Been out servicing Lady C today and replacing a few worn components in time for MOT next week.
There's been a bit of a knock from the front end for quite a while now but it's taken ages for whatever it was to wear out sufficiently for me to identify the problem. As well as knocking there was also a recognisable clunk from the front end on braking. Last weekend I identified a very worn ball joint on the driver's side front lower link strut. Definately an MOT fail so I ordered a pair of link struts to replace both. I always replace both sides when doing suspension components. I ordered the LHS and RHS from different suppliers and there was a fair difference in price. I wonder if RHS components are more scarce than LHS? Anyway, having removed as much of the split pin as I could from the ball joint nut (there was no way it was coming out) I managed to loosen the nut.
Out came the trusty ball joint splitter, I prefer the fork type if I'm not fussed about destroying the joint
The problem with worn ball joints is that if you don't remove the nut completely before splitting the joint the ball rotates in the socket when you try to remove the nut. Leaving the forks in provides sufficient pressure to lock it in place, allowing the nut to be removed. Removal of the old link strut and fitting of the new one is then a straightforward job.
Old and new
The old one has a copper coated ball, the new one does not as it's a later replacement item that fits just fine.
The bush was showing signs of degradation too
New one in place
I also took the chance to refresh some of the underseal around the fixing point as it had flaked off. Replacement of the other side was equally straightforward.
The other part of today's job was a general service, including engine oil and filter change and gearbox oil change. I took her out for a run to warm things up in preparation and was pleased with how much tighter the front end felt after replacing the link struts
. Lady C has done 65k miles now so whilst I had the sump empty I removed it to gain access to the bottom end of the engine. Given the propensity of 4 cylinder engines to wear out main and big end bearings I thought it high time I at least had a look at Lady C's. The paperwork I have shows no sign of any previous engine work so the chances were the bearings were all original. I removed main caps 2 and 4 to give me an idea of the level of wear and was surprised to find very little to none at all. The same was true of the big end caps I removed.
No2 main bearing
No4 shows a single score down to the copper, but with no corresponding mark on the crank journal
Big ends also show very little signs of wear.
The bearings are all original size so unless they were all replaced before I got the car, they have all done very well. Lady C had around 30k on her when I got her in 2010 and I've put 35k on her since then. I can't imagine why anyone would replace the crank bearings at such a low mileage, unless the engine has been replaced, so why are these bearings in such good condition? Could it be that changing the engine oil and filter every 2500 miles as I do has protected them? If so, does that put the cat among the pigeons in terms of the thinking behind why some 4 cylinder engines seem to go through crank bearings at 50k miles? I'll leave you to ponder that thought while I drink my beer. Suffice to say I won't be checking these again for at least another year
Dave