XM lower ball joint replacement.

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Doc
Posts: 150
Joined: 30 Dec 2002, 04:11
Location: United Kingdom
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XM lower ball joint replacement.

Post by Doc »

Before I bought my first Citroen (XM 2.1 SED) I was warned about how difficult and expensive a job was having to replace the lower ball joints. I decided to replace them myself as there was was knocking sounds from the offside when driving over bumps and the tyre was scrubbing out on its outer edge. The car was also drifting no matter how flat and straight the road.
I bought the correct ball joint removal socket (from Sealey) and after using a five foot long piece of square section tube, managed to shift each one. In fact the most difficult part of the job was removing the dust shields and trying to tighten up the tool with the ball joint retaining nut. A frustrating job at first as without a taper to lock up the stud all that was happening was the ball joint turned in its socket. I solved it by using a plain nut of the same thread (without a nyloc insert), cutting a slot through one of the faces and then tightening it up just enough to force the lugs on the socket to engage with the cut-outs on the balljoint. Both sides released without drama. You just have to make sure the drive shafts are not allowed to pull out of the 'box otherwise you will lose gearbox oil. The only special tool needed - apart from the socket - will be a 35mm socket and a torque wrench that can torque up to 185 ft lb
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AndersDK
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Joined: 21 Feb 2003, 04:56
Location: Denmark
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Post by AndersDK »

Tx for this fine description [;)]
- it applies as well to BX'es & Xantiae.
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