WHAT YOU DID TO YOUR TRUCK TODAY!

Changed the lower ball joint on the offside. What a long job I started at 11.00 stopped for lunch at 3.00 then finally finished clearing up at 7.15.
I read the excellent posts in steering on how to do it, thanks for those who wrote up. I also looked at several you tube films.
I had real trouble with getting the lower joint free from the wishbone. I tried bashing the side as shown in you tube tried a ball joint splitter also to no avail.I even resorted to oxy acetylene .I put a bit of 6 mm plate over the wishbone to protect the drive shaft boot and heated up the bit around the joint with the weight taken on the end of the ball joint taper on a jack.
As I knew it needed
a new ball joint ,I didn't mind the rubber burning. This didn't work either which astonished me as heating has never failed me before. Finally tried jacking it up on the wishbone and hit the end of the ball joint upwards and at last it came free.
Then followed ratcavs instructions on fitting the new ball joint. The new bolts were longer than the old ones and too long to fit in in the space under the driveshaft boot and I had to reuse a shorter old one in one of the holes towards the rear of the fronty.
Then when I had that done I couldn't tighten the track rod end down the nut got stuck and the whole shaft just span around . I had a good look at it and found the thread was damaged halfway down so filed it in situ with a needle file and also cut a screwdriver slot in the end of the bolt with a 1 mm cutting disc on an angle grinder and used this to hold while I tightened the nut down so got tight eventually.
Whew!
This is all in aid of an m.o.t. in a weeks time, it was gratifying to find that the old ball joint was very worn indeed.

Ran the old girl in for MOT today....and she passed :dance:

just 3 advisories
small amount of play in a drop link
chip in the screen
gearbox oil leak

Happy days

Fitted new heater matrix by the "easier" method and now have a toasty warm motor for the winter. Well chuffed as it passed its MOT last week with no advisories.

Awesome sauce Mick

On Thursday I changed the oil and filter in time for the mot on Friday. It passed except for one tyre , a Colway which is 31 10 15 and all the others are 275 55 15. I thought it was the same size but the tester didn't like it. I haven't got another legal one so am waiting until Monday for my garage to fit a new Kuhmo 275 55 15 and take it for a retest.
Very pleased it passed apart from that.

Found a puddle under Truck today at work and then a leak in the main hose from the rad to the bottom of the engine and the header tank. Seems it has been rubbing on the steering box with the obvious result.

Tomorrow's fun n games is going to be fixing the leak followed by changing the engine mounts (one looks like it has given up) and then some welding in the passenger footwell where a couple of cracks have appeared around the edge of the body mount re-enforcement plate. Finish off with a Pre MOT look over.

Then book in for a MoT. Should get through okay, with all things considered the Truck's in pretty good nick for a 21 year old 4x4 with close to 280k on the clocks and the life it gets!

Wobbly wheel bearing not so wobbly anymore.

Well I have not posted on the forum recently but I have just got the Fronty through a MOT, SSSooo I'm feeling pretty chuffed fight now :wink:

Can anybody fill me in with whats been happening on the forum in the last couple of years. I've changed me job and had the usual hasstle people get in their life - so I have not been keeping an eye on things.

I hope to visit and post more often from now on.

Over & Out for now ....

Driving to machine shop hear what can only be described as a slapping noise then silence, battery light on voltage dropped water temperature dropping!!!!

Stopped out side motor factors got a new alternator belt after me and the Mrs had shouted and swore quite a bit changed the belt for a slightly larger one got a 1753 instead of the 1725 that the computer said we needed and now all good.

Couldn't have done it with out the Mrs help and are both quite chuffed with our selves considering we don't know the difference between one end of a spanner from the other

Marion's sister called yesterday. One of her company's trucks has passend away. A 2006 Ford Transit dti with a big and expensive problem with the injectors.
As a coincidence, our plumber had a Opel Vivaro for sale. Gave him a Fall, an hour later the Transit was replaced.
Today it was my turn to pull off the company markings Form the Transit :lol:
Maybe it is still worth a few bucks.

Reminded me pulling off the advertising of the previous owner of Godzilla six years ago.

Not today but last Saturday had the old girl cleaned by the guy that does all the cars at my Bros work. She came up really well.

Replaced turbo and starter motor on my trooper.

Replaced instrument cluster bulbs with blue leds

Fixed another set of wobbly front wheel bearings on a friends Bighorn. Doing it so often I have made a tool to make it easier. Seeing as I have never really welded before I was rather chuffed that a) it held together and b) it worked a treat. Used stuff I found lying around college and an old hub bearing nut.

No more mucking around with hammers, screwdrivers and spring gauges to get it right.

Look good Neil . I used a bit of scaffolding tube and 2 bolts, and socket same as you

Did my first night time green Lane last night makes for completely different experience

Les, this makes me jealous a bit...

Today, I took care of GodZilla's sunroof. Cleared the ice, cleaned the seals from dirt and leaves. Then I gave the rubber a little massage with kind of grease.

The installed the DEFA heater again and ran it for two hours - all dry again.

Returned yesterday from a two week trip to the coast and found the windscreen wet in the inside. As the Alfa is knocked down at the moment (no loading pressure, running slow and noisy) and will return in a week or so by ADAC support to get repaired at home I will need the Frontera after I returned the rental car.
Grünstreifen has no MOT at the moment and so I am running out of cars in a way... :axe:

Last weekend
http://share.photobucket.com/shareprofi ... d=MzUzODY=
Spent the best part of an houreffort jet washing the remnant of Korc out of the underside today.

Yup .. 15/16 Imperial

Made sure it wasn't one I might need for the P38 as well