[abs76]

need (3) front diff mounts/bushes
.... besides Suzuki for $180?
........ any alternate place to get them?

[Bugsta]

For GV I presume?

Have a look at...
Jimny bits (UK)
Bits for Vits (UK)
4WD1 (Aus)
eBay

Rubber or Urethane?

[Matthew]

Where are you located?

I'm parting out a SQ416 GV.

[atari4x4]

Profile says Brisvagas

[abs76]

after looking into it........ im better off just getting the 2 diff brackets with the bushes already in there ....... then just deal with the one front rear mount.... does that sound right? i'm only starting to learn bout cars and fixing em myself .....so feel free to tell me if im totally on the wrong track here..... or asking really stupid questions ...... as right now feeling stupid anyway as Im trying to change the cv and cant get the ball joint outa the knuckle even with my sledge hammer the only thing im doing a good job of is breaking things right now!

[atari4x4]

use a ball joint separator, it's a 2 minute job.

buy diff drop brackets if you're going to run any lift, they come with bushes or get the ones off matthew... what makes you think that the bushes in yours are gone?

[abs76]

mechanic told me that they were gone....... so hav a few mates after getting under the car
its clunking under me driving over bumps. after having a close look at things I think a bit of suspension work needs done overall.
want to lift soon but not right now, was looking at the drop brackets only see em for $200 outdoor auto .... cant really afford right now... sumwhere else I shood b looking?

ps. I did use a BJ separator but it broke :O half way through the job ....all good mate came over and who could hit harder than me with the sledgy
I sorta wrecked the ball joint boot/bush rubber thing is that bad :/ or will b ok for now?
pps. I'm a weak girl ... seriously ... but im giving it a go as I am sik of stupid mechanics ripping me off, so I neeeeeeed to learn.

[tanshi]

yes its bad. grab a new one off of ebay

[abs76]

why cant I find one on ebay .... is it replaceable? without buying a whole control arm?

[tanshi]

these ones? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Suzuki-Vitar ... 336d590777

[atari4x4]

tanshi, they won't work on a grand vitara as the ball joint is integral to the control arm...

if you need to replace the ball joint, unfortunately you have to replace the whole control arm on the GV, however you might be able to get a boot to suit if it's just the boot that is damaged.

[tanshi]

ahh ok, thats my one thing learned for today. im going home

[Built4thrashing]

Its cheaper to get them sent from the USA off ebay.

[abs76]

how do tell 100% for sure that the ball joint is ok?
had a couple of mates say its ok but how do u know for sure?
I really don't want to put everything bak together then discover the ball joint is damaged. I only see lots of ways to test ball joint with the wheel on.
what about when its all apart?

dust cover needs replacing, nut needs replacing .... BJ bolt threads look fine.

If u wonderin how I did this .... my jaw type ball joint separator (Stanley) tool broke half way through the job. my mates seem quite surprised bout this
as I just wanted to get the dam thing off, I then used a fork tool, which yes damaged the boot ... even hitting that with a sledgy didn't even work, so I wrecked that for nothing.
I then threaded the nut on and used a sledgy to hit from under, after numerous thumps, as I didn't thread it on quite far enough so it was level with bolt end, I deformed the end of the nut.

ps. I don't have a castle nut on there, its just a nut, both sides are like this. Is that normal? FSM says castle? I've also read a few posts of people sayin they got castle.

[alexxx]

it should be a castle nut so that you can run a split pin through the joint.

Go to suzi or a fastener shop and grab one. couple of bob.

[fordem]

Hold the ball joint pin and try to move it side~side - it should have a fair bit of resistance - if it moves freely it's time to replace it

[abs76]

hmmmm hard to know how much resistance should have when i dont really know due to lack of experience/knowledge. its not easy to move but then again its not hard either :/

still confused bout the whole castle nut thing .... & after seeing another member today .... is mine so different from everyone else? there is no hole through the bj bolt to fit 1

[fordem]

Apparently there's more than one type of arm - I just checked my car and it has the castle nut & split pin - and it's shown that way in the parts catalogue, however I picked a few more vehicles at random and they are shown without the castle nut, so it may depend on exactly which vehicle you have - mine is built for the Africa market, I checked two others for the pacific market (which includes Australia) and one did, one didn't - if your doesn't have a castle nut or a hole for a split pin, then it wasn't designed to take a castle nut.

Regarding the ball joint - if it's not easy to move it's still got life in it - put a new dust boot and reassemble - you will need to replace the arm in the not too distant future.

[abs76]

thanks fordem for all the info u've responded to my posts great help
slowly slowly im grasping a better understanding of things