Do I need to drop long range tank on Puma to replace rear ball joint?

[Brid]

Hi...The rear suspension ball joint on my 110 needs replacing due to a faulty boot. I know I need to support under chassis, release shockies and lower rear diff to access the ball joint nut on the bracket (that is welded to the diff housing).

But the depth of the long range fuel tank means I will need to lower even further to access that nut. Hopefully, I won't need to remove the tank as well!

Has anyone done this on a Puma? Or any thoughts? I haven't started yet, but hope to do in the next week or so.

Thanks in advance.

[Brid]

OK...looks like not too many rear suspension ball joints done on Pumas yet, which stands to reason.

For those who are interested, this appears to be the quickest and best approach...

To save removing a lot of components to get access, the easiest way is to shorten a 30mm socket, and machine/grind a decent radius off the drive end. Then it's pretty straight forward with a socket extension.

[Rolly]

I recently used a set of claw foot sockets to remove bolts that were difficult to access. Sounds similar to your adjustment. My only concern is when cutting out part of a socket it will be weaker and stress fractures generated?

[DazzaTD5]

While I have done plenty of them, I dont remember what ones had a long range tank. Defender 200tdi, 300tdi, TD5, TDCi are all the same, one must have had a long range tank.
I'm sure there is a short spanner (as in cut down) in my box for it somewhere, but looks like you have it sorted now!

[Brid]

I went ahead and shortened my 30mm socket by about 5mm at the open end. The other end I ground a radius on the shoulder, which allowed access. Most sockets that crack do so in the double hex area from what I've seen. Anyway it needed a breaker bar and pipe extension to move the nut, and I did the job on Friday.

Very happy doing it this way, as nothing at all to shift apart from the ball joint and two A-frame bolts, with the Defender sitting on its wheels.

My 30T press wasn't good enough to push the ball joint out of its housing, but the business next door's 100T did it easy. The new joint is a greaseable one I got from KLR Automotive, and went in well with the 30T press.

One tip worth mentioning is that when you remove the ball joint, the rear diff housing rotates a little, which you mightn't even notice. So after you bolt on the ball joint, you will likely need to put a jack under the diff pinion area and lift it up to line the two A-frame bolts up with the ball joint housing. Or vice versa if the sequence is reversed.

The shortened socket is a big time saver, and a great way to do the job.