31 replies to this topic

[danrock101]

Glad it wasn't just me being thick then, is there any paticular reason as to why they fail in summer? lol

[clubwagon72]

I purchased a full set (4) ball joints from midland sports and classics off ebay for 15.95 pounds.
they came with a heap of shims as well as 4 grease nipples. They work great

[Kam]

Glad it wasn't just me being thick then, is there any paticular reason as to why they fail in summer? lol

I'm guessing its because there is more people driving on the road?

As mentioned already, there has been alot of people having offs (or ending up on the roof in one case!) with the non-genuine type

Minispares or MRA for ball joints, and get some angled grease nipples aswell, makes life a little bit easier

[Dan]

As Kam says, it's largely just because people drive their Minis more frequently, further and with a bit more spirit. Temperature must play some part in it though, tired old dirty grease boiling off because the hubs are running a little warmer or something.

[MIRVINE11]

This is quoted from the genuine ball joints on minispares website:

"Genuine swivel pin repair kit-Beware as latest supplies now have no grease path up the shoulder and wear in the small ball seats is alarming which suggests material problems somewhere-our latest experience shows upper joints wearing out quickly (4-5000 miles)"

Does this mean the non genuines are better as this isn't mentioned on those...

[Nic]

when was this i got some genuine ones just before christmas are they ok??

[Ethel]

The grease path is a little flat strip running up the side of the ball. I guess genuine means Unipart. There's no longer a manufacturer's production engineering, warranty & quality control setup behind them so I don't see why they'd be any better than ones from another reputable parts supplier, especially if there are signs they've changed from the original specification.

It shouldn't be hard for someone to see how they failed if they got a close look at a culprit pin.

[Dan]

Genuine would be X-Part now and they will be under contract with BMW to supply parts to original specification, BMW own the car now and they take production of classic parts seriosuly. BMW Heritage is a massive organisation and I think you can still get panels and parts for all sorts of classic BMWs thanks to them. This is why they keep BMH running and allow production of shells and certification of all parts.

It is worrying though and if that's the case I'd probably be going for non-genuine. I'd stick to Mini Spares or MRA though, never from unbranded show stalls!

[Ethel]

Cheers for that info Dan, it'd be interesting to know how today's Unipart is related to the old one. I think I remember it being sold off; was it just the name or the intact business with its links to suppliers and expertise.

I also think this something where the likes of TMF can play an important role, providing feedback to the serious specialist Mini parts suppliers, and other owners, in place of the defunct Rover dealerships.

[Dan]

Unipart became an independant parts organisation again during the Rover break up. They had to tender to supply like everyone else then, and now the supplier is called X-Part. I'm not sure how X-Part and Unipart are related but a lot of what they supply is Unipart boxed.

[Nic]

Im just coming up to fitting my ball joints, i got some genuine kits from minispares before christmas when they had there VAT free week, anyway i have just had a look and they do not have the grease path on them, so i am reluctant to fit them. can i grind one in lightly before i fit them?? does anyone at minispares know why the genuine ones now dont have them, is it a production problem?? or shall i take them back and swap for some non genuine minispares ones??

[AndyMiniMad.]

So, I fitted non genuine ones, am I going to die in a horrible fire ball?

[mike.]

I've fitted non genuine ball joints twice before on my car and not had any problems - I know this doesn't necessarily mean they're perfect, but I have 13x7" wheels which people claim are the worst thing for balljoints.

Some of them do have quite a rough finish on them, but i've not compared them to genuine ones so can't comment on actually how bad they are. With some grinding paste though and 10 minutes extra work per joint you can get them really nice and smooth, just don't go too mad with it. I lap them just enough to smooth them slightly and get a nicer dull finish on them, use plenty of grease on assembly and then grease them regularly on the car.

I bet quite a lot of the cases where balljoints have failed include some form of lack of care/maintenance or incorrect shimming in the first place.

[mike.]

Also this videos a good watch if you've never done balljoints before. Explains the grinding/shimming process pretty well.

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[benb12]

Well a friend of mine who is a member on here recently bought several genuine ball joint kits from Minispares and all of them had hairline fractures on the pin, so definitely check them before fitting! I have always used non genuine ball joint kits from my local motor factors and they have always been spot on, much better quality than these genuine ones were.