Looking for a scrap rear RAM with a good ball joint?

KevMayer · Unread post by **KevMayer** » 27 Apr 2010, 18:46

Hello all,

Does anyone have a scrap rear ram that's got a good ball joint.

The ball joint on my ram has worn badly but it should be possible to swap it.

I'm willing to pay the going rate.

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 27 Apr 2010, 20:42

Hi Kev,

Whilst I'm a little loathe to take a balljoint off one of my potentially repairable rams, I will on condition you let me have back the old, worn balljoint.

I will need it for a pattern to look at making a substitute balljoint. I reckon that'll be the other failure area after we've cracked the leak problems especially as I've found them short of grease when the gaiter has been removed.

My first potential substitute will be a heavily modified lower swivel joint or more likely a droplink joint.

The ram I overhauled, I refilled the joint with CV joint grease.

You'll need a thin 19mm spanner and a 32mm spanner to remove the old balljoint...

Here's a few pictures:

Balljoint nicely re-greased and thin 19mm spanner in position:

The gaiter, showing the groove around the balljoint that locates the top of the gaiter and makes it's removal quite tricky:

The gaiter is a very tight fit around the body of the balljoint and it takes quite a careful tug to pull it free.

PM me your address and I'll get one in the post to you...

KevMayer · Unread post by **KevMayer** » 07 May 2010, 21:04

Jim, your offer is more than generous. You are single handedly providing a tremendous fountain of knowledge on all things Citroen and I'm sure that all forum members are very grateful. Your advice has already saved me money but to take up your offer of parts aswell makes me feel that I may be taking advantage of your generosity.

I think that before I try to change the ball joint, I need to address the leak off pipe which has already been covered with Orange Hermatite. In the recent cold weather it was leaking quite badly, but appears to have dried up now that it's slightly warmer. If I can fix this first then a ball joint will be the next step.

I may just bite the bullet and get a new ram from the main stealer.

In the mean time I've been playing. When I got the Activa the front electrovalve wasn't working and the previous owner had fitted non hydractive front spheres to the front struts.

I did the diode mod and got the valve to work and fitted Activa front spheres as you do.

I then had a strange problem with the rear suspension where it seemed to balance on one corner when going over speed bumps. It was suggested that I may have a flat corner sphere. So, a few days ago I changed my rear spheres for the spare Non Hydractive front spheres. I now have the very soft front spheres fitted to the back corners. I took it for a rather apprehensive test drive expecting it to feel rubbish and quite honestly it feels great. The rear end feels so smooth and it doesn't seem to bottom out when going over a bump. It still seems to corner well too.

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 08 May 2010, 18:52

Fair play Kev. If your search for a really duff ram with a serviceable balljoint does not bear fruit, come back to me...

KevMayer wrote: I think that before I try to change the ball joint, I need to address the leak off pipe which has already been covered with Orange Hermatite. In the recent cold weather it was leaking quite badly, but appears to have dried up now that it's slightly warmer.

To address this issue Kev, have a look at my website. I've today written up the ram repair procedures and on page 4 of the guide you'll find some stuff on removing the top balljoint. If you explore a bit further you'll find there the guiode to removing and replacing a rear ram; that's quite a nice job...

You know a new ram is now over £400 from the stealers? Mind you, they do throw in a new ram bush for that...

Interesting on the spheres. I'd have thought non-hydractive fronts on the rear would have really upset things but it's always worth a few experiments

I'd still like mine to be a tad softer but with standard rear Hydractives on the back it is not too bad but still not as soft and squidgy as my V6...

KevMayer · Unread post by **KevMayer** » 09 May 2010, 21:58

Great website Jim.

I'll take my rear ram off and try the XM seal mod. Not sure where I'll find a lathe though but hopefully I may not need to go that far.

The mod should work well because there should be very little pressure on the return pipe.

On the spheres, do you think the Hydractive rears are slightly softer than the Activa rear spheres?

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 10 May 2010, 08:00

No need of a lathe for the rear ram Kev and I reckon you may well be able to do the rear without removing it, which is a devil of a job. Have a look at Robert_E_Smart's last post in the "Irish Activa" thread where we discuss the possibility of doing the job without removing it. If you can it's a big bonus.

Sadly, there is no way to do the front in-situ but then the front is easy enough to remove. A 10 minute job if there are no corrosion issues.

I'm sure there's a way arond needing a lathe for the front ram but if you do have access to one then it makes the job easier. A strip of emery paper would suffice; basically anything that will clean up that surface.

KevMayer wrote:On the spheres, do you think the Hydractive rears are slightly softer than the Activa rear spheres?

Subjectively, yes. My Activa I find rides very nicely indeed. Firm but not overly so and beautifully controlled.