Are these fit instructions on removing the lower control arm

·Break loose the axle lock nut and wheel nuts
· Raise the front end on jack stands
· Remove the wheel and axle lock nut
·Disconnect tie rod from the knuckle
·Remove the strut nuts and bolts from knuckle
· Separate drive shaft from knuckle by slightly tapping the drive shaft end
·Separate lower ball joint stud from knuckle with suitable tool (I’ll try a prybar).
· Remove the bolts attaching the link bushing pin to the chassis.
· if necessary remove the nut attaching the link to the LCA.
·Remove the compression rod bushing clamp then remove the LCA
· Install the parts in reversed order
·During installation final tightening must be carried out at curb weight with tires on the ground

I'll also be replacing the sway bar links and bushing along with the outer tie rod links.

 

dude, do me a favor and search before you post. there's gotta be like 11inty billiion threads discussing this subject allready. okthxb

 

No, those seem like instructions from 4 different removals or something. Go to an autoparts store and get a Haynes or Chilton Manual

EDIT: Actually, they do recommend you take out the axles. I didn't when I removed my.

 

Yes that's what I had to do, its a ***** just to let you know a head of time, your gonna be really sorry if you try it without an impact...

 

I spent several hours over the past week searching for instructions for safely remove the lower control arm. Many of threads discuss the LCA but nothing is written on how to replace it.

 

hate to say this, but you dont need to remove the axle to replace the lca. i watched my mechanic do it in a little over an hour so i think a basic tool guy could do it in maybe 2-2 and a half. just get a haynes manual and that should help clear up some confusion on the job. good luck

 

It states in the 10 year old Chiltons manual that you need to tap the drive shaft to spartae it from the steering knuckle. To save time I'll try skipping that step.
I have a 1" drive breaker bar that's 4' long. The only thing that's worries me is how badly rusted the LCAs are. I've been flooding them with PB blaster all week and will use a blow torch if necessary.

 

You have to take the axle out of the knuckle in order to remove the ball joint nut(see picture below). The axle is blocking the ball joint and the nut. Its not hard to get the axle out of the knuckle.

You don't have to disconnect the tie rod from the knuckle unless you want to.

Usually, a big hammer is the only tool needed to separate the ball joint from the knuckle.

 

^^Good to know!!!

 

Can I separate the drive shaft from the knuckle with the other end of the shaft left in the trans?
I'll be replacing the outer tie rods, sway bar bushings and links also. I'll have these parts delivered from rockauto and energysuspension by mid next week.
I installed new tokico blues with springs, mounts, and bearings last week but only I got slight improvement.

 

Yes, you can.

 

Finished replacing the LCAs, tie rod ends, and sway bar links & bushings. The hardest part was getting off the rusted cotter pins and castle nuts from the ball joint & tie rod ends . Getting the shaft out of the way was not easy. I hung it up on the spring with a bungee cord along with the caliper. To remove the link bushing pin from the rusted old LCA I had to get a 27mm socket at the HW store. The only thing I had to readjust was the right tie rod end. The right wheel was slightly facing out so I rotated the tie rod end 3 times back in.
During the 4 wheel alignment tomorrow I'll ask them to check the torque on the LCA 22mm bolts and the link bushing pin 27mm nut.

I found a thread describing how to replace the LCA bushings:

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...g-install.html

I PMed Kevlo911 suggesting it be added to the 4th generation How To thread.

 

Just make sure you don't over extend the inner plunge joint. Just like how you wouldn't let a caliper hang from a brake line, make sure you support it with something while its out of the steering knuckle

edit: I didn't realize OP already finished the job, nevermind lol

 

The axle nut does NOT have to be removed, I did the whole job with out taking the nut off.

 

Your ball joint nut and cotter pin must of been nice and clean to be removed with an open wrench. Mine were so badly rusted I needed the torque of a ratchet wrench to remove the nut. With less than 1" clearance the shaft needs to be removed to apply a ratchet wrench.

 

yea I can see what you mean, perhaps for me it was easier because I recently changed out the ball joints a few months back, where I had to remove the axle nut. Therefore the nut wasn't that tuff to take off. The ride is significantly a lot better now.

 

glad you were able to notice an improvement. i'm going to get this done also (lcas & tierods).

 

I did my LCAs on saturday and didn't have to remove the axle. Got the castle nut all but 2 thread off, popped the ball joint loose (down) and took the nut off....installation in reverse.

whole job (LCAs, end links and an oil change) took 90 min....work smarter, not harder.

 

I just changed my joint I wish I knew this info before hand

 

I spent a lot of money

 

Some of us feel it's smarter not to risk ruining a CV joint. I had to remove a rusted cotter pin with a dremel tool and rusted castle nut with well over a 100 lbs of torque. I'd much rather spend a few extra miuntes hanging the shaft up on the spring than having to replace a shaft with less than 5000 miles.

 

Thanks, JHolley.
I replaced the driver's side months ago using the Haynes method (Don't touch the Axle). Your way looks much better, based on my experience.

