[Das]

To me, that looks like somebody has tried to split the joint with a 'fork type' ball joint splitter.

Thats exactly what it looked like to me too

 

[bayzoo]

No you shouldn't be able to damage the boot by turning the wheel either way to the stops, You could have pinched it if you were doing any leavering off that area but that's really unlikely.

You should be able to undo the one nut and crack the joint taper from the suspension leg (strut) Then and with a bit of leaver on the wishbone and the leg turned out it should give you room to clear the thread.
Be careful not to allow the leg to come too far away from the car (spread eagle) so as not to pop your driveshaft out.
Most of all support the car well with axle stand as you may need a little pressure to pull the wishbone down and clear.

I would say the usual way a boot is damaged is with either someone getting it pinched with a ball joint cracker or someone using a leaver off that point for whatever reason

Good luck
Laurie.

If I was to attempt this myself, and use a ball joint separator tool, do I then need a ball joint press to put it back in?

 

[Das]

No, just a big hammer.

 

[Robbie]

Ball joints don’t need pressing together when assembling. A couple of light hammer taps and tighten the nut to the correct torque which will properly seat the joint.

Hammering hard on the back of the joint risks damaging the rear cover, potentially causing the joint to jam up or let in dirt.

 

[scaramanga]

they often tighten up with little force on the bottom to stop spinning
you can use a jack to force it in if it comes to that
or as das says just tap in with hammer to start it off

 

[The_b3st]

Did you speak to kwik-fit about it?


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[bayzoo]

Did you speak to kwik-fit about it?


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Thanks all

No not yet, I can’t move the car yet till I get my calipers back on - poor weather and family demands have slowed me down. I’ll give them a call later this week and update here

 

[bayzoo]

Spoke to Kwik Fit earlier this week and they confirmed it should be fixed as per their 12 month warranty, so I’ll drop it off today and hopefully it’ll get sorted without issue - I’m guessing they’ll just inspect the ball joint, re-grease and put a new boot on.

 

[Robbie]

Good result.

Most people wouldn’t have noticed until the ball joint failed again.

 

[bayzoo]

Agreed - is it an MOT fail to have a split boot? Think I saw that on here somewhere

 

[Das]

Yes it is. In that state it lets water and dirt in, which then will cause it to wear prematurely.

 

[The_b3st]

You probably wouldn’t have noticed it if it wasn’t for you being a diy mechanic. I would check their work after they’ve changed it though


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[bayzoo]

So got the car back after 2 hours - they also did the tracking and fixed the rattling exhaust shield I was planning to mend myself, but free of charge, so overall I’m happy.

 

[bayzoo]

So here’s my print out of my wheel alignment I got done on my 2.2 when my lower arm boot was being replaced - aside from the other measurements, it looks as though my front and rear left cambers are way off, does anyone know what might cause this?

Ive never looked at these reports on great detail before so thought I’d do so this time: