installing castle nut

[michael_antoi]

with reference to this pic.
http://www.ozhonda.com/gallery/data/2/3IMG_4965-med.jpg
how the hell do i install the castle nut without the balljoint spinning..
i cant stop it from spinning.
putting a jack under it wont work
putting the tyre on and dropping it onto the tyres wont work
how do i stop the ball joint from spinning?

[bennjamin]

the ball joint should be pressed into the hub assembly ~ so the rubber pad and the bolt end shouldnt spin at all - spray abit of WD40 or similar ro ease up the friction and finger tighten it , then tighten up with a 17mm socket + breaker bar until the hole for the cotter/split pin matches the castle nut.

[michael_antoi]

see the ball joint is already pressed up against it

i'll take a pic or vid to show u what i mean by the spinning.

no matter what i try it will spin but i'll show u wat i mean

[bennjamin]

oh u mean when u try to tighten the caslte nut , it keeps slipping around ?

[michael_antoi]

yes exactly

[bennjamin]

iniside thread of the nut might be damaged and cannot as easily "rotate" onto the bolt. I suggest finding another new/used castle nut.
Or , hold the top of the bolt with some needle nose pliers (to stop the thing spinnign around), and slowly turn the castle nut onto it. Once it clears the very edge (which coudl be damaged) then it SHOULD grip and be able to tighten once again

[ECU-MAN]

that happens when you damage your thread like Bren says. or if you have bent the caslated bits on the nut.

[michael_antoi]

ahh ok interesting

its just that i dont think i damaged the thread in anyway. both nuts came off with ease.

would getting another castle nut solve the problem?

[ECU-MAN]

did you hit the joint wit a hammer at all, to try to get it to release the joint ???

[michael_antoi]

i tried wyn's way to pop it out

i think i may have given it a few wacks

that might be the reason

if i have threaded it, what can be donenow?

[ECU-MAN]

you can use a thread file to fix it, or retap the thread with a Die that suits that thread

[michael_antoi]

retap with a die - how do u mean?

i may have a look into the file

[ECU-MAN]

tap and die set,

there used to repaire threads

[iamhappy46]

Buy a new ball-joint, normally around $25.
Bashing the existing one trying to fit it, probably means your up for a new one anyway.

[michael_antoi]

anyone know what type of thread spacing the ball joint is?

is it M12 M14 etc??

[Weq]

sounds like u ruined the ball joint.




*bennjamin edit* Remember to keep the hijacking to PM guys

[michael_antoi]

so i think i've threaded one ball joint


how do i remove this?

any pointers?

[michael_antoi]

anyone know what type of thread spacing the ball joint is?

is it M12 M14 etc??

[Dxs]

ok.. i had the same problem (i found this thread by searching when i was looking for a solution). So i thought i would post up some info incase others found this thread.


Basically the castle nut would go on about half way then stop and just spin the ball joint thread.
My car is currently 16 years old, and it happens a bit to old cars.

basically you want the thread to stop spinning so you wanna get the ball joint back into its little rut in the LCA, so the lca grips it and stops it spinning. A method i saw on hondatech was to stand on the brake rotor.

So basically just jack up the lca and push the ball joint in, then get one person to stand on the rotor which puts a lot of force on the balljoint to stop spinning. And another person do it up (make sure they dont go under the car incase something slips etc while you are pushing on the rotor). You need to focus your weight on the rotor.. i leant on my 1/4panel/bonnet too. It took a while to get it to work. My friend basically got the nut and tightend and undid etc etc over and over again to ease the thread back on/reshape it a little. And it eventually it worked. I infact stopped mid way and gave up and looked for other solutions but i tried again and it went on (i was a happy boy then).

Other methods i have found include getting a DIE NUT. As ecuman also recommened. This is basically a nut of the same size as the castle nut but has little razors in it (just like a nut with a sharp thread) to reshape/clean up the thread. These are like 30 bucks each, some are also buttons that need a tool. My castle nut was M12 1.25

Others have also recommended using impact air tools to basically just get the nut on with force.. like the nut just barges through any problems.

Another thing u could do is get a clamp between the hub and lca to keep the balljoint in..
And another suggestion was heat up the nut so it expands and then do it up..

and final resort seems like replacing the balljoint which looks as though it would be quite a bitch to do.



Also if you **** up a balljoint boot you can get generic ones from repco for like 4 bucks a pair (take in the damaged one to match the size).. honda dont sell balljoint boots. easy to replace and just get some appropriate grease.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Dxs]

hahhaa.. been over 2 weeks claymore :p
but i have done mulitple things and there were a few hiccups.. and i work.. and have another car to drive.. so no extreme rush

looks like my battery might be dead now- so close

[silver_screen]

i dont see how a tap would fix his problem... the ball joint is spinning... a tap is going to spin it as well. its not like theres no force involved when u rethread something.. theres plenty force seeing as u gotta cut the thread again.

So far it has only happened to me once @ work. i just used massive multigrips on the ball joint and got someone else to put the nut on. The nut wasnt cross threaded or anything.. just the ball joint was too loose in its place and the customer was too cheap to replace it (wankers)