Freelander 1 Lower front suspension arm

Hippo said:

Working on this today and am stuck.

Can get the ball joint out of the bottom of the brake bracket thing. Can undo the nut but not all the way to get it oft. The rest of the arm is disconnected in the hope it would allow the correct angle for the ball joint bolt to come out but it still won't. I'm wondering if the ball joint bolt is threaded? I can't make my mind up when looking at it.

What am I doing wrong?

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you use a long bar to lever down on lower arm whilst hitting the side of the housing ball joints poking through nut will come off as it drops out

When I went out I remembered I have a hydraulic puller so I used that to get the brake thing oft the drive shaft.

After a bit of whacking the nut the ball joint started to move. This is the first time it moved. There int no room to position anything if yer struggling to get the drive shaft out.

After a lot of drilling of 4mm then 10mm then grinding oft the mushroom both side, then more 4mm then 10mm drilling I got through. Bit of messing to get the joint arm off the suspension arm... this could be done within an hour or two me thinks...

Then I pick up me brand new ledforder ball joint in a ledforder box with LR FRE on the label... from euro car parts... and the feker won't fit.

The holes line up but it's 14mm thick as opposed to the old one which is 8mm. Now what do I do? Both new drop links are the same. I only need 1 but got 2 as I thought I'd do the other side too.

Finished at 1.57am uk time. It's cold out there.

Not much I can do about this. If I force the new thicker ball joint arm in it may not pass an mot or be safe. It would forse open the suspenstion arm which looks to be welded along both side. Kind of leaves me stuck so I used the bolts out of the new ball joints to secure the old ball joint now the rivits are out and it has holes. For now the bolts are all fitted but not all tight. At least it will stop the brake disk being ripped oft and nicked.

Having planned to do the work today and let down on the part, then messing with drilling etc, am well ****ed oft. I want a new arm now as I'm not confident on the drilling/bolts of the current one. The fek about factor is pointing me towards the main dealer for this.

Bath and bed now. Back to it tomorrow.

Hippo, I wonder if they changed the spec on the 2000 facelift models, were they vin no relevant parts?

freelance said:

Hippo, I wonder if they changed the spec on the 2000 facelift models, were they vin no relevant parts?

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The information in this post has been updated.

Original fit suspension arms are vin specific according to micro cat 2014 so there could be a difference between the ball joint and yer arm if yer only buy the ball joint. The result being the new ball joint may not fit.

Suspension arms fitted when yer Freelander 1 was built are:

lhs RBJ102450 = up to YA569140
rhs RBJ102440 = up to YA569140

lhs RBJ102930 = YA569140 to 5A999999
rhs RBJ102920 = YA569141 to 5A999999 (me thinks 141 should be 140)

lhs RBJ500690 = 6A000001 onwards = this is the part LR mains dealers sell currently and supersedes all previous
rhs RBJ500680 = 6A000001 onwards = this is the part LR mains dealers sell currently and supersedes all previous

From talking to the parts dept at me local main dealer it seems LR fitted a total of 3 different sets of suspension arms to Freelander 1's. This confirms what I have on my older version of microcat. Each set has a different part number for left or right. The later part RBJ500690 and RBJ500680 are the latest version, and are supplied instead of all other versions sold/fitted previously, if buying from a LR main dealer.

The confusion comes in when sellers flog ball joints on their own. They list the original LR part number then add /BJ or /BJT on the end. Euro car parts did this to me and sold me a ball joint that fits the newer RBJ500690 suspension arm when I have the original fitted RBJ102930, which was the number I selected on their web site. They're not the only web site that does this.

There's only 2 suspension arms available, left and right. As these are replacements with the ball joint fitted they should work. If you were to replace just the ball joint (LR main dealer confirmed they don't sell the ball joint on it's own) then there may be a difference in what you currently have fitted, to what you receive. Compare it physically first before replacing.

I get this a lot. The v6 doesn't always eggsist in the database. They list petrol 1.8 and bigger. Hence they won't sell you a larger battery which the hand book states a v6 should have.

I ordered the RBJ102930 version ball joint from euro car parts which is the originally fitted part. This is now superseded by RBJ500690 which the LR main dealer solder me when I asked for RBJ102930.

Have emailed euro car and they asked for purchase info so they can look into it. I'm fed up of looking round for a whole arm and there's none in stock which can be delivered quick.

With all the messing around of being out in the cold/dark having fun with this I called the main dealer this morning and a whole new arm will be available in the morning. I have a lot on at the moment so I don't need the hassle. Cost is about £144 with allegiance discount.

Good luck with this, I thought it was only me at my age getting resentful about spending all day Sunday trying to do a simple job with the wrong new part, I did change a front hub on sons d3 the other evening, i had so wanted to send it into somewhere for it to be done

Not sure if I've got the wrong end of the stick, is it that your struggling to get the ball joint bolt to move out of the hole near the brake caliper? I had to get the lr jack between the wishbone and the bottom of the spring cup to move it enough to get it out when I had to remove the reluctor rings if that's any help.

Edit - oops, didn't refresh the thread!! Nvm.

hippochris said:

Not sure if I've got the wrong end of the stick, is it that your struggling to get the ball joint bolt to move out of the hole near the brake caliper? I had to get the lr jack between the wishbone and the bottom of the spring cup to move it enough to get it out when I had to remove the reluctor rings if that's any help.

