ZX Bottom Ball Joints - Difference P/S - non-P/S..? - solved

[RussellF97]

Hi All,

Last November I changed both bottom arms for the CT and ever since, the car has pulled gently to the right - prior to fitting them it ran dead straight. There was a bit of a saga getting the arms, but in the end I fitted one that came with a ball joint already fitted and one without that I fitted the best of my used ball joints to. The tracking was redone shortly after fitting the arms.
I've tried driving on the opposite side of the road to rule out any road camber effects (I'm in France and even in a rhd car that feels very, very, wrong!).
Looking from the front, there seems to be a difference in the camber angle with the o/s appearing to have slight positive camber - it certainly looks as if it's at a different angle to the n/s.
Before I shell out on two new bottom ball joints, does anyone know what the difference is between the power steering and non-power steering bottom ball joints? Murphy's Law states that the new arm might just have had the wrong joint fitted to it...

[addo]

The 306 and Xsara/Berlingo ball joints both fit, but the 306 type has a greater outward projection as the chassis is a smidge wider.

I'd suggest checking a few sites like Oscaro and Mister Auto to see what offset of the above possibilities, the ZX comes with. Could be one is the wrong sort. There's also a difference in taper diameters, but you'd notice that with a very sloppy fit in the hub carrier.

[handyman]

The difference between the two types of balljoint is the pin diameter. From memory the non-powered ones are 16mm & the others are 18mm. You'll see the difference in fit as they wont fit into the socket in the respective hub carrier. I dont seem to remember any differences in the Citroen or Peugeot balljoints otherwise as I used to fit either brand.

I would recommend getting the tracking checked & reset if it is not correct. You should do it whenever you mess around with the front suspension.

Handyman

[RussellF97]

Many thanks addo & handyman.
The new swivel was definitely the correct one. I may have the occasional 'senior moment' now I'm retired, but having been a mechanic for 30-odd years, there's a reasonable probability I would have noticed if the pin was a couple of mm undersize.
The weather's been crud today but as soon as it improves, I think I'll put the front end up on axle stands and do some serious measuring. Something isn't right somewhere and my OCD is now firmly telling me to put it right. When I find out what it is, I'll let the forum know.

[addo]

http://www.mister-auto.com/rotule-de-su ... g2462.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.mister-auto.com/rotule-de-su ... g2462.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Look at the different distances of ballpin from the outboard pair of holes.

[RussellF97]

Many thanks for the links, addo. I've ordered a couple of bottom ball joints from them which will prove or disprove whether that's where the fault lies.
It would make sense to have more pos camber for the non-p/s cars to make the steering effort easier. Incidentally the pin diameter is given as 16mm for both p/s & non-p/s pins, which makes me think even more that the ball joints are different. Stand by for the next thrilling instalment..!

[addo]

I'd forgotten you were in France. Mister Auto and Oscaro are usually my "go to" sites for data as between all the different supplier listings you can determine the main thread of accurate detail.

Can't wait until they post direct to Australia.

[RichardW]

ZX never got the 18mm joints - they were 14 and 16mm. 14mm ones are seemingly no longer available - someone recently was having trouble with these, as their 1.9TD was fitted (oddly!) with 14mm joints. There may be a difference between ZX and later 306 / Xsara ones, which means you may never get the ZX right....

[addo]

Certainly, filtering by model/engine shows two versions of the 16mm pinned joints; presumably there is a slight variance in camber between PAS and Armstrong steering.

[ekjdm14]

ZX never got the 18mm joints - they were 14 and 16mm. 14mm ones are seemingly no longer available - someone recently was having trouble with these, as their 1.9TD was fitted (oddly!) with 14mm joints. There may be a difference between ZX and later 306 / Xsara ones, which means you may never get the ZX right....

Yep 14 and 16mm, 2 measurements forever etched on my brain!

Not logged in for a while but the 14mm ones are still available, it's just a ballache to get actual 14mm because service citroen lists them all as 16mm and it seems aftermarket suppliers have just gone by this and made 2 different part numbers for the same joint, I don't know how ECP got the 14mm one in the end but we had to use them as couldn't find one anywhere else. Not an experience I'd like to repeat in a hurry!

[RussellF97]

Problem solved! It was the rear axle. The o/s swinging arm pivot was worn, the rear end was sagging to the right and every now and then I would get a 'cheeping' noise when going round a left-hand bend. The noise was the inside of the tyre rubbing the inner wheelarch.
Changing the axle has transformed the car. It now corners like it's on rails and no more worrying clonking noises from the back end. Result!