Mercedes Vito front ball joint Replacement 

Really enjoyed watching that what a character! Top man!

Your workshop always looks lovely and clean. Proper workshop.

Great to see you again Al in good spirits.. still enjoying the tough repairs.. we share the pain!

tankiou profeseure alane

Allen I did that job on a Austin Maestro I burnt out five drill bits I had no angel grinder and did the job on the car one stands what a pig man none stop swearing. Your videos are so funny just brilliant you are a great guy please keep videos coming we need them Phil I. Stoke

Hi Alan congratulations on getting to 23,000 subscribers and well done for all your for hard work

Covid Bublé , I love IT. Well done brix. Greetings from NL Richard

Good job mate by the way that relay is an exchange part no old relay no new one 😆😃😂👍👌

NO MISS MONICA TODAY.WTF IS HAPPENING.

Flipping heck. Very good.

Nice job Alan - got there in the end :-)

I have a 2017 metris in USA that I just did control arms and struts on. Completely different setup. Factory control arms are over $500 each in the states.

An acetylene torch would make short work of them rivets😝 top video as always 👌🏻

You’re a legend Alan 😂

locknut /ˈlɒknʌt/ noun One of them nuts that has sort of like a bit on the end to make it tight all the way. Classic :)

Good job - I would have taken a new one too because for that money you also renew the other two bushes this way..

Hi Allen well done with the ball joint and relay? I have a possible young fella wanting to learn about mechanics. I am 74 and still at it! car repairs are not a problem with me like yourself I have came across all the mechanical faults ever put in front of me. I was a R.E.M.E. Mechanic from '68 - '84. Seen it all Done most of it. Still learning with all the new electronics that are in the Job now. I will send your video to eht wee fella and he can get up to date for Tuesday. It is his uncles van I am doing so lets see how this fella picks it all up from the Video?, I will be there for health and safety. Thanks for your video. I Gave you a like and did Subscribe bye.

Brilliant ! as usual

9:09 being a industrial mechanic and having worked on junk cars most of my life, i can relate to this reaction. Lol

I've done that type of ball joint on i think a Nissan Serena really nasty, but nothing like the bottom ball joint on a ford transit connect F****G nightmare, you are not going to replace Monica with a dude are you please say no, great video Alan youtubes number one mechanic.

The problem Alan is that you just don't care about the van. Some of the jobs on the ST220 were just as nasty but your enthusiasm carried you through the job. PS I found the relay in stock on ebay priced @ 40 Euros, I wouldn't buy from Europe at the moment though it will probably end up stuck in customs for weeks/months.

Sometimes as the rivet heads are formed, can crush the shaft just enough to be a PITA punching from one direction. Grind the head of the other side and give it a try before the drilling shenanigan, can save loads of time.

I think most garages as does mine fix anything in the workshop,ramps,compressors, oil burners , in my case the owners are as tight as a ducks arse 🤦‍♂️, cracking video Alan as per usual 👍

Hi Alan. If your shop bought you a drill press, you wouldn't have to slog away with that hand drill!

Hi great video Alan what a stupid idea to o rivit the bushes in,but at least you got there in the end, keep up the good work,

You could use any old delay-on-energise timer for that function, RS components has loads of alternatives

At least it’s done, you will have to have your tea with a straw now until your arms recover 😂😂

The van was not suppose to last that long . A commercial vehicle 2005 seems incredible. But you did a great job and the detail that you show is helpful to us amateurs. Was it worth changing that mondy engine? Get another car off eBay surely?

hi Alan, great video !!!

Why didn't you press them out after grinding off the roundhead!

202,000 is not bad for a ball joint and let’s hope it lasts for a few years

Would those rivets not come out in the 20t press?

Safety first using a blow tourch brilliant

What I don't get is why mechanics rarely lubricate bolts and squirt some Dinitrol on bare metal surfaces - especially when they foresee that they themselves probably has to repeat the process in the future.

Bloody ell..... you not got a light sabre to burn through dem rivets.... dats the germans for you... you need whole new front suspension meind frende... the germans want your soul alan.....change all the mondis.... for da c class.... excutive transport...... apparently... loving what you do Alan.. :) N x

I take it Alan the full merc wishbone is very costly ???? cause for a few quid more I usually change the lot on run of the mill cars further on i c your point mate lol

😀

You do make me laugh Alan👍🏻😂

Try doing lower ball joints on a w211 great fun, Thanks again Alan great video, great Biden comment, agree 100%. Seeya.

