I need to replace a spherical joint for my rear shock and am thinking I might be able to do it without removing the shock. Am I way out in left field with this?

I think using a LARGE C-clamp and the proper ID and OD pipes to press the joint, it might be possible.

I'd remove the long bolt from the bottom of the shock (already loosened it to be sure it's not stuck in place), then lift the wheel to compress the spring. I'm thinking the bottom of the shock would extend below the wishbone (I hope; haven't tried that yet) then I might be able to use the C-clamp and pipes as a press.

Thoughts...advice...?

 

Maybe, sounds possible.

You will be the first by the sound of silence in replies, so you will have to document your procedure and ultimately the result.

 

Thanks for the reply Grant.

I'm hopeful it will work and will be doing it soon unless I hear of something to change my plan of attack. I'll certainly post the efforts taken and the results.

 

Soooo....
I removed the through bolt from the bottom of the rear shock and raised the hub carrier to have easy access to the spherical joint. It extended below the hub carrier with plenty of room to access it.

Let me pause to point out that the vehicle was well supported, rear wheel lifted with the frame resting fully on a jack stand and 2 jacks being used to raise the hub carrier and support the hub. Don't ever get under a vehicle that is not well supported!

Okay, so I had a couple pieces of pipe to accomodate the inside and outside diameters of the shock sleeve that holds the spherical joint and as I was fumbeling with the C-clamp I realized that the upper end of the shock has about 5mm of play, so the shock has to come out anyway. I'll replace the spherical joint then.

Question: Does anyone know what the shock isolators at the upper end of the shock are made of?

 

Same as the XJ40 I believe, a Eurathane compound, sort of looks and feels like real DENSE foam. Some have replaced with rubber and Poly, but report a lot of noise transfer.

I use Genuine on the daughters XJ40, kept it as it should be, less work for me if it was wrong.

 

I beleive I will follow suit and use the genuine parts also. I downloaded the rear suspension document you uploaded to the "Rear Suspension struts average install charge" thread on this forum and will be consulting it for this job.

Thanks again Grant!