Steering bar/drag link ball joints & freshen up

The steering bar, also known as a drag link hasn't been touched since the steering box rebuild and even then, all I did was pull the split pin and undo the 19mm castellated nut and remove it from the steering box drop arm.

As it's been a while and the track rod end have already been done in the last 5,000kms I decided that I ought to replace the steering bar ball joints, slight play and a little stiff but still serviceable, but brand new ones are cheap enough that I might as well get them done before they get a mention on the safety test.

You need very few tools but a bucket load of patience.

Not to mention two new ball joints, one LH thread and one RH threaded.

It's an easy start, you just need a 19mm spanner and a pair of pliers, pull the split pin out and wind the nut off the threads.

I use two hammers to split the taper of the ball joint from the steering box drop arm and from the steering arm of the swivel housing.  You simply put the big hammer behind the steering arm and belt the front with the other hammer and it pops off, I usually do it in one but it can take several swift wallops.

You need your tape measure, a pencil and pad, I used a post it and stuck it to the window, measure the centres of the ball joints and make a note of the numbers, mine measured 925mm or 36 & 7/16ths of an inch.

Next you have to undo the thread clamps with a couple of 11mm spanners.

Knock the clamp back off the slots and give it a few squirts of your favourite penetrating fluid and use a cold chisel to open the slots up a smidge, DO NOT GO CRAZY opening them up.

If they prove hard to undo with a decent set of pipe grips then you will be able to vent a little rage at this point.

So, one came undone very easily, now comes the rage venting part, take the penetrating fluid of choice and douse the inside of the steering bar so that it can attack the rusty parts from the back side, go off and have a brew, when you come back lay the threaded section on your big hammer and beat it around the circumference of bar with the other hammer and just keep testing the ball joint to see when it loosens and hey presto off it comes.

Then take the flap disc on the grinder with an 80 grit disc and clean the rust and old paint off the bar.

Take the paint of your choice.

Screw in the old ball joints for the moment and rest it on the axle stands ready for painting.

Once painted, slide the clamps back on and brush the threaded ends with a bit of copper slip to stop them from seizing up in the future and screw them in to the right depth to your previous measurement, tighten the clamps up and it's ready to go back on the truck.

Snug the nut up on the taper and then tighten until you can slide the new split pin in easily and bend the splits back round the nut, I bend both back on the swivel end as it is the one that can easiest be dislodged and thus allow the nut to come undone.

The steering box end I leave a little less fast but still secure.

All done and one less thing for me to worry about in the future.

Thanks for looking.