V8david Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Hi all. Does anyone know the size of spanner needed for separating the lower shaft of the levelling unit from it's ball joint pin? Says in the manual "unscrew the lower ball joint at the levelling unit push rod, using thin jawed spanners". Just going to purchase said spanners and I'd prefer to know the size on the way rather than going all the way to the lockup where the beast is residing, measuring what's needed, and then having to go back out again to mr spanner seller. Boring thread I know! Quite frankly a bit selfish... But saves a trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 I'll be within reach of mine with a dial caliper at around 11am if you can wait that long.... Oh - and when I had a go at mine I couldn't undo it so I thought s@d it and left it on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8david Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 I'll be within reach of mine with a dial caliper at around 11am if you can wait that long....Oh - and when I had a go at mine I couldn't undo it so I thought s@d it and left it on Cheers twosheds. Got a funny feeling I may have the same experience! I forsee a hell of a lot of swearing going on this afternoon! Just per chance I do get as far as replacing the ball joints, what type of grease should I pack them with? Just standard, off the shelf in halfords castrol greasy grease? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Mine is 45mm across flats. I think that if I ever do remove mine I will do a proper job with a sparky-spanner The nut is only about 3mm deep - hardly the sort of thing you can get any decent torque on... Dunno about grease I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8david Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 Thanks for your help twosheds. Much appreciated. That's a bloody big spanner! Cheers mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Thanks for your help twosheds. Much appreciated. That's a bloody big spanner! Cheers mate. If you are still there hold on a mo - I'll go out again - looks (on the diagram) like there may be another smaller nut! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 If you are still there hold on a mo - I'll go out again - looks (on the diagram) like there may be another smaller nut! Sorry - I see what they mean now! There is a flat on the shaft and a nut - but on mine it's all been welded up and is hardly visible! The 45mm I was taking about it the cup that retains the ball in the cup... I REALLY hope you haven't already gone out and spent a fortune on a 45mm spanner... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8CAMEL Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Sorry - I see what they mean now!There is a flat on the shaft and a nut - but on mine it's all been welded up and is hardly visible! The 45mm I was taking about it the cup that retains the ball in the cup... I REALLY hope you haven't already gone out and spent a fortune on a 45mm spanner... is this removal to put in the bin? if so then a decent sent of pipe wrenches on the main body Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8david Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 No, didn't get one in the end, the tool shop I went to didn't have the size. Thanks for all the research and input though. I'll still need a 45mm socket for getting the big nut out once the joints are off the vehicle. I see the bit you mean now twosheds, 16mm spanner size I have since found out... Which brings me smoothly to... thanks to camel. Yes they are for the bin so i'll give your option a go first. Cheers guys, really appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoggyN Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Good luck! I had to take mine off the A frame, stick in a huge vice and then weld a spanner onto the nut to get it off. The problem with the socket is that most are chamfered at the end so they just jump off the shallow nut. I tried grinding the edge down square but to no avail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8david Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 Good luck!I had to take mine off the A frame, stick in a huge vice and then weld a spanner onto the nut to get it off. The problem with the socket is that most are chamfered at the end so they just jump off the shallow nut. I tried grinding the edge down square but to no avail. Cheers Hoggy. I'm going to tackle the jumbo nuts off the vehicle like you did. I've got the big vice, and a welder just in case. Picking up a bloody big socket tomorrow (will look out for chamfered edges). And if all that fails I've got some bloody big hammers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Big hammer and a masonry chisel should do it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie50 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I've removed several of these "things" the only method which worked for me was a good sharp chisel and nicely weighted hamer, if your replacing the joint it should come with a new nut and pin, I alson found that removing it from the A frame required a press but maybe I was just unlucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie50 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 OOps just realised your refering the the Boge self leveling thingy, I ended up cutting it out, by the way, it's quite heavy when you try to catch it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8david Posted February 28, 2008 Author Share Posted February 28, 2008 OOps just realised your refering the the Boge self leveling thingy, I ended up cutting it out, by the way, it's quite heavy when you try to catch it. Cheers sheltie, I'll be try to be ready when the unit is finally (hopefully) ready to be released! Car's pretty clean underneath so hopefully things should come undone! After this saga I'll be sure to update this thread when the job is finally done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roverdrive Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 IIRC the flats on the shaft are 11/16" and the lock nut is 3/4". I had to grind the spanners down to about half the normal thickness to fit. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8david Posted February 29, 2008 Author Share Posted February 29, 2008 IIRC the flats on the shaft are 11/16" and the lock nut is 3/4". I had to grind the spanners down to about half the normal thickness to fit.HTH Cheers Roverdrive, I know what you mean. Looked through all my old mountain biking tools and found some cone spanners to fit. They're only 2-3mm thick, i.e. ideal! Until I found them my hand was hovering over the grinder and my spanner collection was looking scared... again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8david Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 In case anyone is interested... Almost done! Polybushes in A Frame arms, new ball joints in brackets, new A Frame ball joint inserted with hydraulic press (can't believe I got the old one out with a standard hammer ), new nuts and bolts, all ready to go back in in the morning. Learnt 2 things doing this: 1: My levelling unit is a nice blue colour, not black. 2: I wouldn't do this job again if someone paid me . Thanks for all your advice guys, much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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