unscrewed.
    The bolt that the original poster is having trouble removing is just a regular bolt. He just need the correct punch/driver and a big hammer to get it out.
     
  10. RayJohns

    RayJohns F1 Veteran
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    May 21, 2006
    7,398
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    Ray
    probably won't need that tool then - luckily Amazon has a pretty liberal return policy :)
     
  11. mike32

    mike32 F1 Veteran

    May 13, 2016
    5,828
    Isle of man- uk
    Well it is out and the ball joint has been changed for a hill engineering item- the lower one is a far better design than the upper as it has a shoulder on the outer ring. I had some rotary fibre bushes for a demel which were useless for everything- turned out the did a great job of cleaning out the old adhesive from the ball joint enclosure in the arm- mirror finish and took all of 2 minutes. Quoted £400 just in labour to do one by the dealers.
     
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