206cc lower ball joint woes

[ian010778 21]

All right everybody?

 

I had a few advisories on the 206cc last year so I’m getting them sorted this week. Up front I need to replace the springs and inner tie rods; all was going swimmingly until I came to the driver’s side lower ball joint.

 

I only have the cup type separator which requires plenty of clearance above the ball joint to drive the pin through from the top but on the 206cc the drive shaft is still in place and there’s not enough movement on the driveshaft to push it through the hub with the steering knuckle in situ’ so I can't use the cup type separator. Likewise, there’s not enough clearance to remove the damper/strut without having first split the lower ball joint. So, the lower joint must come apart first but I just cannot get the damn thing fully separated.

 

On the 205, I undid the pinch bolt and with a large spanner being used as a lever and a bit of hammering the lower arm came away from the steering knuckle, but on the 206cc, although it moves very freely to about half way out, it either gets stuck or I run out of droop on the lower arm and the lever I’m using just starts to bend.

 

I’ve tried jacking the brake disc up to give me more downward travel on the lower arm but this seems to make the joint bind and I can’t get it to move at all. I’ve also hammered a wedge between the two ‘ears’ where the pinch bolt clamps to make sure these are spread but to no avail.

 

I thought about buying a scissor type separator but it looks as though they just ‘crack’ the initial seal and are more suited to ball joints that have a nut on the top rather than a pinch bolt. Also, mine is already lose I just can’t get the lower arm far enough down to completely separate the joint.

 

Here’s some pic’s showing how far it will move, first with a screwdriver and then with a large spanner. As you can see it’s really important that I get this done as I’ve discovered the driveshaft boot clip has snapped (and grease is everywhere!) so not only have I got to separate the lower arm in order to get the strut out I also need to pay some attention to the driveshaft and boot too!

 

 

 

 

I guess my next option could be to try a fork type separator but I thought, before I spend out, I'd be best to ask here as I’m sure any suggestions will be helpful.

 

Thanks all.

 

Ian.

 

ps. - I haven't looked at the passenger side yet as I'm doing a side at a time so I have a reference.

[Gohn 68]

dont know the 206 front end setup

 

but on a 205 base model front end (single control arm with ARB thru) I use an ally baseball bat !

sounds rough, but its real neat. bat slides in at angle under subframe and over ARB, lever down and this pushes the control arm ball joint down

 

on a 205GTi front end I gradually lever the ball joint down and out by tapping larger a wedge in the gap where your spanner is. if not with the proper 'tuning fork' style wedge shaped separator , you could carefully start with one flathead and then go to two, then use fatter drifts/chisels as it opens up. wood would work too I suppose, if you were edward woodwood.

 

got some nice greasy grease there waiting to get all over your rotor

[ian010778 21]

3 minutes ago, Gohn said:

got some nice greasy grease there waiting to get all over your rotor

Cheers Gohn - tell me about it! Ive gotta be super careful when it comes apart mate.

 

Maybe I just need a longer/tougher lever - I'm using my breaker bar to lever between the lower arm and whatever it'll catch on the steering knuckle at the minute as it's the longest thing I have. I didn't mention in my original post that I have disconnected the droplink and the steering ball joint so maybe if I re-connect the drop link and use something more akin to an ally bat as a lever I'll be able to get on it better as you've suggested. I've tried different chisels etc. - even two fat spanners and then levering off of them but there's not a lot of room under there and of course it all just wants to ping back together as soon as something slips.

 

I feel as though I need a mini version of the pneumatic spreader the fire service use

 

Ewar Woowar indeed

 

 

Ian.

[Gohn 68]

yeah, some teeny tiny ' jaws of life', its probly a peugeot tool that costs thousands just for the 206

 

springing back is annoying but as I dont know the 206 front end its a bit hard to know what kind of preload's on the ball joint, where the droplink connects, etc

 

good luck

[welshpug 1,657]

I never use separators on these as they invariably always shred the balljoint boot, and as its not tapered theres no need to strike it.

 

push the hub inwards as you lever the arm down, you can get specific levers for this task with a hook to pull on the arm.

Edited April 5, 2021 by welshpug

[ian010778 21]

Cheers Mei, I'll see if I can recruit a second pair of hands to push in while I lever down tomorrow.

 

 

Ian

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

206's are tricky, the damper is too long to allow the ball joint to come out of the hub.

 

Easiest way is to undo the wishbone bolts to the subframe and pull the wishbone partially out which will give it enough droop to disengage it.

[ian010778 21]

Thanks all - my mate came down this morning and we've sorted it.

 

I'd removed the pinch bolt and free'd up the damper thinking I was doing myself a favour but clearly, in hindsight, this just meant that when I levered the lower arm down the knuckle was coming down with it rather than staying put. Fixing the damper back into position made it a five minute job but he nearly missed his ASDA delivery mucking about with me!

 

Both sides are are out now and the passenger side is back in along with a nice new spring and inner tie rod. Just gotta put the drivers side together tomorrow.

 

 

Ian.

[speaksgeek 5]

So, I know you've got this done, but the correct factory way to do it is this lever setup. I ignored and struggled with it for years until I finally built this out of about $10 worth of steel bits.

Helps to have a welder.

It literally takes me about 5 minutes to set it up and release the joint now, instead of hours of swearing.

 

https://www.facebook.com/upgraderacing/posts/703933517215684

 

[wicked 103 3 Cars]

22 hours ago, Tom Fenton said:

206's are tricky, the damper is too long to allow the ball joint to come out of the hub.

 

Easiest way is to undo the wishbone bolts to the subframe and pull the wishbone partially out which will give it enough droop to disengage it.

 

This is indeed what is different compared to the 205. The wishbone cannot go down enough if the damper is not compressed.

In the repair manual of the 206 this is also described and there are tools to keep the damper compressed if you jack the car.

 

Illustrated here:
http://www.peugeot206cc.co.uk/repair-206/206/info/gb/b2fg09k3.htm

 

Secondly, the ball joints sits slightly angled in the hub. It does sometimes help (also with 205) if you push the hub inward while you try to pull out the wishbone.

 

 

 

Edited April 8, 2021 by wicked