Xantia Drop Links

KP · Post by KP » 21 Sep 2006, 00:55

Kenny where do you get them from for £5 as thats super cheap pricing for them

My project tank may need some soon as a well as a rear accum sphere as well

Mandrake · Post by **Mandrake** » 21 Sep 2006, 00:56

Hi Alan,

What method did you use to apply the grease ? Did you do it in situ or remove the droplinks to do so ?

Regards,
Simon

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 21 Sep 2006, 01:05

I remove them, tap them to loosen them, remove the dust cover carefully and work the grease in by rotating the ball joint until it feels all nice and smooth.
I can also ad to at any time before they bind up again by using a hypodermic attached to a grease nipple but given the UK climate against ours, I don't know how successful that would be over there. No problems here as we're in the middle of a 10 year drought, but somewhere that you would be ploughing through water and snow, particlarly salted stuff may leave it open for contamination and hence premature failure.

Alan S

Mandrake · Post by **Mandrake** » 21 Sep 2006, 08:34

Hi Alan,

When I changed a droplink recently I tried to get some extra grease into it but found it quite difficult working it into the joint with the boot right off, and I was thinking of removing the boot clip on the shaft end of the joint and using a hypodermic syringe to inject the grease up under the edge of the boot into the joint, but unfortunately the needle I chose was too small for grease to easily squeeze through....

I might have another go at it some time, as I wonder if binding balljoints could be part of the intermitant harsh ride problems my car has... a couple of the joints seemed awfully tight, you could hardly tilt them by hand even though there was grease in there already...should they be relatively easy to move by hand, or is a very tight joint a sign of lack of lubrication rather than a sign that the joint has no play ?

Regards,
Simon

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 21 Sep 2006, 08:39

KP wrote: My project tank may need some soon as a well as a rear accum sphere as well

When you say 'read accum sphere' do you mean the rear anti-sink sphere? I wondered about this last time but am still confused.

If so, is the anti-sink sphere basically the same as an Accumulator sphere?

KP · Post by KP » 21 Sep 2006, 09:11

Yip thats the one Mezuk

Basically when i start cranking the engine the rear drops.. not when i park up but when i actually come back and crank the engne over and then it rises within about 3 seconds...

Also dips a little under braking sometimes i think but hard to notice from the drivers seat really..

Also front accumulator is prob shot as well as the pump is clicking a lot more than it should so that has to be done before it tries to kill my pump but ill do the frond one first incase its just affecting the back end AS sphere and resolves both issues

davek-uk · Post by **davek-uk** » 21 Sep 2006, 11:19

Having freely moving drop links has made a huge difference to the ride quality. I guess this just shows how stiff joints can restrict the free flowing motion of the suspension (that's cars and legs!)

To grease them I initially tried to inject CV grease under the gaiters. This didn't work very well due to tight gaiters. In the end I removed the strap, doubled the gaiters back and applied the grease that way. It's a bit fiddly and mucky but well worth it.

As I have said there was a small amount of grease in the joints to start with, but even so they soon freed up properly after I had finished.

The last set I put on lasted 18k miles (7 month or so). They must have started drying out and creaking before 6 months. By the time I changed them they were worn and clattering like mad.

I've had the car nearly three years now and I have to say the ride now is the best I've had. I can only assume that the old drop links (the original set and the duff set) were dried and not free to move. The difference really is amazing.

davek-uk · Post by **davek-uk** » 21 Sep 2006, 11:23

Having freely moving drop links has made a huge difference to the ride quality. I guess this just shows how stiff joints can restrict the free flowing motion of the suspension (that's cars and legs!)

To grease them I initially tried to inject CV grease under the gaiters. This didn't work very well due to tight gaiters. In the end I removed the strap, doubled the gaiters back and applied the grease that way. It's a bit fiddly and mucky but well worth it.

As I have said there was a small amount of grease in the joints to start with, but even so they soon freed up properly after I had finished.

The last set I put on lasted 18k miles (7 month or so). They must have started drying out and creaking before 6 months. By the time I changed them they were worn and clattering like mad.

I've had the car nearly three years now and I have to say the ride now is the best I've had. I can only assume that the old drop links (the original set and the duff set) were dried and not free to move. The difference really is amazing.