toyota2bmw

Well fellas,
I decided to tackle what was told to be a daunting task by an indy shop (3.5 hour labor) myself with help from a good buddy of mine John (PJINCA) this afternoon. Using the brand new aftermarket parts ordered from FCPGroton, we embarked on the journey. The driver-side front control arm bushing was shot upon inspection of the suspension components not too long ago. I explored all avenues of repairing the failing part. Do I spend the time and $$$ on replacing just the bushing or replacing the whole control arm? I am glad I went with the latter. I will explain it in a short second. Anyways, an indy shop quoted me a pretty significant $$$ for replacing the bushing but I found a great alternative online to source the front arms for a fraction of the cost to just replacing the bushings.

Between the two of us and numerous beer breaks in between, we finished the whole thing in about 90 minutes. There is really not too much to this thing.

Tools needed.

• Philips screw driver
• 8mm socket/hex driver
• 18mm open/close ratcheting wrench (2)
• 21mm socket wrench (1)
• WD-40 to grease the nut
• Brute strength or air/electric gun with lots of torque
  

Steps

1. Remove the undercarriage protection plate (6 screws in total) - philips screw driver
2. Remove the screws in the wheels well lining around the bottom and around the brake air duct (6 in total using the 8mm socket wrench)
3. locate the bolt for the control arm and loosen by using both 18mm wrenches one on each side. (remember brute strength? you will need it here. I put my entire upper body weight on it. USE 6-point close-wrench to avoid stripping)
4. locate the nut on the hub for the control and loosen with 21mm socket. (brute strength here as well. highly recommend 6-point sockets rather than 12 to avoid stripping the nut since you WILL have to put a lot of force on it.)
   
   Do everything is reverse to put the new ones in.

It wasn't even worth taking pictures of the process cuz aside from needing the strength to undo the nuts and bolts, it was a breeze. Oh, I have to tell you why replacing the whole arm was a better choice than just doing the bushing. The reason is the ball joints at the end that attaches to the hub. The old one with 69k miles was so loose and wobbly vs. the new one.

Now the test drive. It definitely feels tighter and less "noisy" during turns. I give it for anyone who is looking to do some preventive maintenance. I am really glad I did it. Keep in mind even if you have CPO warranty, they will NOT cover this repair since bushing are wear and tear item.

Props go out to John on this one again for helping out. If you need anyone to turn a nut with about 200 lbs of pressure, he is your guy!!!

toyota2bmw

A quick update. I braved the rush hour traffic today to gauge the difference in ride with the new control arms. Wow what a difference. My car now feels much more compliant over even the really bad freeway dividers. The ride is even more confidence inspiring now. For those of you with more than 60k miles on the clock, I'd definitely look into getting this done!

Jonoballer

Bout to do mine!

pjinca

Thanks Jason, always happy to help - besides cold Coronas help too

toyota2bmw

Hahaha,
Anytime bro, just let me know you are gonna be swinging-by and I will restock the fridge.
How did the work on David's Mini go? Was it a PITA?

pjinca

LOL it was a lot of work, but not as bad as he made it out to be. We lowered the car on Hotchkis springs, installed a rear sway bar and lower control arms for the rear. Total? About 9 hrs of work, but he is loving the new stance of the car and the feel. Luckily the new springs are progressive rate so his wife won't feel the difference (it is HER car)

toyota2bmw

Nice and on the down low upgrade for David, I mean the wifey! he-hem!

balbs

What, you guys took a beer break after every 3 or 4 bolts you took off?? LOL! J/K GREAT JOB guys!

What symptoms were your car showing that prompted you to do this?

toyota2bmw

LOL,
Yeah... it was pretty relaxing actually. I had the front of the car lifted and all the under panels removed before John got to my place to be well prepared. We took a break after removing the driver-side first (took 15 minutes). Then we put the new one in. Wee took another break. We did the passenger side. This one was a bit tougher just because the ball joint nut was rather hard to get loose (took 30 minutes). Took another break. John's buddy came over this time so the break was about 30 minutes with 2 beers each. Then we put the new one in. Took another break. NO joke. By this time we both had 4 Coronas! After we put all the panels back on and the tires, we took another beer for good measure.

Anyways,
About the symptoms leading to the event. I had a rather loud "knock" coming from the front suspension a while back but it was come-n-go type of noise so I didn't mind it much. I figured I'd get to it when I had some time to inspect the entire front sub frame. Some 3 weeks ago, I had the time to do just that. In the process, I found that the noise case from the strut bar atop the suspension. 2 of the 4 screws were a bit loose so I tightened them and NO MORE NOISE! I then proceeded to inspect all the bushings around the suspension components and found that the driver side one had a good size crack it in. Not worn enough to cause shuddering or vibration while driving but was failing nevertheless.

toyota2bmw

Word of caution doing yours. If you still have the stock struts, you will have to allow a bit more time for this DIY. The reason being because the stock struts are much longer through the collar on the hub, you will NOT have sufficient room to pull out the arm after you get the nut loose. You will need to undo the big 18mm nut/bolt combination behind the collar to drop the hub before the arm can be taken out. I know, it's a bitch but it is what it is.