MadaboutKitcars

The Marlin supplied joints are Metro ones! Mine still had the Quinten Hazel packaging and we Googled the part number. They are also used on the MGF.

I can only guess that some of the cheaper pattern ones are made to dodgy tolerances and its probably best to stick to those from QH.

Robin

Hi Mike,
welcome to the world of building a Marlin car! The whole exercise is a bit of an experiment and the purpose of posting here is to share issues, ideas and solutions. I originally posted the issue of the metro ball joints to alert other builders to the problem that I ran into. Whatever the reason for the problem, other builders can easily run into the same issue.(I did!)
I'm still working on the true root cause (Did I overtighten the ball joints?, Did I buy the wrong ball joints?, Were the ball joints I bought undersize?,Are Metro balljoints just the wrong size?etc etc)
Again, sharing my findings and possible causes will hopefully hone into the correct solution. Like you, when I first started, I assumed Marlin would sort every issue but unfortunately experience shows that raising any issues like this with Mark is either met with disbelief or discalimers that nobody else has ever had a problem so it must be something you are doing wrong.
I posted my potential solution, again to get some feedback. I am not recomending it to any other builders, but currently do not feel the copper shims will make it any less safe than already. The shims will be firmly trapped between the ball joint taper and the upright hole. But like I say, I'm still interested in any feedback or suggestions on why this may not be a suitable solution.
Currently, I feel that my balljoints are unsafe because they can move up the tappered hole and damage the ball housing. The balljoints at my MOT were clearly knackered and I was very pleased the MOT guy found it or I would never have noticed it.

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Peter

Thanks, Robin,
you've spotted something obvious that I missed.
The length of the taper on the BMW joint is 20mm whereas on the Metro ball joint it is only 15mm long. So the taper angles may be the same?
And guess what, the depth of the BMW tappered hole is 19mm deep!
So if we assume the taper stops at the top of the tappered hole, the BMW upright is already starting to crush the rubber gater surrounding the ball joint.
If it moves up another 3mm it hits the top of the balljoint ball casing.

I wonder if there are different versions of the Metro ball joints??

Peter

[Hi Mike,
welcome to the world of building a Marlin car! The whole exercise is a bit of an experiment and the purpose of posting here is to share issues, ideas and solutions. I originally posted the issue of the metro ball joints to alert other builders to the problem that I ran into. Whatever the reason for the problem, other builders can easily run into the same issue.(I did!)
I'm still working on the true root cause (Did I overtighten the ball joints?, Did I buy the wrong ball joints?, Were the ball joints I bought undersize?,Are Metro balljoints just the wrong size?etc etc)
Again, sharing my findings and possible causes will hopefully hone into the correct solution. Like you, when I first started, I assumed Marlin would sort every issue but unfortunately experience shows that raising any issues like this with Mark is either met with disbelief or discalimers that nobody else has ever had a problem so it must be something you are doing wrong.
I posted my potential solution, again to get some feedback. I am not recomending it to any other builders, but currently do not feel the copper shims will make it any less safe than already. The shims will be firmly trapped between the ball joint taper and the upright hole. But like I say, I'm still interested in any feedback or suggestions on why this may not be a suitable solution.
Currently, I feel that my balljoints are unsafe because they can move up the tappered hole and damage the ball housing. The balljoints at my MOT were clearly knackered and I was very pleased the MOT guy found it or I would never have noticed it.

br

Peter]

Peter
I think this is a sad indictment of Marlin. I know exactly what you mean though. Before I bought my Cabrio I asked Terry if the kit was now fully "sorted out". She got quite stroppy and indignant that I could suggest it might not be. So I gave her the benefit of the doubt.
Having worked on it now for sometime, it is clear there are many areas where better attention to detail, and feedback from guys like yourself would have benefitted the design/quality of the finished car.
Some things you can (and should?) resolve yourself: others though, which are safety critical, should be taken up by Marlin and resolved immediately. Look at what happened to Patrick's car - that could easily have been so much worse..........
I had a similar issue with the steering extension shaft- I could not understand how it would fit?
It turned out Mark had changed the design which required a different UJ without telling me, or even Terry! They did supply me with the new UJ after some persuassion.
God forbid anyone gets hurt as a result of these known issues, but Marlin leave themselves wide open to criticism (litigation?) by not dealing with them more sympathetically.
Regards
Mike