Questions about lower control arms

[ciaka]

When taking lower control arms out:

 

Lower control arm questions

1.  any things that need marking for when reinstall takes place, to ensure decent alignment?

2.  What are the torx screws under the ball joint screws?  Seem to be inside the nuts that I would want to remove to separate joints.

     Do not want to touch unless I know what these are for and if I need to mark anything.

 

Upper control arms quesitons:

3.  How easy/hard is it to remove the upper control arms (wish bones next to shocks).  Any special tools?  Only see ball joint + 2 bolts (although one bolt seems to be right next to engine wall without enough clearance to remove out once nut is taken off.

 

Stabilizer bar questions

4.  I assume front has to be off ground to remove the bushings?

5.  Is it all under pressure that I will have to watch out for when loosening the bushing mounts?

 

 

Trying get general idea of removal (looked at manual but does not seem to have mention of these things).

If anyone an run through process for me, I will give you a million bucks - well, not really, but will greatly appreciate it.

Thanks.

Edited May 22, 2015 by ciaka

[RLHornbeck]

1. Yes mark the alignment bolts (2) that hold the arm to the frame.

2. You will use these to hold the ball joint from turning while you tighten the joint.

3. Not easy but doable, you must remove the entire shock Assembly to get the bolts off

4. No, you can do the entire job on the ground.

5. There is not tension if the wheels are both the same level.

[a17322a]

The rear bolt of lower control arm may be rusted on really badly and fused itself to the metal sleeve of the control arm bushing. I had to sawzall my bolt off to get the LCA off.

[jagman1]

When loosening the lower control arm bolts, turn only the nut, and hold the bolt.  The bolt is eccentric and rotating it risks damaging the index tabs; these tabs are critical for alignment.  Mark the bolt side between the bolt/washer and the subframe.  This will maintain the alignment fairly close. 

[ciaka]

Thanks for input.  Done that.

Replaced the control arms.  Hoping to add a DIY for this soon.

Once I saw the bolt/nut/washer combo, I knew.  

Agree, if you turn the bolt head instead of turning the nut, you will damage the bolt and pop the indexed washer off onto the bolt threads.

IMO, the design could be much better for a Porsche hardware.  Existing seems too cheaply made to be reliable.

Guessing that sellilng 2 dollars worth of metal for 15 bucks, makes sense for Porsche.

[2002sheds]

Hi,

Sorry to double post, but I am hoping to get this car back on the road today, and I am stuck...

I recently purchased a 2008 base V6 with 97k (but a replacement transmission as of 30k miles ago).

I have read everything I can on this site and from other sources, and cannot quite figure out how I am making this so difficult. I started with the passenger side, in order to learn the best way to do this, and I am stopped in my tracks as I try to put the new arm in. The old one came out easily.

The situation is:

Vehicle raised on that side and on stands

Eccentric bolts positions were marked before removal

Old control arm out

New control arm ball joint will not go into its "socket"...

I have tried to get the ball joint into its rightful resting place, but I cannot get it seated enough to hand-tighten the nut onto the stud. The new ball joint is quite stiff, and I cannot move it by hand, so when I attempt to get the arm in position in order to seat the ball joint, the stud sticks into the hole at an angle and goes no further, no matter how many different things I have tried. A partial list includes

Tapping the stud into different angles in order to be better positioned to slide into the hole when the arm is raised.

Raising the arm at various point to better position same as above

Raising the hub/disc in order to create more space to swing the arm into position

And many other fruitless efforts...

Is there a trick to getting the arm into the correct position? I have even started to take the tie rod end off in an attempt to gain more "wiggle room". Is this a good idea/recommended? I am concerned that the tie rod removal tool will shred the rubber boot...

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

David