What have I done wrong?

[FBi7]

Hi all, this is my first venture into this part of the forum - be gentle

Took my trusty workhorse '97 Peugeot 306 1.9TD in for it's MOT on Wed - it failed on 4 very minor faults which I said I'd fix myself and save some £££s on labour, etc.

3 faults fixed almost instantly.

The 4th was the FNS ball joint - excessive play. Bought a new one for £15. Went to fit it, brittle CV boot splits. £8.50 for a new CV boot.

Both parts fitted yesterday and car passed MOT this morning, but, there is a rattling/clunking sound coming from the FNS wheel. Not constant, just when you hit a bump, sudden change in roud surface, etc.

Could I have fitted the ball joint wrong? The drive shaft popped out of the gearbox for a bit and I lot a bit of oil, could the drive shaft not be inserted into the gearbox properly? The bolt that pinches the 'nipple' (for want of a better word!) of the ball joint was duff, thread going, so got a new bolt, not the same, but similar diameter and it's tight, could the nipple not be being pinched properly?

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.....

 

[Gixer]

If I remember rightly the ball joint is stopped from moving up and down by the pinch bolt passing through a part of the ball joint as well as being done up tightly. If the bolt you've used is a smaller diameter then it may allow the ball joint to move up and down a little under extreme circumstances?

 

[markweatherill]

Did you tighten the ball joint nut with the car's weight on the suspension? (That is how they're generally supposed to be done) Or with the car jacked up?
(I reassembled my car's front balljoints with the car off the ground and had some odd symptoms before I loosened and retightened them with the car on the ground)

 

[FBi7]

Thanks for the replies.

If the bolt I used is smaller, it's by nanometres. It certainly appears to fill the entire hole it slides through.

I tightened up the bolt when the car was jacked up, so I'll try your suggestion, Mark.

Cheers