Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Reinstalling knuckle after FW bearing replacement

Am finishing up FW bearing replacement and do not have enough clearance (with spring hanging w/no load) to slide knuckle onto the ball joint stud on the lower control arm. I believe that if springs are compressed on the vehicle, I will have the necessary clearance.

Has anyone done this (compressed springs on the vehicle) and would you have any advice on how to best do this?

MKoine

I've done that procedure many times. You'll gain a couple of inches of extra space if you loosen the two subframe bolts (21mm) on that side.

There really isn't much space to effectively compress the strut spring when it's installed. To compress the spring a little bit (to aid in getting the knuckle installed/removed), I have sometimes placed a small 'bottle' jack on the knuckle to push/compress the strut assembly.

Using both the subframe and bottle jack method will give you plenty of room to work with!

Or you can just use a large pry-bar, slide it through the LCA and have a fat friend step on the pry bar.

Yes. Right hand pushes down large pry bar throught the LCA. Get the BJ to point at a 45 towards the knuckle. Lay on your back and put your feet on the rotor. Give her eh and she'll start to wiggle in. Takes a little finesse. Install pinch bolt and good to go.

I had the same problem when I was installing my new springs and struts last Monday. What worked for me (to compress the spring) was a porta-power. That is if you have one or have access to one.