Ollie you'll need an imperial size 1-3/16" socket. I got a good one from Halfords for a reasonable price which comes with a lifetime guarantee.

If I was a bit closer you could have borrowed mine.

 

Here is a link to the Halfords one it's £14.99

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...duct_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_166025_langId_-1_categoryId_165469

You will need a long wrench to put it on, or an impact wrench, the ball joint is in very tight.

Here is a link to a How To for the job by the legendary CJJ

http://www.the-t-bar.com/en/forum/2...m/en/forum/22-cjjs-guides/27974-front-upper-ball-joint-replacement-how-to#27974

 

personally go for the deeper one as the rear ball joints are slightly taller..
Paul D

 

Agree Deep sockets = easier job and better grip.

 

i bought this one from the bay of E's item no. 321092860849. ive changed 4 ball joints with it in the last two weeks so i know its correct.

i would lend you it but the postage to you and back would be more than the cost of the socket !!

tim

 

I bought that socket of ebay cos I know that I will probably do mine in the near future ^^ It said one sold in the last hour so I guess that was Ollie...

 

I would second the Halfords one however even though I'm quite lucky with bolts on my TF and put in way too many hours in the gym, with a 3 foot bar I couldn't shift them, 12v impact gun from ebay had them off in no time.

 

yep 24v impact wrench and a little bit of heat onto the top of the hub, no problem

 

It's 1 13/16". I got mine from Halfords.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...duct_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_166025_langId_-1_categoryId_165469

You need to get the one listed as a ball joint socket as it is a little bit deeper than standard to allow it to fit properly. It is also made from the stuff they make impact sockets from, so you can give it some abuse.

I used a standard socket in my how to as I hadn't bought the proper socket. You can see that the drive doesn't fit properly into the top of the standard 1 13/16" socket.

Taken from my how to.

http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=436955

 

Great how to ^^ I will be referring to that later on...

The only trouble is that it reminded me I should buy an impact driver and a torque wrench :S

 

For the same job a few weeks ago, I got one of these, which worked well and has come in very handy since - designed to make it easier to get wheels nuts off but made short work of loosening the ball joint. It plugs into the cig lighter socket and was not expensive. Found on Amazon, 46mm socket from eBay.

I'll have it out again this weekend as I'm finally doing the other one, and the TREs.

 

Hi Chaps,

Yes that was me that bought the one from ebay. I have a long standing hatred for halfords which is hard to break.

Thanks for all your help, I don't have an impact driver at the moment but it sounds like I'll be getting one soon.

Thanks,
Ollie