[sg316]

hi guys,

this is my first post so i hope its in the correct section, ive been lurking for a while and the sites already helped me through a multitude of problems, i was going to make an intro post but i really dont feel like taking any pics of her when she may be going to the scrapheap :grumpy

the car is a 1991 E36 316 saloon, the mot is due at the end of the month and i have a couple of problems-

1) balljoints are toast - i have two control arms with balljoints etc already in place ready to go on, i went to fit these yesterday and realised the nuts that are holding the old ones on are severely corroded/rusted, i didnt even attempt to put a spanner on them, i did douse them with wd-40 ready for the next attempt, question is, if i cant remove the nuts, will i be able to cut through the balljoint area with a hacksaw? (i also have an angle grinder, but i dont think theres enough room to use it).

2) spongy brakes - i realised after adjusting the handbrake (drum brakes), that my front brakes were spongy, im sure they were'nt like that until i started messing with the rears?, i checked the fluid level and it was very low so i topped it up- still spongy, i decided to manually bleed them and guess what? - the bleed nipples are totally corroded aswell, so i was going to try the scrapyards and see if i can find a decent set of calipers,

so, is there anything im missing before i go for different calipers / could i just replace the nipples?

could air have got into the system because of low fluid or is the master cylinder at fault?

sorry for the long-winded post but i thought id describe the problems as best i can

thanks in advance

 

[dazza316i]

try a set of mole grips on bleed nipple if they snap get some new calipers but might save you replacing calipers

 

[dazza316i]

air can get in for low fluid ... Can you get a nut splitter on lower arms ?

 

[sg316]

cheers daz, i was going to try that but i was worried that the fluid would start pi***ng out if the nipple snapped?

 

[sg316]

ive just been looking at those in the toolstation catalogue, i think it would fit on the inner balljoint nut but there isnt enough room on the outer one

 

[dazza316i]

it will leak out but you not got a lot of choice only had this method fail once in the many times I've used it pleasure of doing mgb restorations in my mechanic days

 

[dazza316i]

hacksaw maybe or try some rost off ice by wurth amazing stuff works a treat have seen it recommended on this site by others aswell

 

[sg316]

just looking into that now, thanks again

 

[Sphinx]

As Dazza has said really, try the nipples and if you mangle them getting them un-done just fit new ones.
Try the nut on the top of the ball joint too, if that rounds off and you can't undo it then you'll have to start sawing.
Basically prepare for the worst but give it a go before buying parts you might not need.

 

[speerzie]

cheers daz, i was going to try that but i was worried that the fluid would start pi***ng out if the nipple snapped?

clamp off the rubber brake pipe gently and you will loose very little fluid.

give everything a good spray of wd40 or similar an hour before you start and everything should come apart mate.a lot of dirt gets into these areas and can make corrosion look worse than it is, i find sometimes that a 'tap' with a small hammer around the area will dislodge most of it, then spray loads of wd40.:thumbsup

 

[shamM3]

If you drive with your handbrake on 1 or 2 clicks and foot brake feels better you will need to adjust the ladder wheel in the rear drum, common problem on cars with rear drums :thumbsup

 

[sg316]

just a quick update and a thankyou for the help,

control arms are now on - feels sooo much better now, for anyone attempting this (diy) , DO NOT break the balljoints loose until the nuts are completely free, i broke them loose then realised the balljoint spindle just spins when you turn the nut, doh, managed to angle-grind a couple of notches in the spindle and get the mole grips on,

bleed nipples - managed to hammer a smaller spanner onto one of them and the mole grips got the other one, just need to bleed them now

shamM3- thanks for the tip mate, ill try that tomorrow