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Nissan Primera P12 Front suspension/refurb

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popswoo View Drop Down
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    Posted: 07 May 2010 at 2:03am
 I recently had a problem with my drive shaft joints cracking when turning & after expert advice from Baz I decided to replace them myself.
However having looked at the manual & because the hub has to be removed to change the drive joints I also replaced the following parts on both sides.                                                                                  Lower suspension arms complete with bushes & ball joints.
Track rod ends.
Antiroll bar links.
King pin bearings & seals.From a well known bearing supplier.NOT Nissan
Gearbox to driveshaft bearings & seals
Driveshaft outer joints & Rubber gaitor.
Wheel hub bearings & retaining circlips & grease.
All these parts were souced from the internet at a total cost of only £237.60 !!!
 
It has been a job well worth doing with excellent handling & steering.
 
The biggest problem I had was with the tightness of the wheel nuts & the lower suspension bolts.
To undo the wheel nuts I machined a 25 mm slot accross the top of the socket & bolted a 25mm square bar to the socket  3ft long then whacked the end of the bar with a copper mallet which unscrewed the nut ok.
 
The problem with the lower suspension bolts is that the thread passes right thro the cross member & exposes the thread end to the elements ie rust & it is not accessible to wire brush the threads.
I started on the first bolt & it would not shift using a rachet socket so I used a straight bar on the socket together with a piece of long pipe & plus gas,This managed to free the the bolt but it fought me to the end with much creaking & groaning .At this point & with 18 bolts to undo I said  S..it
there must be an easier way so I put copper grease on the bolt & put it back in.
I then sprayed all the other bolts with plus gas & left it for 2 days then took the car to my local tyre supplier to have the wheels balanced & whilst it was up on the ramp they very kindly removed all 18 bolts & copper greased them & put them back in.They charged me £5 for this but still had to use a pipe to free the bolts & broke one socket & bent the socket bar.
 
The bolts came out easy when I replaced the lower arm.
 
The next problem was removing the lower arm bush pin ,This was stuck fast
& as it is held in position by a keyway slot the only way to remove it was to press it out with a hydraulic press.It cannot be turned to free it because it is keyed.
 
I hope this helps anyone attempting the same.
 
Many thanks to Baz for his expert advice & NPOC for the manual.
 
Best Regards
 
Popswoo
 
 
 
 
 
 
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4ndy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 4ndy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 May 2010 at 1:56pm
Thanks for sharing, very informative read
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JOHNR View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JOHNR Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 May 2010 at 2:06pm
popswoo, i need to renew the balljoint on my drivers side.when you removed the wishbone,did you have to remove the crossmember that goes from o/s to n/s of car or did you just remove the brkt that hold the front bush end of wishbone to car i.e 2 bolts?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JOHNR Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 May 2010 at 2:20pm
the brkt i'm taking about is number 28 in this picture .
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote popswoo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 May 2010 at 10:43am
Hi John R.
No need to completely remove the cross member.
Remove 2 bolts to bracket 28
Remove 3 bolts to bush pin 18.
Remove 2 bolts 27 from wishbone large bush end.
No need to remove bush pin nut from 18 unless you are replacing the wishbone.
The 7 bolts will be rusted in so spray with WD40 or Plusgas & leave for a couple of days before you undo them.
A word of caution.
When I removed my wishbone It was corroded as I suspect yours is so when you press out the lower joint the wishbone will very likely distort due to being weakened by the corrosion.
I strongly suggest you replace the complete wishbone.
Hope this helps.
Regards
Popswoo
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JOHNR View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JOHNR Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 May 2010 at 7:03pm
thanks popswoo. that how i thought it would come off.
p.s can you remember what size of spanner you used for the balljoint nut?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote popswoo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 May 2010 at 9:29am
Hi John R.
The ball joint nut spanner is 22mm
The wheel nut spanner is 32mm.
If you are replacing the outer drive shaft joint with one from that well known auction site then the wheel nut spanner is increased to 35mm.
Regards
Popswoo
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JOHNR View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JOHNR Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 May 2010 at 8:32am
thanks!
i'm not renewing the cv joint,just the balljoint/wishbone
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