Rubber Ball

[Grumps]

Alright I need to replace the rubber ball on the front radius arm and need some help. My A already had this set-up when I bought it but the old ball is worn out, so I ordered a new replacement for it. I know that a lot of you guys will tell me that I should have bought a new original kit and installed it but the metal ball on the radius arm would have needed to be replaced and I didn't want to remove it at this time to replace the ball, so I took the easy way out and just ordered a new rubber ball. Now here is my problem. How do you get that new ball on? I tried for about an hour yesterday and finally gave up. There has to be an easy way to do it just can't figure it out. Please help,

[burner31]

Use two spoons

[Big hammer]

Dad put a hard rubber tire on a tricycle wheel by putting the tire in boiling hot water

[Keith True]

Two spoons and sil-glyde.Use it on both the inside and outside.With that lube on it the ball won't get pinched.Good for the rubber too.

[KevinH944]

Turn the rubber ball inside-out first, then "unwrap" it around the ball.

[Grumps]

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I called an 87-year-old young man that has been working on Model A's for close to 60 years and he told me to put a little bit of Vaseline on the metal ball and to put a small hole in the back of the ball and it would slide on. I thought that he might of been messing with me but I thought what the heck and did as he said. It slid right on. Makes you wonder what we are going to do when all the old guys are gone.

[Rusty30roadster]

Originally Posted by Grumps

I called an 87-year-old young man that has been working on Model A's for close to 60 years and he told me to put a little bit of Vaseline on the metal ball and to put a small hole in the back of the ball and it would slide on. I thought that he might of been messing with me but I thought what the heck and did as he said. It slid right on. Makes you wonder what we are going to do when all the old guys are gone.

I agree, it’s the air trapped inside that fights you. I just dealt with replacing mine and thankfully I bought two pieces of rubber. First attempt ended with a ripped piece. Second was successful with a little heat, some lube, squeezing the air out, and Pushing on.

[J Franklin]

Originally Posted by Grumps

I called an 87-year-old young man that has been working on Model A's for close to 60 years and he told me to put a little bit of Vaseline on the metal ball and to put a small hole in the back of the ball and it would slide on. I thought that he might of been messing with me but I thought what the heck and did as he said. It slid right on. Makes you wonder what we are going to do when all the old guys are gone.

Live carefully and you'll be the "old guy"

[Robert/Texas]

Silicone spray lube is what I use.

[rotorwrench]

The old guy I worked for when I was a kid would use air to install the ball. He'd hold the larger hole against the radius ball and apply air pressure to the little hole on the opposite side of the rubber ball. The air opens the ball right up and it pops right on just like magic.

[History]

I just did mine, I welded the ball to get it to original size and filed it back to a nice ball. I put plumbers grease inside the ball and used the advice of this forum in another thread. I cut a plastic bottle into the shape of a funnel and it popped right on and the inside is lubricated so it doesn’t eat the ball up so fast.

[daveymc29]

Spay some WD40 inside and push it on, was a piece of cake for me. Been there for several years now and no problems yet. It took longer to find my can of WD 40 than the rest of the job.

[MickyD]

I just did my 31 Tudor a week or so a go. I put some mystery oil inside and out side, and mine slipped right on. I had also fought mine for a few minutes, until I oiled her up and no problem.

[JayJay]

My lube of choice for rubber (same issue on the shock balls if you use dogbone links) is Armor-All, a silicone based preservative. Been around for bazillions of years. I figure it's less likely to degrade the rubber than a petroleum-based product. Also useful for sliding the distributor wire into that big rubber grommet that goes in the firewall box, sliding on radiator hoses (just spread a bit on the inside and they'll slide right on), sliding the wire conduits into the radiator shell, speedo cable through its firewall grommet, you get the idea.

JayJay