Any idea what this part is and if I can get a replacement?

[esendia]

I’ve just tried replacing my tie rod and this insert came out before the steering rod I don’t see any way to get it off without doing more damage to it. Any idea what this part is and where I can get another? I’m assuming is a repair rather than what’s on it from the factory.

 

[infrasilver]

It is part of the insert on the hub and isn't a separate part. If you can get it off the arm, it will go back in to the hub. Lots of heat may be the answer, that ball joint is toast anyway.

 

[esendia]

Cheers, managed to get it off with heat like you suggested and got it back on the car. I was a little worried there I’d done some damage.

 

[Mordibe]

That is as said .. part of the hub and what the ball joint locates on , the hub being ally needs a far stronger insert basically , and this is it .

General rule of thumb .. if it comes out with a ball joint removal then a new hub is required .. if it spins when bolted back together it will quickly eat away the alley its mounted in resulting in a huge amount of play or a breakage ...

You would need to bond it back in place ( i'm guessing a glue of some type but i've never done this before ) ... the damage looks to me like it will spin .. you would then need to keep a very close eye on it to make sure it doesn't rotate to be safe going forward .

 

[gizlaroc]

JB Weld is your friend here.

 

[Mac996t]

Lad at work bought a cheap 987 boxter, he took me out in it and wasn't hanging around, there was a slight clunk knock from the front which we kind of expected given the price paid.

A couple of days later he called me and said something had happened to the front wheel while he was turning on full lock on his drive. I went and had a look and couldn't believe it. The hub was not connected to the coffin arm any more. Basically the insert was missing and the nylok nut had pulled through the aluminium. The nut was also right at the bottom of the thread against the taper.

It also turned out that the track rod had play. This did have the insert but it had worn away the alloy around it and the thread of the track rod had worn the hole in the hub oval.

Don't know who had been working on the car but it's scary to think there are cars like this out there and we were lucky it didn't fail while we were on it!

I don't think there will be a problem if the insert is a tight fit when it goes back in and it sounds like yours was, but it would be a good idea to keep an eye on it for a while just to be sure!

Mac

 

[esendia]

Wow, that's pretty scary. Thankfully mine went back in very tight. I had to tap it just to get it started then used a nut and bolt with an impact gun in order to be able to essentially press it back in and on top of that I coated the entire mating surface with permanent loctite and let it sit 24 hours. I'll keep an eye on it but I'd be very surprised if it were to come loose now.

 

[IanG1]

I had the same issue and the only may I could get it back in was to pop the insert in the freezer overnight to shrink it then gently tap it in.