Hello all,

just replaced a broken spring on the front passenger side of my mk3 focus. Trouble is I can’t get the hub and strut to line up enough to reconnect. The hub angles out but the strut angles in!!

It’s the driveshaft that’s limiting the hubs movement but wanted to know if anyone has any tips on strut refit before I jump down the whole driveshaft rabbit hole. 

Thanks in advance

 

Has the CV joint come apart?  Try rotating it and sliding the joint back together if so.

You can also place a trolley jack under the wishbone ball joint to force that upwards while you pull the strut outwards to line them up.

Edit - Also just thought, did you line top mount up correctly?  They have an arrow on them as they're slightly angled.

The cv joint is ok, I’ve tried using the jack under the lower control arm but because the strut and hub are at opposing angles it just locks at the top of the hub. I’ve tried jumping on the hub a few times to get it to seat but no joy. 

I lined up the end of the coil with thickest part of the top mount which had this plastic piece sticking out. That is roughly where the old spring was too. I’ll take it off the car tomorrow and double check though!
 

Push it horizontally in towards the car ie direction of the drive shaft.

Treat it like a hinge, and by pushing the "knee" it will staighten up, and then with any luck the strut will drop into the hub carrier.

Managed to get the job done!

The driveshaft going into the gearbox had partially jarred which was preventing a full rotation of the wheel bearing. Finally got the wheel bearing fully rotating with a bit of a wiggle which jolted the driveshaft back into position which in turn freed up the hub carrier! The strut slipped right in with no bother. 

Thought I’d share in case anyone else experiences the same issue. 

Thanks for all the advise