So the drivers side lower control arm on my Regal is rotten to the point that the shock is sticking right through it! I've never changed a lower control arm on a car before, could someone be kind enough to walk me through the steps in changing it?
Lower Control Arms
- Thread starter winslow33
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You will need a good jack, a pry bar, some chain with a lock link, a ball joint fork and various sockets, etc.
jack up the car and put a jack stand under the car on the frame near the wheel that you are working on. Lower the car onto the jack stand. Take off/disconnect the tire, the caliper, tie rod end, sway bar link, shock, hub and rotor. You dont have to remove the rotor/hub or the brake caliper, but its a lot easier to deal with if you do. Using the jack, raise the lower control arm just enough to put some weight on the jack, but not enough to raise the car off the stand. Loosen the lower ball joint nut almost all the way, but leave it on at least 4-5 threads. Wrap the chain thru the spring and connect it so it will hold the spring when it pops loose. DONT SKIP THIS STEP! Springs can be dangerous! Using the fork, separate the lower ball joint from the spindle. It will pop loud because of the spring, just warning ya....then, using a crowbar, pry the spring out of its lower seat and it will pop as well. remove both lower control arm bolts and then you can take off the arm.
jack up the car and put a jack stand under the car on the frame near the wheel that you are working on. Lower the car onto the jack stand. Take off/disconnect the tire, the caliper, tie rod end, sway bar link, shock, hub and rotor. You dont have to remove the rotor/hub or the brake caliper, but its a lot easier to deal with if you do. Using the jack, raise the lower control arm just enough to put some weight on the jack, but not enough to raise the car off the stand. Loosen the lower ball joint nut almost all the way, but leave it on at least 4-5 threads. Wrap the chain thru the spring and connect it so it will hold the spring when it pops loose. DONT SKIP THIS STEP! Springs can be dangerous! Using the fork, separate the lower ball joint from the spindle. It will pop loud because of the spring, just warning ya....then, using a crowbar, pry the spring out of its lower seat and it will pop as well. remove both lower control arm bolts and then you can take off the arm.
I've done it Bill's way, and it works well enough. But if I was just changing out the lower CA I would do it this way- Jack up the car as Bill said. Chain the spring. Then I take a spring compressor tool and I use only the threaded set of fingers. I drill out the upper shock hole to the size of the spring tool shaft and drop the shaft down through leaving the pinned nut up top with several well greased big washers. I thread the shaft into the threaded fingers, get them engaged to the spring coil nearest the bottom as I can, and use a 1/2" ratchet to turn the 3/4" (?) nut from up top thus raising the spring safely up away from the LCA. Once the spring is away, just separate the ball joint, drop and replace the LCA. Don't worry about the larger hole up top, as rubber shock bushings have two sizes on them, big and small. You MUST still chain the spring, and be super careful.
Interesting Bonne....never thought about doing it that way, but I see the advantages for sure....
Mark, I cut the spring compressor shaft so it has room to compress. I bought the spring compressor so it'll only be used on my car...
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