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Hi all, so I decided to replace just the ball joints on the fr. lower arms today but the new ones are half thickness of the ones I removed, is it OK to put spacers in to take up the gap?
Freelander 1 Lower arm ball joints
- Thread starter Andy Warren
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frostythor
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Hi You dont need to add washer , just bolt it stright on, its a ball joint, the lower arm will just adjust itself as you tighten up all the nuts
No. Get the correct thickness ball joint. There are 2 different types, early and late, you have the later arms, but the early ball joint.
The lower arm will distort, giving incorrect wheel alignment, so this is a dumb thing to do.
The OP needs to get the correct one.
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Thanks for that, I ordered those Unipart ones from Arctic2's link as I didn't realise there were 2 different thicknesses. I must admit I wouldn't of been happy crushing the l/arm to fit the thinner ones. I did have a quick look at ball joints before Arctic2's reply & I don't recall any mention of the different thicknesses just 'fits all models 98-06'
If I can't find the correct ones I'll just have to get new l/arms
.Thanks for that, I ordered those Unipart ones from Arctic2's link as I didn't realise there were 2 different thicknesses. I must admit I wouldn't of been happy crushing the l/arm to fit the thinner ones. I did have a quick look at ball joints before Arctic2's reply & I don't recall any mention of the different thicknesses just 'fits all models 98-06'
If I can't find the correct ones I'll just have to get new l/arms
You need the 12mm thick ball joint.https://bearmach.com/product/ball-j...PYJ27E7884u9wMvZFgb9lRRyCcqyWeXUaAkFoEALw_wcB
The one you have ordered is the 8mm type, which was superceded by the thicker one at some point in the production run. The 12mm one is stronger, than the 8mm type.
andyfreelandy
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Seeing as the parts you purchased list as 1998 to 2006 I would send them back explaining the problem.
It seems no one lists the change date and all the ones I have seen state 98 to 06 so suppliers don't know either!!
It seems no one lists the change date and all the ones I have seen state 98 to 06 so suppliers don't know either!!
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I see LR had 3 different part no's for those radius arms over it's production life for various chassis no's the last p/no being for the c/no 6A0 onwards to which all the previous p/no's superceed to now, so it's one arm fits all years. Thanks for the link I'll order those ones but I still see they list 'fits 98-06' which won't be the case if you have the 8mm type ! I know LR will only sell the whole arm but I would have thought the aftermarket lot would have done their research by now & list the two sizes (except bearmach of course)
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Yes I will message them & see if they have the thicker ones before I order the bearmach ones & get them exchanged/refunded. As I said in my reply to Nodge even the bearmach ones say the 12mm ones fit '98-06' which unless you already have the thicker ones fitted to your '98' they clearly won't fit.
Like they say you learn something new everyday
.
Arctic2
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Thanks for that, I ordered those Unipart ones from Arctic2's link as I didn't realise there were 2 different thicknesses. I must admit I wouldn't of been happy crushing the l/arm to fit the thinner ones. I did have a quick look at ball joints before Arctic2's reply & I don't recall any mention of the different thicknesses just 'fits all models 98-06'
If I can't find the correct ones I'll just have to get new l/arms
Hi There.
Very sorry about that
i too thought they should fit seeing as it states 98-06, i am sure they will give you a refund, or something to replace it with for the same cost, they are clearly not right in their information so it's not your fault.
frostythor
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As the ball joint bolts under the lower arm, the position of the ball joint does not change due to the thickness of the mount it could be 2 inch thick the ball joint would still be in it place relative the bolts and the amount of play in the bolt holes but you til need to have your wheel alignment checked regardless of which ever you fit
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Hi, no need to apologise as I said you would have thought suppliers would know by now as the FL1 is hardly new.Hi There.
Very sorry about that
I believe the difference arrived around the 2001 update, however it could have been down to a simple change or addition of another lower arm manufacturer?
I do know my 50th anniversary model had the 8mm type (I bought the 12mm joint, which didn't fit), but all the later FL1s I've had used the 12mm type joints, as did any replacement lower arms.
That's the FL2 lower arm, where the ball joint bolts to the underside of the arm assembly, which is completely different to the FL1 lower arm.
The FL1 arm is hollow, and the ball joint tang slides inside the arm, in a cavity, formed between the upper and lower pressings of the arm assembly. Because the joint goes inside the arm cavity, bolting an 8mm joint tang into an arm designed for a 12mm tang, will result in crushing and distortion of the pressings, in an uncontrolled manner. This would lead to suspension alignment issues, and potentially fretting and wear at the bolts, which could lead to the joint detaching from the arm pressing.
Arctic2
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As above photo below. I must admit i never even thought of the thickness of the ball joint part.
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