JohnMGFusa

I bought four new MG Rover OEM knuckles. I’ve attached a video showing they have the identical play the old ones have! They absolutely have a great deal of slop, even when brand new.

This can make some sense.. If this were a ball joint, there would be a spring pushing up from underneath. On these cars, the spring is above, pressing down. In addition they are under compression because the hydragas sphere is constantly pressing down.

Since I figured I already paid for them, and returning them to the UK is prohibitively expensive, I decided to install them anyway. Guess what? They don’t fit. The combined thickness of the bottom steel pad and the nylon cup is larger than the hole. I broke a new one trying to shove it in there before I measured they are physically larger. Said screw it, and put the old one back in.

Further I contacted Dawn Kennedy at Hydrolastic and Hydragas Service who regassed the spheres for me and asked “ Question about knuckle joint under displacer. These have lots of slop. If is was a suspension ball joint I’d say it’s got to be replaced. Is the same true for these knuckles?”. Her reply was “ Knuckle joints don’t need to be replaced unless they are broken, they don’t wear like ball joints.”

I don’t doubt the aftermarket lowering style feel nice and tight, but after spending the dough on OEMs I can say they are not worth it.

Vid: https://youtube.com/shorts/t3jI4gZ2sKo?si=szkwQ_JAptQks4CU