Ball joints

[Geoff Butcher]

I'm told there are two types of Metro front suspension ball joints. Anyone know what the difference is? And are top and bottom the same?

Thans,

[Stuart]

I'm told there are two types of Metro front suspension ball joints. Anyone know what the difference is? And are top and bottom the same?

Thans,

Early Metro's had ball joints with a taper that is the same size as the Mini. After a couple of years (I think) they changed to a larger taper.
It may be possible to tell at a glance from the size of nut, although you'd need to be familiar with both sizes.

Usually the same size top and bottom, but possible to have both if the car has been mixed and matched with different top arms or bottom arms.

[benofbrum]

I'm told there are two types of Metro front suspension ball joints. Anyone know what the difference is? And are top and bottom the same?

Thans,

Just looked in my Austin Rover works repair manual printed 1984 and there is no mention of different sizes of taper.
Certainly, a Gold Convertible which I once owned and with an A registration had smaller diameter pins. This I know, because one of the upper pins sheared when I was going round a roundabout near Huntingdon rather rapidly. The car was rescued by a very helpful farmer with a Telehoist attached to the front of his tractor who then arranged for his local agricultural engineer "fix anything from a lawnmower to a tater grader" to fit a new joint. Unfortunately he fitted a later larger diameter one which did not sit fully in the top arm and modified the steering geometry and made the drive back to Birmingham "interesting".

[Geoff Butcher]

The garage has now told me they can't find joints with a small enough taper for my car, which came as a surprise as I was expecting the opposite...my 1987 car was built with post-85 parts according to the previous owner. I expected it to have the larger later taper which appears to be the rarer one on Ebay but that's the only one the garage and my local factor came up with.