I ended up having to use a grinder and grinding the ball joint nut off (driver's side). Taking the axle out would have given me the room to use a 6 pt socket.

I'm doing the right side in a week or two. I'll follow your method. Axle nuts come off pretty easy with impact wrench, so it adds 10 minutes to save an hour. Good trade!
Thanks for the write up.

 

Thats how I removed my lca's.

Took about 8hrs, which included walking to parts stores, waiting on parts to be shipped, lunch, waiting on a shop to press the ball joints in, re-assembly, then alignment.

 

Removing those heavily rusted LCAs with over 140,000 miles took much longer than removing decently shaped LCAs. I had to seperate the driveshaft from the knuckle to get enough clearance room. I grinded off the cotter pin then used a 4 foot breaker bar to remove the ball joint nut. An open end wrench never could of removed that.

Two weeks ago I got in a minor accident that slightly bent the left LCA. Having less than 8,000 miles that LCA came off within 20 mintues after raising that max. I got that ball joint nut off using a 22mm open end wrench. I didn't have to seperate the driveshaft from the knuckle this time.

To seperate the ball joint from the knuckle there's a pickle forked tool you can get at autozone. Ask them for the 'ball joint seperator'. You can rent it or buy it for $14.

 

Ballpark figures on how much a DIY LCA replacement costs? Thanks.

Edit: This thread has some cost info.

 

Noob thread. Thanks.

 

im just curious as to why so many of you are replacing your LCAs. are they bent? do they bend easy? or are they just badly rusted and have pooped out ball joints?

 

If you have a busted ball joint or the bushings are worn then you have to take the lca out. Whether you replace the whole lca (oem) or just the ball joint and bushings (aftermarket) is up to you.

 

Are you guy's using china LCA's or OEM. Any alighnment issues or poor fit?
I'm looking into this as well and am not sure how much to spend to get decent quality.

 

I think people are confused here... The ONLY way you would need a new LCA is if you were in a pretty bad accident to bend it. Even then just goto a junk yard and pick one up.

Now replacing Ball Joints/End Links/Bushings/Etc. is a different story, they are all PARTS of the LCA that you can replace separately, without having to buy a whole new LCA.

See pic

 

dude, for the trouble you'd go through to replace the bushings it would be easier to replace the whole lca. i got spicers ( beefier looking then stock ) and new end links all for like 125.00. autopartswarehouse.com gave me a 3 year warranty on the parts as well. you might get lucky with jy parts, might.

 

Live in an area that gets close to 100" of snow per winter and you'll understand the reason for LCA replacement. The OEM LCAs were so badly rusted a grinder and 4' breaker bar were needed to remove them. Installing new bushings on LCAs in that condition would be like paying for a full paint job on this car

 

Trouble? Really like what is it 6 bolts per a side? When I did my LCAs last summer it was a 6-8hr day, including lunch breaks and walking around town to part stores, probably a 4hr job tops.

I have a lifetime warranty on everything except the bushings and the control arms themselves, all and all I spent about $150 toal for both sides.

Lucky? I can pick up 4 good control arms right now at the J/Y for like $40, I would just give them new parts before I'd throw em on another max.

Hrmm, these are hunky pieces of metal, I can't speak for northern climates but, I just find it hard to believe an LCA can rust away like our lower rad supports, but if you think yours have rusted away then, they have rusted away!

 

Hrmm, these are hunky pieces of metal, I can't speak for northern climates but, I just find it hard to believe an LCA can rust away like our lower rad supports, but if you think yours have rusted away then, they have rusted away![/QUOTE]


yeah they can rust, bad.

 

This is where you would post a picture.....

 

Dont mean to thread jack, but I have a question regarding torquing the bolts. I know the vehicle should be on the ground when this is done, but does it have to be level? I would need to use car ramps to get to the bolts.

 

To do the final tighening leave the car raised on jack stands then raise the LCA with a floor jack. Just raise it to were it would most likely be when the car is lowered. To raise it evenly put a large peice of wood between the hydraulic jack and LCA.

 

According to my carfax, my maxima was part of a rental fleet for its first 50,000. Of all places it had to be Cleveland, OH.

Give me a few and I will post a pic. I'd be willing to bet I take the trophy for rust.

 

For me, it's worth paying the extra money for the whole LCA than pressing out and pressing in new ball joints. I bought a set of new Beck-Arnley LCA for $150 for the pair and plan on removing the bushings and replacing with ES. I paid the extra money to minimize the time of the install running to the shop to press ball joints and bushings into an old rusted LCA. This way, I can have the new ones ready to go and it's just a matter of pulling old, and sliding in the new.

 

Hi,

Would you guys suggest buying a new brushing pin as well? My new LCA didn't come with it and I can't find it anywhere to purchase so I was thinking about using my old one.

If you would suggest a new one, does it go by a different name? I'm surprised that a place like rock auto wouldn't sell this...


Thanks in advance. This has been driving me nuts.