Mitsubishi Delica Owners Club UK™

[skyehog]

I have new ball joints to put on the front wishbones on my van.

The lowers have the hex blanking plug which I assume I remove & swap for a grease nipple before greasing them & replacing the plug - My lower wishbones have already been modified at sometime in the past to take this style of nippled joint.

However the upper joints have no nipple nor anywhere to put one. There is just a blanked dimple in the top of the joint where, on the old ones I have removed, there is a similar blanking plug to the lowers.

I am guessing that these new ones are factory greased & sealed for life units, though they feel a bit 'empty' to me.

They are Blueprint ADC48614 units. I wonder if anyone can advise me on whether these are okay just to go straight on...

Thanks very much

Nick

[Google]

[andyman]

Blue Print is one make I would trust to do a proper job. I have taken other brands' rubbers off before now because they felt a bit empty, and indeed, they had a pretty minimal amount of grease in  them, so I so I added some before putting the  rubber and clip back on. Sometimes this is very difficult, and have had to use some thin, soft wire, twisted to tighten it, or a small cable tie, to hold the rubber in place.
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Andy C L300 Super Exceed - over 100 smiles per gallon!

[skyehog]

Thanks for that. Yes, I'd read on here they were a reasonable brand which is why I sought them out. I think I'll bung them on as they are. As you say I didn't really fancy trying to get the retaining ring off & back on again - couldn't imagine that was the intended process. I've since seen elsewhere that folks with similar jopinnts have drilled & tapped the to take a nipple, but I fancy that even less! Creates visions of swarf getting into the joint.

[andyman]

Yes, could do more harm than good! But it might be an idea to give the taper a good wiggle around to ensure the grease is well distributed before you fit it.
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Andy C L300 Super Exceed - over 100 smiles per gallon!

[Lewis]

The lower balljoints with nipples are invairiably sold for Pajero's and cannot take the added weight of a Delica.

Take a read of this post and the photos in it:- http://www.MDOCUK.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17224
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[skyehog]

Ah, I was thinking that the hex bolt on the lower joints was to remove so a nipple could be fitted, greased then removed & blanked off again. Reading a post on the thread you linked to Lewis reveals that it is partly for location purposes & partly to ensure the steering stops at the right point to prevent tyre rub. You saved me some head scratching there before I removed them & tried to pump them with grease    The lowers I have are Delphi units & have no additional nipple elsewhere so I think I'm okay on that score. It was reading the thread you linked to ages ago when I first bought the joints that steered me away from the Miners ones as I dimly recall. Thanks all. Seems my ball joints are pre greased, sealed & good to go