Ford Fiesta (1995 - 1999) - '96 1.25 - Front suspension lower arm replacement

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Sun 9 Mar 2008 18:07
'96 1.25 - Front suspension lower arm replacement - Roland T
I've done this job a couple of times already in the past but have had real difficulty fitting the replacement arm. I now have to do the job again due to the common de-bonding of the rear bush. I'm told that speed humps accelerate this problem.
Haynes suggest dismantling in the order of: 1) hub carrier pinch bolt 2) anti roll bar 3) front bush pivot bolt 4) rear bush bolt and suggest re-assembling in the reverse order.
I've found it very difficult to get the hub carrier back on to the ball joint due to the angles involved and would be grateful for any tips.
I've also tried just about every other order of re-assembly but whichever stage is left until last is very diifcult to re-fit.
I'm a reasonably experienced DIYer but have found this to be very frustrating - has anyone else struggled with this one?

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 09/03/2008 at 18:11

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Mon 10 Mar 2008 17:40
'96 1.25 - Front suspension lower arm replacement - pmh
Bump

Because I will be doing 2 of mine shortly, any tips welcome!



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Mon 10 Mar 2008 18:38
'96 1.25 - Front suspension lower arm replacement - yorkiebar
hardest part normally is getting the main mounting bolts in?

Once they are in, a lever pulling the wishbone down, should allow the leg to come back enough. Make sure the balljoint pin is at the right angle and it should just sit into the hole and the weight of the arm when the lever is released should allow it to sit home correctly.

But make sure you keep your fingers well out of the way in case the lever slips.


hth
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Mon 10 Mar 2008 21:28
'96 1.25 - Front suspension lower arm replacement - DP
I did mine the same as yorkiebar suggests. Leave the protective cover over the new balljoint in case of any mishaps, and manoeuvre the inner end into position first. There is enough movement on the strut to enable the balljoint to sit to one side of the hub while you do this.

I remember the arm being very tight to the extent that I had to belt it with a rubber mallet in order to move it to get the bush centres lined up with the bolt holes.

Once these are in, and the bolts done up, get the balljoint at the right angle, and push the arm down as far as you can with one hand, while manoeuvring the leg into place to get the hub to accept the balljoint.

I also found that the upward pressure from the new bushes was more than enough to keep the balljoint in place while I put the pinch bolt in.

Cheers
DP
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Tue 11 Mar 2008 00:21
'96 1.25 - Front suspension lower arm replacement - Roland T
Thanks guys, this sounds like what I tried to do last time.
It's coming back to me now. I just couldn't get the suspension arm low enough to get the ball joint into the hole on the hub carrier, even after setting the ball joint with the correct 'angle of approach'.
I ended up putting a coil spring compressor on the strut to try to 'shorten' it. I don't think it helped much and I seem to remember wrestling with it for ages until I somehow got it back together.
I'm really not looking forward to doing it again.
pmh - if you do your pair before I do mine, post how you get on, I'll do the same!
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