Is the Vito the worse van there is for reliability, ease of repair, long term running cost and rust? It must rank up there.

What's the mileage Now Alan.

You could replace that relay with a proper rail mounting one that does not contain 1% unobtainium :)

U seem like a man that’s fed up with government and H&S... just like the rest of us 😁

we do those in the every car(Ford to ford) in the car pins fling upwards...

I've had to do the exact same job on a Renaut Laguna complete nightmare

Is that final bit of music from “The Getaway” by any chance Alan? 😏

Hi Alan good to see you back and hope you are staying safe and well and how is the taxi business going in this lockdown and the same for the car sales as well

On an unrelated note Alan, have you any thoughts on solid flywheel conversions on diesel Fords? In particular the MK2 1.8 TDCI Focus? Kit is about a quarter of the cost....

good man good job..my english very bad but i love he..thanks

Alan change the whole arm for God sake .

What happened to the hydraulic press. That’s the easiest way to press out your rivets. I worry about you Alan when you have all the equipment and don’t use it. Wake up!

i was meaning to ask this since quite a while. Why do you have a vito mercedes and not a ford van? Ford make not 1 reliable van is what is popping in my head . would be interesting to know maybe a video material to answer who knows. Like is there a reliable Transit at all.

Fantastic i build race cars for my living because i hate dirty cars

Are you really meant to change the whole arm?

Thankfully our company saw the light and scrapped our Vito, 600000 two engines three gearboxes and two diff hangers it was a rusty embarrassment !! More lights on the dash flickering ... thankfully the headlights would work and go off for no reason MOT failure. whoop whoop. 2 sparkys and £500 quid in parts still no good How much money they chucked at that van to keep it running over the years it would have been cheaper to hire one ..... sentimental value first new van they bought ?

Ha ha top work 👍

hi Alan, glad to see you enjoying yourself as always haha, heres another one for yu, 2012 62 place Ford Focus, Cambelt went and killed the engine only done 46k miles.. we all trying to work out what went tits up. Got a few ideas but what do you know about these ecoboost 1.0 engines 125ps ?

Why can't the ball joint be made as tough as the rivets? 🤔

Hi Alan Love all your videos. I have a mk5 mondeo 20l diesel its due its 4 year service 30000 miles. Is there anything I should be thinking of getting done on top of the service or looking for? Thanks Alan

04:10 You need to buy an air/electric ratchet Al!

HELLO ALAN WHEN THE WARNING BLEEPER SOUNDS YOU MUST KEEP YOUR FEET AWAY OR ELSE YOU WILL BE LAYING DOWN STANDING UP, YOU'RE A COMEDIAN KEEP IT UP ITS GREAT, IV'E DONE A LOT OF BOTTOM STEERING BALL JOINTS THEY ARE NOT EASY BUT AREN'T THAT HARD, AS ITS EASY FOR YOU HAVING A RAMP IV'E BEEN LYING ON THE FLOOR GETTING REALLY DIRTY AND WET THAT'S HARD ANYWAY TAKE CARE REGARDS TONY,

Why didn’t you just replace the whole arm with a after market from the motor factors with that mileage the rear bushes must be on the way out too. A lot of hardship for a bucket of shit van., fantastic videos really enjoy watching them

Please make sure you find the guard for your grinder. Having had grinding and slitting discs let go on me before I'm very thankfull that it was in place - eye protection or not, it'll still make a mess of your flesh.....

i did both sides at the same time on my drive piss ball

why not put a whole new arm in couldnt be that much more expensive

Why you don’t just replace de triangle? 70£ and that’s it

Hi Alan I ve bought mk5 140k miles recently seller is trader and it was sold to me with lots of lies Now i dont know what i m driving i still have time to return it But i might be overthinking I d like u to do a diagnostic on car but i don't know how to contact u or where is ur garage All i know u around Cambridge 😀

Hey alan, Have you ever experienced a loud rattle from the front right of a MK5 mondeo under the bonnet? I can hear it super loud inside the cabin but can't hear anything under the bonnet. mines done 66k miles. Also goes away/quieter when engines warmed up. I'm thinking a pulley bearing but unsure.

