Upper Control Arms Installed Backwards... path forward?

[abbey castro]

IMO The types of questions asked are not indicative of a basic knowledge of front coil suspensions that GM has used for years. Somethings are down right dangerous and playing around with coil springs is probably the most dangerous anyone would tell some one to learn with. Its one of those get someone that has done it before and you be the assistant. Its like inflating a truck tire with a split ring outside of a tire cage. I've done front springs a bunch of times both for upper and lower arms. Always gets my nerves on edge until the spring is out or the ball joints are securely bolted in.

 

[69hurstolds]

Might be true, but when you see a knowledge deficit, it's always good to try and educate where you see the deficiency and you have information that could be helpful.

It's not like the upper A-arms magically just put themselves on. And yes, they CAN be swapped. But I don't play 20 questions anymore to determine where things went off the rails. I'm getting too old for this sh*t.

All that needs doing is to UNDO how they got there in the first place by working backwards to the point the upper A-arm cross-shafts got slid onto the studs.

 

[69hurstolds]

IMO The types of questions asked are not indicative of a basic knowledge of front coil suspensions that GM has used for years. Somethings are down right dangerous and playing around with coil springs is probably the most dangerous anyone would tell some one to learn with. Its one of those get someone that has done it before and you be the assistant. Its like inflating a truck tire with a split ring outside of a tire cage. I've done front springs a bunch of times both for upper and lower arms. Always gets my nerves on edge until the spring is out or the ball joints are securely bolted in.

Don't take me wrong, I understand your concerns around the safety aspects of working on any car and agree 100% with that aspect. A split second can mean life or death working on any car. Even a simple oil change in the driveway. And as you have a lot of experience doing suspension work, I would urge you to offer the OP tips and procedures to help tackle the job safely himself. Even if he doesn't actually do the work, he can maybe learn enough to spot things like the upper A-arms from being swapped to the wrong spot. The OP isn't the only person (hopefully) that learns a thing or three by reading these posts. Especially from people like yourself that's done that and got the T-shirt.

Typical G-body owners usually don't have bottomless wallets that can simply call the flatbed and have their car worked on by the hometown mechanic whenever stuff needs done. If you can afford to, then have at it. But there's so much skillset gathered here in one place I feel confident that even a noob can successfully do this job and save $$, if they pay attention to the people that's done it. But you have to understand what's being posted, too. Available information isn't always right --- Right information isn't always available.