Need to replace the offside lower ball joint as part of my MOT repairs so thought i’d may as well do both sides are the same time.
Wanted to check, before i order the replacements whether you need the castle nut or not? Some of the parts on ebay are showing nyloc nuts instead? Are they OK or should i avoid?
I’ve replaced upper and lower dust covers many times on Mk1s, Mk2s. The last time for an MoT - I asked this specific question, having always used Nylocs. I was told by the (v. trusted) MoT guy that either is perfectly acceptable - some moderns still use castle nut & pin - others use Nylocs.
I suppose that (in theory) castle nuts can be re-used, but Nylocs not.
Thanks - i will go with the nylocs as they seem a lot easier!
Top tip - when you’ve fitted the new balljoint and come to reassemble into the hub, get the standard issue jack from the boot, and jack up under the new joint really tight into the hub.
Otherwise - especially with a Nyloc - you’ll just be turning the whole balljoint.
To avoid this problem with nylocs I have used a plain nut to lock the taper, then unscrewed the plain nut and replaced it with the nyloc.
Yep, always use a plain nut first for that reason.
Dave
I used a pattern part once in a VW Lupe (Track rod end) many years ago and had a hell of a time trying to get the car to track , it turned out the pattern part was about ten millimetre longer than the standard,
I should of matched them up first.
