just interested as to what symptoms you are experiencing to suggest these need changing. do you know if its recommended to change these in pairs?
Rear drop links??
How easy are they to do? :kaffeetrinker_2:
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
look a doddle to do, but some have had problems locking of the hex middle and the whole lot spinning, if this happens suggestions are to grip it with mole grips, or drill a hole in it and put a screwdriver through, i have done a few and in the worst case i just sawed the thing off.
20 mins a side and 2 bolts to undo.
20 mins a side and 2 bolts to undo.
Cheers for that.Does the weight need to be off the rear wheels ie jacked up.stripe88 said:look a doddle to do, but some have had problems locking of the hex middle and the whole lot spinning, if this happens suggestions are to grip it with mole grips, or drill a hole in it and put a screwdriver through, i have done a few and in the worst case i just sawed the thing off.
20 mins a side and 2 bolts to undo.
It's an horrendous job - made worse cause as you say, it's so effing simple. I spent hours trying to get siezed nuts off, but they bug*ers weren't for shifting.
You do also need to have both sides lifted to make it easier to get the bolts undone as otherwise there's load on one side putting pressure on the other, thus making it harder to undo the nuts. I got the drop links from a supplier (£20) and paid a mechanic £50 to do it. He said it's a job and a half without all the right tools and used a three foot tommy wrench to undo the nuts, but you need ramps for that kind of firepower.
Save yourself the hassle and cough up.
You do also need to have both sides lifted to make it easier to get the bolts undone as otherwise there's load on one side putting pressure on the other, thus making it harder to undo the nuts. I got the drop links from a supplier (£20) and paid a mechanic £50 to do it. He said it's a job and a half without all the right tools and used a three foot tommy wrench to undo the nuts, but you need ramps for that kind of firepower.
Save yourself the hassle and cough up.
I`m not worried about the tools as my dad`s got them and I`m giving the nuts etc a good soaking for a few days in WD40rad121 said:It's an horrendous job - made worse cause as you say, it's so effing simple. I spent hours trying to get siezed nuts off, but they bug*ers weren't for shifting.
You do also need to have both sides lifted to make it easier to get the bolts undone as otherwise there's load on one side putting pressure on the other, thus making it harder to undo the nuts. I got the drop links from a supplier (£20) and paid a mechanic £50 to do it. He said it's a job and a half without all the right tools and used a three foot tommy wrench to undo the nuts, but you need ramps for that kind of firepower.
Save yourself the hassle and cough up.
you will be fine,no need to jack the whole back up just jack it up, remove wheel and drop the jack a few inches to level it up,
@rad....yep sorry i feel your pain, had one the same last year, as i said, had to resort to the hacksaw and hammer
@rad....yep sorry i feel your pain, had one the same last year, as i said, had to resort to the hacksaw and hammer
If its any help I just completed this on an 04 TDCi. Dead easy, sort of! I did one at a time and held the bolt behind the plate on the car wth Mole grips, nuts were tight but 300mm bar and a 15mm socket sorted it wth out a bother. Few points that might speed you up,
Take out top nut first and using the bottom of the vertical tube (shocker housing I think) wedge the anti roll bar down take the load off the bolt mounted into the drop link and push it out.
Let the anti roll bar slide back up to move the bottom nut out of line with the handbrake cable linkage.
Take off the old drop link. Easy!!
Redo the new one at the bottom and torque up. Again a pair of Mole grips to stop the whole unit spinning seemed to work well.
Now, the only tricky bit, jack the rear disc up until the top bolt on the new drop link lines up - trick is not to put the weight on the thin disk behind the brake disk as I suspect it'll bend - tighten up the drop link bolt to the correct torque as the bottom.
Drop the disc back.
Job done.
I think it took about an hour for both sides but I spent a bit of time working out how to get at the bottom nut which was too close to the handbrake cable to allow a socket and driver in, never mind a torque wrench (at least the one I have anyway) hence the above slightly lengthy method.
Hope that helps.
Take out top nut first and using the bottom of the vertical tube (shocker housing I think) wedge the anti roll bar down take the load off the bolt mounted into the drop link and push it out.
Let the anti roll bar slide back up to move the bottom nut out of line with the handbrake cable linkage.
Take off the old drop link. Easy!!
Redo the new one at the bottom and torque up. Again a pair of Mole grips to stop the whole unit spinning seemed to work well.
Now, the only tricky bit, jack the rear disc up until the top bolt on the new drop link lines up - trick is not to put the weight on the thin disk behind the brake disk as I suspect it'll bend - tighten up the drop link bolt to the correct torque as the bottom.
Drop the disc back.
Job done.
I think it took about an hour for both sides but I spent a bit of time working out how to get at the bottom nut which was too close to the handbrake cable to allow a socket and driver in, never mind a torque wrench (at least the one I have anyway) hence the above slightly lengthy method.
Hope that helps.
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
- This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Ford Automobiles Forum
A forum community dedicated to all Ford owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about news, reviews, performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Top Contributors this Month
View All
PURPLE_2L_LX
96 Replies
mondy zetecs
55 Replies
nicam49
22 Replies
Recommended Communities
