Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Suspension I need a band aid and a cold one...

For the love of Jesus how in the hell do you get the lower control arms off!

I'm up to about 3 cuts and alot of smashed hands. I tried doing just about every trick I could think of to get the damn ball joint bolt out of the knuckle. This includes screw drivers, bigger screw drivers, hammer, bigger hammer, hammers, a half a can of wd40, wrenches, hammers again. The lug nut bar from the trunk, screw drivers and the lug nut bar from the trunk, standing on screw drivers, standing on the lug nut bar, smashing things that aren't the lower control arm with hammers, removing the splash shield to hit it with more hammers, standing on just the lower control arm, and of course yelling at it, threating the life of the control arm, trying to scare it out with my dremel, then with the angle grinding, yelling again, cursing, telling the car i'm going to drive it off a cliff, smashing my hand on it, I jacked up the strut by the rotor, and just about every damn other thing you could think of except using fire and electrical torture.



:end rant:

really? mine were obnoxiously easy.

what he said...The bolt should come out with a few whacks...use a big hammer. It should come out. Then you just have the 2 upper bolts to remove and your golden.

10 lbs rubber mallet not enough?

Seriously. That [censored] thing will not come off. I could started moving the floors jacks and car I was hitting that thing so hard. I mean I was hitting it so hard I could have snapped a fat chick in half.


I'm thinking about just taking it too a garage or lighting the car on fire. I'm still really pissed.

Thats one of your problems...ditch the rubber mallet. Use a real friggin hammer. If that doesnt work use a small handled sledge. Just make sure your hitting the bolt. Don't be afraid of the ball joint suffering damage, new ones are $20.

and haha, I just re-read your post, and it sounds like you have as much patience as me.


And you could also try actually hitting the ball joint from below and above. That bolt your trying to get out sits in a groove on the ball joint. So it might be something worth trying.

Did you try to hammer a chisel or screwdriver into the pinch area to open up around the ball joint stud? That seems to help quite a bit too.

Then just use a long prybar from the bottom of the knuckle and pry against one of the ball joint rivets. Pops right out every time.

Mine was a pain, but not that bad. Got mine down a little bit, then had to put a prybar in place (carefully, so not to screw up the ball joint. I had to keep mine) between the a arm and the knuckle, and stood on it. After a bounce or three, it popped off.

You took the pinch/through bolt off, right?

yes I took the bolt out

and no patience ended at the 4 hour mark.

But with a set of sore arm, shoulders, and back, the damn thing fell out this morning. I did nothing different. First try.

And at the same time, I managed to do this:





The spring kicked so hard when the LCA came off that it kicked the jack out from the rotor and pull the shaft out of the joint. The boot did not rip thank god, but How to I get it back in? I've tried searchin but couldn't come up with anything.

I pity you.

I had no trouble separating the joint from the knuckle. I had all my frustration trying to get one of them back in. I did the same stuff--worked on it for hours until I was frustrated, angry, fed up, despondent, hopeless, etc.

Went back out in the morning, gave it "Oh, one more try, WTF." And it slipped right in. I swear the thing is alive.