I'm about to fit some reco , twin leading shoe brakes to the front of the sports850 that came as part of a job lot I bought a while ago , the only thing is the new ball joints on the uprights have no shims , locktabs or rubber (don't know why , perhaps PO was going to shim them all up etc when they were installed and kept them seperately) . Are these availible seperately or will it just turn out easier/cheaper to buy complete new ball joints ?

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Ball joints are cheap, and they never include enough shims in the kits -- I've always had to recycle one or two from the old ones, so you may struggle finding shims by themselves

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Simon

The adventures of an owner builder in the Tallarook Ranges

Ian
They (complete kits) are not that expensive from the usual suppliers and they come with everything you need. The rubbers perish and are generally not re-usable anyway.

Have a look at yours when you dismantle them. If they are not scored or damaged then just adjust the shims so they are tight again. Pay close attention, though, to the spring on the bottom ones though.

My experience is that its fairly good design and normally don't show great wear. Not like the bottom ball joint on an XD falcon.

Mike

That's what I figured but thought I'd check anyway as the little bit of scottish blood in me hates not using the parts I have even though they aren't complete .

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Don't try to adjust the bottom one with the spring in. Remove it, shim it up until you can just move ball pin by hand at 72lb/ft torque. Then refit spring and torque up again.
If you can't move the balljoint after fitting the spring, grind a few thou off the ends of the spring. Some lately seem to be made too long.
This spring has an anti-rattle function only, it's not designed to be crushed solid on assembly.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Will do , I'm going to try graham in aus's trick of putting the threaded end in the drill and lapping the cap on it gently as well .

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Karcraft have shims to buy in sizes .003, .005, .010.
Part numbers 2A4239, 40 an 41.
Prices start at $1.17

regards

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Dave K.
1979 Moke Californian + 1981 'Coke' Moke

if you need shims I found another stash yesturday..you never get enough shims in a new set

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

I have kept every spare shim that I have pulled out. They can come in usefull for other jobs as well.
Did you know that a Mini balljoint shim is the perfect size to fit under a Briggs and Stratton valve seat.

You could possibly get shims from other places. We've got a local bearing center that sells all sorts of crap, and I saw shims of a very similar size there the other day.