I went to go get my car aligned today and the people told me that i need a new front left 'lower arm'. They said they would prefer to change both the left and right lower arm and align the car for $562.22 I am short on cash so if i were buy the lower arm, would it be difficult to change it out?

For the time being i will only change the left "lower arm" then align the car. I tried to look for the part on autozone.com but was unable to find it. Could someone give me the part number.

 

i don't know the part #, but i believe it's called control arm. try searching for that.

 

Lower control arm from Pinnacle Nissan is $141.xx.

I haven't tackled mine yt, but should take maybe an hour or 2 at home, or about 150 for labor at most shops, so for both arms, and labor that seems like an average quote.

 

I just did it this weekend. The biggest ***** was getting all the bolts loose. The axle nut was the worst.

If you dont have air tools give it a shot with a breaker bar. If the things dont come off just give up.

 

Ask them why they need to change the lower control arm. Make sure you ask them first before you give them these examples...it could save you money.

Unfortunately, nissan makes their control arms basically one piece along with the ball joint. There is no nissan part number for the ball joint and if they want to just replace the ball joint, you have to do the whole arm. MOOG does make a nissan ball joint and you should be able to find the part number by searching for it. If its just the ball joint, you can buy that and have their shop or another shop press it out and put the other in. I've heard that some people have good experiences with this, some havent.

Now if your lower control arm is bent...then you gotta go for the whole deal.

 

I have a ball joint if you want PM me, I got it from CarQuest.

 

EDIT: Ill try to get some pictures later on today or tomorrow.




I remember taking off the axle nut for a reason i cant remember right now. I got a long long long (around 7ft. long) pole and attached it to my rachet and it was a walk in the park.

Any ways if memory services me right i think the alignment place said i need just the bushing or what not. I havnt taken a look under my car yet since it's raining cats and dogs here but can the bushings cause the car get out of alignment or will i need the entire "control arm". I say this because im a poor student and i really need my car and i really need my extra cash for next semisters books.

PS: The front left outside part of my tire is really worn out if that helps anyone diagnostic my problem. Thanks for everyones input too.

 

Nissan will not sell juat the bushing either, it's all a part of the control arm assembly (bushings/balljoint/control arm). You can get these from energy suspension (ES) What size is the axle nut?

 

EDIT: nevermind

 

Just to clarify, ALL 95-99 maximas have replaceable ball joints, it's just that Nissan dealers like to replace control arms instead of having their techs push bushings in and out .
Go to suspension.com and you can get new ball joints and bushings for around $80. It's a matter of burning out the old rubber ones and pressing in the new ones. Do NOT press out the old ones - it will damage the arm.

Dave

 

to get this straight before i lose many lost hours, when the alighment place told me "left lower arm" its on the left hand side as if i was in the driver seat, correct? I've checked both lower arms (control arm) and nothing seems to be wrong. Is there anything in specific i should be looking for? Ill try and get some photos so maybe someone can help me out.

 

perhaps you have a leaking steering rack like me and the oil i destroying your control arm bushing. i'm buying some ES ones.

what did you use to 'burn' out the old bushing?
how hard are ES bushing to get in?

 

I've read varying things here on how hard they are to install. They should be fairly snug - you've got the weight of the car on them. The 'burn' process is on the suspension.com site FAQ, I haven't attempted it yet. I for one plan to do this job soon, and will do a photo writeup, but I can't be sure when.

Dave

 

I replaced mine it wasn't that big a deal. It's easier if you take the arm off so you can work in a vice. My bushings where so wasted that the rubber fell apart (oil leak made the rubber really soft). I used a sawzall to cut the sleeves thin and then a hammer and chisel. They poped right out. The new ones are really easy to put in. They just press in with your fingers. Don't forget to use the grease supplied them.

 

some on ebay for about 65 dollar