Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

So after having been to-ing and fro-ing from TWT after fitting my tyres and inability to do the wheel alignement, I took the vehicle to a suspension specialist, fearing something was bent or broken.

It boils down worn balls... sorry lower ball joints...

Now I've been quoted R2100 for resolving this which includes R870 for parts, and the rest for labour (replacement of ball joints, readjustiong ride height, and realignment.

How difficult is it to replace the ball joints, thereby saving on parts markup and the 1 hour labour on the ball joints? Obviously I ca't adjust tthe ride height and the alignment.

It's a dirty and hard-labour job, but well in the ability of the average back-yard mechanic.

1. Buy pirate parts. (my guess would be ±R200-00)
2. Read manual.
3. remove and replace (you'll most probably need a short 4lb hammer!)
4. replace
5. have alignment done. (±R200-00)

A mate to help is a good idea.

Suspension City said they only use OEM parts on 4x4's but I guess pirate parts should be ok. The ride height needs to be adjusted, whatever that means,

SimonB wrote:Suspension City said they only use OEM parts on 4x4's but I guess pirate parts should be ok. The ride height needs to be adjusted, whatever that means,

Their labour cost seems a bit high, IMO.

The torsion bars need adjustment, which is an easy task to do yourself.

4ePajero wrote:

SimonB wrote:Suspension City said they only use OEM parts on 4x4's but I guess pirate parts should be ok. The ride height needs to be adjusted, whatever that means,

Their labour cost seems a bit high, IMO.

The torsion bars need adjustment, which is an easy task to do yourself.

Hi-Q did my torsion bars as part of the alignment process. He asked me if i wanted high or low.

Guess what I said .....

This job is well within the scope of any one with a 4 lb hammer and a few spanners, it might add a few words to your vocabulary though

Why not give Anthony Monk a call? Do you still have his card or must I PM you?

HBannink wrote:This job is well within the scope of any one with a 4 lb hammer and a few spanners, it might add a few words to your vocabulary though

It is very scary. When I had to get the tierod off for my cv boot job, I was leaning on a 2meter breaker bar, with my full weight, before it gave way with the smack of the 4lb hammer.

4ePikanini wrote: It is very scary. When I had to get the tierod off for my cv boot job, I was leaning on a 2meter breaker bar, with my full weight, before it gave way with the smack of the 4lb hammer.

Next time start with a decent whack with a big engineers hammer ( ball-peen hammer) Most folks are afraid to hit the connection and try all sorts of fancy tricks and only resort to the hammer after they have botched the joint.
I have had kingpins so stuck and rusted that the bolt broke off but they came out with a good wallop or two

HBannink wrote: Next time start with a decent whack with a big engineers hammer ( ball-peen hammer) Most folks are afraid to hit the connection and try all sorts of fancy tricks and only resort to the hammer after they have botched the joint.
I have had kingpins so stuck and rusted that the bolt broke off but they came out with a good wallop or two

Jip,
First prize is if you can put the joint under stress (such as with a gwala) and then use the 4lb persuader to 'explain' to it what you want it to do!

That's what you need the mate for.

Another tip is not to remove the nut completely, so that when the joint comes apart, it stays in place.