Edit - oops, didn't refresh the thread!! Nvm.

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No problem.

I did struggle with this bit as I couldn't get the ball joint bolt out. It's sort of tapered and slides in to a tight fit. I couldn't get the brake thing oft the drive shaft spline until I remembered I have a hydraulic puller. That got it oft. Then I put an old jack under the arm and whacked a chisel into the top of the bolt/nut and it started to move.

This evening I tightened the same bolt/nut to put it all back. Bolt was turning with the nut so I put the old jack under it to lift it so the suspension started to take ma hippo's weight. That pushed it in so the taper started to hold. Then I could do up the nut.

I now have a new suspension arm. Strangely the ball joint end looks the same as the ledforder one I bought that doesn't fit my old arm.
£144 inc vat for arm, ball joint nut and drive shaft nut.

That makes me think the LR main dealer ones currently being sold may be from ledforder.

Hippo said:

I now have a new suspension arm. Strangely the ball joint end looks the same as the ledforder one I bought that doesn't fit my old arm.
£144 inc vat for arm, ball joint nut and drive shaft nut.

That makes me think the LR main dealer ones currently being sold may be from ledforder.

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do you actually buy parts from lr dealers ?

jamesmartin said:

do you actually buy parts from lr dealers ?

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Yes when I'm stuck or can't buy it else where. On this occasion I have the wrong part supplied. LR doesn't sell ball joints for the FL1. Only new arms. There's a lot of sellers using the same part number and putting /bg or /bgt on the end. This suggests it will fit but I have found it won't.

The additional cost is offset against needing the car fixed. I had fun and games doing the work which made it take longer. Original put back and held with bolts from the new one. Doing the job again should be easier as I now remember to use me puller as yer can't get to the top of the ball joint to whack it to get the bolt out of the brake thing due to the drive shaft being so close. Off setting the fun I've had against the extra cost and the day oft work wasted due to messing about... kind of smooth's over the additional cost. I collected the part within 24 hours of ordering too. I phoned a number of sellers online beforehand who have one in stock online... only to find they don't over the phone. They have to order it in before they can send it to me. They also can't confirm the alternative oem brand will fit. It's cold and I have a lot on at work so getting it done propper is the main goal.

The job is made much easier if you release the wishbone inner fixings first. If you leave them tight, the rubber bushes fight against you all the way.
I find splitting the ball joint easy, provided you use the correct technique. This technique requires a heavy hammer struck against the side of the taper housing. This shocks the taper apart.
In reality, you have to release the ball joint nut as much as is possible. This will allow for sufficient space for the taper to release. Then shock the taper free with the hammer. Once the taper is free, fully unscrew the nut. The arm will then swing down.
Changing the ball joint can be a game but it's not impossible. Replacing the arm is easier. Remember to refit the arm the same way it was removed. Only fully tighten the inner pivot fixings when the weight of the car is back on the suspension. This last bit stops the bushes being damaged.

Hippo
Hence your superseded part nos list is correct that there was an item upgrade, therefore your led order part will fit the new arm you purchased

Thanks all for yer help. In the early hours of Thursday I finished putting the new main dealer arm on. I also have a free post thing to return the ball joints to euro car parts as they're no good.

The later fit FL1 suspension arms are replacements for those previously fitted when new. Main dealer parts dept has confirmed this. I have updated me earlier post which talks about different part numbers etc. I will put up some pic's for comparison when I take some more. It's raining and cold out there.

freelance said:

Hippo
Hence your superseded part nos list is correct that there was an item upgrade, therefore your led order part will fit the new arm you purchased

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Correct. I selected the older original fit arm and they sent me the ball joint which fits the latest version.

It drives ok and the knocking has gone but the front end feels slightly strange. I'm thinking the wheel alignment needs done after a replacement arm?

TIP
When I came to replace both wishbones on my FL1, TD4, I had the same problem accessing the ball joint nut. I had a combination spanner-not Snap On or best quality and ground the "Ring" end down to reduce the thickness and enable it to be slid in the gap between the hub "Lug" and the ball joint threaded stud. The spanner,even with it's reduced thickness coped easily with the task of breaking the bite of the nut and I was then able to undo the nut easily with the open ended spanner until free of the nylon insert and removeable by hand. Then broke the taper with a couple of well aimed shots with the trusty hammer. Replacement was a reversal of removal except that I used a bottle jack under the wishbone to apply pressure on the ball joint taper which allowed the nyloc nut to be tightened without the ball joint pin turning.
If you wish, instead of hitting the "Lug", especially if your aim is not too accurate, you can break the taper using a Fork type ball joint splitter...forget the ones with a hinged bar and jacking bolt type as there is insufficient clearance to get the pressure bar between the ball joint pin and the "Lug" on the hub. If you use the fork type and knacker the rubber boot, no problem 'cos your changing the joint anyway.

Hippo said:

It drives ok and the knocking has gone but the front end feels slightly strange. I'm thinking the wheel alignment needs done after a replacement arm?

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Always get tracking done after any suspension change: the chances that one component will settle in identically to an old one is zero

Wheel alignment done and the strange feeling from the front has gone. They were 0.25 degrees inwards and should be 0.25 degrees outwards.