Rear lower control arm replacement DIY?

[bcleaver]

Anyone replaced their rear control arm? I noticed mine was bent to the point of hitting the swaybar so purchased an OEM one to replace but am having a hard time finding a good DIY. Everything I've found so far is a mix of people bending bolts to take things out to lowering the whole subframe. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Part 7
http://www.penskeparts.com/DiagramsMid/B0033147.png?v=06222010

[jvr826]

I don't know, but I can tell you the RTAB limiters I put in kicked my a$$! If you have to deal with those... indy shop!

I had less hassle installing my whole coilover system in comparison. The RTABs sucked!

[bcleaver]

I don't know, but I can tell you the RTAB limiters I put in kicked my a$$! If you have to deal with those... indy shop!

I had less hassle installing my whole coilover system in comparison. The RTABs sucked!

My RTAB's weren't too bad. It took about 30 min to get one out with a 3 gear puller and about 10 min on the other side using the same puller. Got it about 90% out and then punched the rest out with an air hammer. The two piece powerflex bushings were a snap to put back in by hand.

As far as my rear lower control arm DIY it ended up not being too bad. For anyone planning on doing it I would prescribe the following:

Disconnect the control arm from the wheel hub. Remove rear diff bolt. Loosen, almost to the point of removal, the front diff bolts. This should give you enough wiggle room on the diff to get the control arm bolt out far enough to remove the arm. If you still have trouble getting the bolt all the way out you may need to drop the whole diff, but you shouldn't need to. Good luck.

[Whitexi]

Yea I was gonna say I changed my passenger side one and it was not fun. My eccentric bolt snapped of and it took forever to get out of the bushing. Reguardless you got it fixed.

On for how it got bent, im gonna guess from a tow truck........ask me how I know.

[BaliDawg]

I would prescribe the following:
- Disconnect the control arm from the wheel hub.
- Remove the rear diff bolt.
- Loosen, almost to the point of removal, both front diff bolts.
This should give you enough wiggle room on the diff to get the control arm bolt out far enough to remove the arm. If you still have trouble getting the bolt all the way out you may need to drop the whole diff, but you shouldn't need to.

I just replaced both my original rear lower control arms with adjustable ones and the above steps were helpful. Just to reiterate and clarify, here's what I did:
- Jack up rear using diff support crossmember. Get it as high as possible to allow clearance for a breaker bar later.
- Put jackstands under both rear jack points.
- Remove both rear wheels.
- Remove outer bolts and nuts on both lower control arms. Take care as the eccentric washers may hang up.
- Support the diff with a jack and jack it up a little, like 1/4".
- Completely remove the rear diff mounting bolt and nut. Both are 21mm and they are TIGHT. I used a 21mm closed end wrench on the nut (left side) and a 21mm deep impact socket with a breaker bar on the bolt (right side).
- Back out both front diff mounting bolts using an 18mm open end wrench until they touch the support piece.
- Remove the right side inner control arm bolt using a 3/8” drive ratchet and 18mm short socket.
- Jack up the diff to the top, push the diff back and to the right side using a pry bar, remove the left side inner bolt.
- Installation is the reverse of the above steps, but keep all four control arm bolts snug and not tight.
- Once everything is fully reassmbled and the wheels are on and the car is back on the ground, put the rear end up on ramps.
- Torque the four control arm bolts at normal ride suspension position. If you tighten them while the suspension is hanging, the bushings will be twisted and under high tension after the car is back on thr ground.