Hello fellow members,

I've ordered a set of new front lower lateral control arms, but in the meantime, I'm doing some research as to what all will be required to remove when replacing.

I had difficulties using the jtis service manual on my phone while trying to locate the install steps.

If anyone has this info, I'd be more than thrilled, if not, I figure I'll just get under there and start removing things until I get the old ones out, and go in reverse order with the new. Although that will work, I'd prefer to go step by step in the order I'm supposed to.

Looked at alot of the past repsonses regarding control arm swaps, which helped in my other installs however this one seems to be missing from the rest.

Ideas?

 

Curved front arm or the rear straight arm that holds the shock?

 

The rear straight arms are the one's im referencing, believe one of the part numbers is : C2P19955

 

The rear arms are the more difficult of the lower front suspension parts to replace. I can't speak from experience as I have not attempted to replace mine but I can give you a heads up that your air shock bolt may be extremely hard to remove. Other than that, it requires removal of the front curved arms, sway bar link, disconnecting from the lower ball joint and then finally the subframe mount bolt for the rear arm.
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Others will have more insight for you but I figured I can at least chip in a bit. Another piece of advice would be to thoroughly inspect the small bushings in the curved arms, they aren't the strongest things in the world. Even take and poke a mirror around them to see what kind of condition they're in before you get to work. Would hate to hear that you replaced the rear arms only to have the bushings fail because of the forward arm being worn out!

Best of luck!

 

That's good info, thank ya much! I've replaced the curved arm bushing (wishbone?), but saw that the small hole is not replaceable somewhere on this forum in the past. Guess I should check that.

 

I've replaced the curved (wishbone?) Arms recently although I do have a question regarding the air shock bolt you referenced. I recently updated the springs to coilovers.

I assume it should be easier to get off since i recently had it removed.

 

In that case you probably won't run into any problems. I just know mine didn't come out in one piece and as a result had to be replaced. Overall I don't see it being terribly difficult, but you will definitely need to do an alignment after you're done

 

You can see the ball joint splitter here
"Other than that, it requires removal of the front curved arms, sway bar link, disconnecting from the lower ball joint and then finally the subframe mount bolt for the rear arm.

Best of luck![/QUOTE]"

Hey Nighthawk,

Any chance you might able to verify whether I will need the ball joint splitter referenced in the jtis?

Some things have delayed me and I have not been able to tackle this yet, I'm thinking maybe tomorrow, however I saw that note in the manual and just checking in to see if you know if that's actually required for the job, seeing as I don't have one in my small arsenal of tools.

 

You may be able to rent one from a local parts store, I do believe it is necessary for splitting the knuckle and the rear arm apart without damaging (or having less of a chance to) your ball joint boot. I'm sure you can do it with a crowbar or something but I wouldn't suggest it.
Again I'm not super knowledgeable on repairing cars so hopefully someone can add a bit more solid knowledge on the matter.

 

If you're replacing the straight arm, (not the banana arm), you need a ball-joint splitter tool. Using anything else can cause damage, and as all the parts are aluminium, it's a hostage to fortune. Ball joint splitters are not usually expensive; I used to have one, but gave it away as I got older and paid someone else to work on my cars. The trick with these splitters is to tighten them up onto the ball-joint then tap with a hammer and the joint normally then comes loose easily. Always replace the nyloc nut on the ball joint.

This is the type of tool I had: -

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/cht2...EaAveUEALw_wcB