Control arm??

[hunter]

Alright, how do you replace the uper control arm and ball joint??
Do you have to jack up the suspension or do you let it hang after you get the tire off??? Sorry never done one before

[Jason Parham]

Best I can remember you cant replace the upper ball joint seperately. The only way to do that is to replace the entire upper A-arm. The lower ball joint, on the other hand, is removable from the lower A-arm.
Hope that helps ya,

[Mike Puckett]

That's right. The upper control arm is held up by a bolt thru each side. The nut on the other side has to loosened and they are a real pain to get to. The A/C accumulator is in the way on the right and the ABS unit is in the way on the left. The bolt needs to unscrew into the wheelwell while the nut stays up next to the shock tower in order to clear. There are removable metal tabs on the bolt heads to keep them from rotating while tightening the nut. The joint separates from the spindle with a forked wedge tool or beat the hell out of it with a hammer which you'll probably feel like doing by this time anyway. It'll take a couple of hours on each side. I bought my control arms from PEP Boys, they were the cheapest and they are all made by TRW at the same factory regardless of where you buy them or how much you pay.

[hunter]

Well I cant seem to get the one next to the A/C , tried to get under the car and the Cat is in the way, then I tried from the top, and the wiring harness and throttle linkage is in the way....:mad:

[Mike Puckett]

I watched Rick do mine. He loosened the accumulator bracket and moved the accumulator out of the way as much as possible. Use an open end wrench on the nut and you can slowly undo it. You can only move the wrench a little bit so it takes awhile. It's aggravating but possible. If you knock the tab off of the bolt head you can use a socket on it and hold the nut in place with the open end wrench. Undo the bolt from inside the wheelwell. Did that make sense?

[MickeyD LX50]

Originally posted by Mike Puckett
The joint separates from the spindle with a forked wedge tool or beat the hell out of it with a hammer which you'll probably feel like doing by this time anyway.

Mike, I believe you are wrong about the upper ball joint. The uppers have a straight shaft which is inserted into a clamp on the spindle. You just remove the clamp bolt and the spindle will come loose. The lower ball joints must be beat on or use a pickle fork tool. :D

Mike Donley
SCCOSE member

[Mike Puckett]

Yes Mike you're right, I remember now because there is a new bolt for that in with the control arm. It holds that clamp together. Mine was rusted and we had to beat it a hammer to pop it out.