Just did the same today, what a fking pain in the arse 🙃

I am watching your videos from so long now but I can recognise that you start having so many Advertisements on the videos this days ...annoying adds

False economy to change only the ball joint, especially with a poor quality part like that. The bolts are far too small for the holes in the arm, I have seen these move as a result causing mot failure. Much easier and better to change the whole arm. There are enough of them around for the arm not to be a stupid price. Just my opinion.

Just replace the whole a arm. To easy.

Это Вы ещё на ГАЗель шкворня не меняли😂

I just replace the whole arm like on my Mondeo lol

i see you put some "quality" tires on your van al.............🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ buy cheap, buy TWICE...................

Japanese nuts have two angles on the inclusive. That is how they lock. Looks like Mercedes’ have copied these?

What no monica

I would guess the OEM ball joints for that van being that its German are probably Lemforder brand - they probably also made the control arms - they are almost certainly available from one of the big online parts sellers like autodoc if you don't mind waiting a week for parts. Edit: "It's just like Joe Biden" ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha - you lunatic mate. I'm dying.

No torque setting given.

I hate that brand so much... FA1 makes the worst gaskets and timing kits i have ever seen from a mainstream supplier .

"Parts sematary"

Dude you doing it wrong. You need to lose nuts first. That's why are you sweating you turning the bloody bolt. :D

Lol Joe Biden, as for seized bolts my 2013 Toyota Auris needs new front lower arms for MOT and the horizontal ones have fkn welded themselves in, looking like a new subframe required :( and a fitting end to the relay.

Hi Alan did you make another video on changing that engine as it would make a really good video

The new T-shirt looks the part☺️ thanks again for entertaining us over and over. Maybe tell us about the situation in UK now. Regards from NL

Every job I do goes like this... even changing bulbs.

Those Duratecs are well known in the Mk6 Fiesta ST groups to have bottom end issues if not looked after. Same/very similar engine to the Fiesta which obviously gets thrashed a lot more than a Mondeo 😅 that and the diff bearings giving up and making similar holes in the side of the gearbox

alan i done these before and yes very tight,but make life easy by cutting head and i put in the press and they pop out,just need to use a small sockect to fit old rivet head and boom

'Ere, that's not a Mondeo (I think) ¬_¬

Good job! I've had to contend with a much easier wishbone swap on a peugeot 207 due to a crap ball joint. I generally always swap the whole wishbone over as precaution- usually if the joint has gone the inner bushes will be close to going as well. Saying that those inners look okay. It's just a ball ache grinding the rivets off😂 Oh I forgot to add - as a ford focus mk1 owner I'm all too familiar with that infamous big end knock that you get on the duratec engines if neglected.

bolts would do just as good a job but rivets are probably cheaper for manufacturers plus they can then sell the arm as a whole unit because they have intentionally made it difficult to remove

Great vid! Ford Puma bottom ball joints just as bad to cut, drill and smash out them rivets ! Good thing is, its an easy change next time round with a nut and bolt fitted instead of them bloody rivets!! 👍 😂

Another good video Alan, those rivet fit ball joints are always a nightmare!! What is your take on the MOT change adding NO LED headlights bulbs to be fitted in an original halogen unit now with most your mondeo’s having them changed to LED??

Wish you where our local mechanic 🔧 I would look at getting a proper commercial on delay relay (Schneider or the like) it would just need a negative and the a loop from common to A1.

Awesome video Alan!! Was great having an assortment of issues all in the one video. Keep up the good work!! Oh and while you are at it, can I request a video? Would love to see how you perform a complete coolant flush on a 2012-14 Mk4 Mondeo. I have heard they self bleed which is great, but unsure where the drain bungs etc are, and which coolant to use. Your video on the Powershift transmission flush was spot on, and recently used it to get the job done myself. No way would I have guessed my way through it otherwise

Nice one Alan but why not go for a full lower suspension arm replace instead?

What no Monnie.☹☹😢☹

20:44 isnt the best idea to burn brake cleaner, I know from welding advises that produces a deadly gas called Phosgene when heated (white smoke coming from). Burning brake cleaner is something all have done, have to breath a good quantity to get intoxicated but the best way to avoid its knowing it

Great video Alan please keep them coming as they are educating and bloody great entertainment

Old vito was great van. Pity they were so rusty. Nice work.