Hello sho experts! I am in the middle of changing my 93 spindles to 94/95 spindles for the 96 brake upgrade. I am however having trouble getting the spindle off though, I can't figure out how to get that lower control arm off. I have removed the top (strut pinch bolt) and the bottom (ball joint pinch bolt) bolts. Any suggestions? Any help is greatly appreciated as I'm trying to get this done before next Wednesdays track day!
Lower control arm
- Thread starter waffles
- Start date
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Bob Gervais
Wut?
You'll also need to remove the tie rod end (assuming you've seen that already).
Here's how I do it, others may do it differently, end result should be the same.
-Leave the strut pinch bolt in (since you already have yours out, you can just slide it back in, no need to torque it)
-With the LCA pinch bolt removed, you should be able to pry down on the strut rod/LCA to get the ball joint removed from the spindle. You may need to use a small chisel to open up the slot in the spindle where the ball joint hole is, especially if the top of the ball joint stud is crusty. DO NOT use a pickle fork, or pry excessively on the LCA to release the ball joint stud from the spindle. Doing these things will risk ruining your ball joint.
-Once the ball joint is free of the spindle, remove the strut pinch bolt. You may have to use a mallet or hammer to free the spindle from the strut body, or you can use a chisel again to separate the slot and loosen the fit from the spindle to the strut.
-In extreme cases, you won't be able to pry the LCA out of the spindle. In this case, you can lower the subframe slightly to give you some added clearance.
Here's how I do it, others may do it differently, end result should be the same.
-Leave the strut pinch bolt in (since you already have yours out, you can just slide it back in, no need to torque it)
-With the LCA pinch bolt removed, you should be able to pry down on the strut rod/LCA to get the ball joint removed from the spindle. You may need to use a small chisel to open up the slot in the spindle where the ball joint hole is, especially if the top of the ball joint stud is crusty. DO NOT use a pickle fork, or pry excessively on the LCA to release the ball joint stud from the spindle. Doing these things will risk ruining your ball joint.
-Once the ball joint is free of the spindle, remove the strut pinch bolt. You may have to use a mallet or hammer to free the spindle from the strut body, or you can use a chisel again to separate the slot and loosen the fit from the spindle to the strut.
-In extreme cases, you won't be able to pry the LCA out of the spindle. In this case, you can lower the subframe slightly to give you some added clearance.
Thank for the help, I solved it by using the chisel to open up the pinch point (as stated) then using a long, 4 foot steel rod to pry between the lca and the subframe. The kit is on and looking slick, just need to pressure bleed tomorrow and hope I stop when I press the brake...
intimdatr
Got Cams?
I have a 5ish foot long crow bar that i sit on and line every thing up, it makes SOOO much easier. I did a Strut mount swap in about 1 hour today, i was pretty happy.
jbserra
SHO Member
+1 for lowering the subframe. I never knew getting the LCA out could be so easy!
...that is, until you find out that the bolt has fused to the bushing at the subframe and no amount of hammering will get the stupid thing out.
...that is, until you find out that the bolt has fused to the bushing at the subframe and no amount of hammering will get the stupid thing out.
Slo-Sho
It wasn't me!
I absolutely hate when the bolt rusts to the metal collar inside the bushing... It happened to me on my rear control arms, had to ruin a flat head screw driver to open up the split on the collar. I made some muscles that day.
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