Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Ball joints upper and lower

The length of the taper will affect the measurement of the diameter at the narrow end of the taper. Try measuring the taper at its widest part, then again at a controlled length from the widest part.

Proper specifications on these parts will be hard to come by, I imagine. Tapers are usually expressed in degrees (like 8 degrees) or ratios (like 1 in 7). Without those specifications for both old and new parts, comparisons are left to careful measurement and "try it and see".

I agree with Planenut that "as long as the taper seats fully and the nut clamps the joint fully without bottoming out, it should be OK".

This sort of thing is all too common with pattern parts these days.

Metro ball joint

Have a look at these.
Do we need the earlier or later ones?

Folks - I’m going to resurrect this thread as I have now come across the self same issue. Ordered and received a pair of these GSJ268 ball-joints from Mini Sport here in the UK. As you can see from the pictures, they are pretty much identical except for the size of the shaft. The new ones are indeed 13mm at the top of the taper and 15 or so at the bottom. The stock item is 14mm top and 16-ish at the bottom. So these are the Metro Mk1 joints, which clearly aren’t correct at present. The taper doesn’t bind as an interference fit in the lower wishbone and even if it did, the threaded section is way too proud of the mounting face to tighten up.




Has anyone found a supplier and part no. In the UK for the correct size replacement? Very depressing to find that the new ones don’t fit, having been very proud of myself to get the old one out using a 46mm open-ended spanner and a 5ft length of steel pipe



Sorry about the twisted images - IMGUR is not easy to fly on an iPhone when you’re grumpy!

I can't remember where I got mine, but there is something odd here, googling GSJ269 says they have a 14mm taper so that may be the correct part. Likewise googling the QH part number alternatives come up as both 13 and 14 mm taper.

A while ago I managed to find a pair of NOS Quinton Hazell QSJ1059S joints on ebay to hold as spares. I just put them on the shelf but this thread has nudged me to go and measure the tapers! They both measure 14.25mm at the thin end and 15.9mm at the thick, which I guess is OK from what others have been saying?

Maybe these
https://www.onlinecarparts.co.uk/moog-2045038.html

Thanks Rob - those look like the ones. Having poured over these joints for hours across (nearly!) all the sites, it does seem that GSJ269 and QH1060 might be the new numbers for the 14.5mm items. The other numbers (GSJ268 and QH1059) now seem to refer to the smaller 13mm taper versions. That part number from your link for MOOG RO-BJ-3409 is the one that Raphy posted back in April. So I hope these turn out to be the correct parts, Thanks very much for the research :-)

So, is the GSJ 269 and QH1060 ball joint considered to be a better bet than the GSJ 268 and QH1059S now? I have a "new" old stock QH1059S that is 14mm wide at the top of the taper, the specification must have been correct at one time? I only ask as I will update the info for the Alternative Parts List if you can confirm that GSJ 269 is the correct item, or MOOG RO-BJ-3409?? I will add to check the top of the taper is 14mm dia for now.

Impressed that you got the ball joint off with a big spanner and a long piece of pipe R1NGA, only an impact wrench would move mine.

I'll wait to see what comes in my next couple of deliveries - I've ordered a pair of the MOOGs that Roger found (despite being onlinecarparts.co.uk, they're actually based in Berlin), so there's a chance that these might be correct. As these might take a while to arrive, I've also ordered what looks like an old First Line FBJ5150 from FleaBay as I need to get the car driveable again and it might come faster. Sod's law says these all pitch up with the small 13mm taper, but let's see eh ?! Thanks again for everyone's help in trying to bottom this one out.

To continue the updates on these ball-joints, I have today received an 'new but old stock' First Line FBJ5150 item from a seller on FleaBay. It looked like the one I took off the car in the photo and it seems the telling, easily identifiable difference is the lack of a Hex socket locator in the tip. The Taper is indeed 14.4mm at the top and 15.5mm at the bottom and of course fits perfectly. The previous items I had to return to Mini Sport were 13/14mm as you know, but had a 6mm Hex socket in the tip - the one that fits has a simple machining indent and nothing more. Interestingly, the cross-ref Part No. on the First Line box does quote QH QSJ1059S, but I do feel that something has changed in recent years with the specs of these things. The First Line one is dated July 2014.

I have still to receive the final pair that I ordered from OnlineCarParts.Co.Uk, so jury is still out on those, but I will post update once these (identified as MOOG RO-BJ-3409) arrive.