It took us ~5 hours just to do one side. On top of that, it's not 100% complete because we have to destroy the 27mm nut trying to hammer this P.O.S. out. It was rusted shut to the metal sleeve inside the bushing.



So what we ended up doing was installing the new lower control arm back along with the pivot arm without the 27mm nut. I went to Nissan and special order it for tomorrow. Since this little project took just a little over 5 hours, I said **** it and will not do the other side. I'm going to pay someone to do the passenger side lower control arm.

It's not worth the aggravation, time, energy, & etc... for this 1 1/2 hour job (supposedly)

This job makes me hate not having air tools. 36mm, 27mm, 22mm, and 19mm bolts are no joke. They will tired the hell out of you with hand tools

Especially with the seized up pivot rod that's as large as my axle.

 

As a tip for anyone who's looking to replace their whole LCA assembly, do yourself a favor and buy the pivot rod also. You're going to thank me later for saving you 4 hours of aggravation trying to get the old one off.

 

I get what you're saying, it can be frustrating at times. I just did mine with hand tools on a NY car, it was a *****, but there's no way i'm paying someone to do something i'm capable of doing.

 

I tried to warn you dude. Being up north just compounds the problem. Now that you know exactly what to do go ahead and get the other side done yourself, take the money you would pay in labor for better tools.

 

i did mine, and the driver's side was a complete b1tc#, but we soaked the joint in brake fluid, went in and had lunch, then I stood on the arm itself, and used an old pickle fork on the flat edges of this piece, and worked it loose. took all over about 30 minutes to break it free, after letting the fluid do it's job...

 

I paid my buddy $100 to do mine. He hated me later,but I have new arms now.

 

 

Is that what Nissan calls a Pin Link Bush, P/N - 54428M for about $35 on CourtesyParts?

Also, should I get the bolts and nut new (my Max has lived it's whole life in Pittsburgh - poor thing...)

 

Yes I think that's the one. It's around $35 and $5.50 for the 27mm nut.

But here's what I score today at the junk yard. Having these, I think i'm going to try and install the lower control arm again on my own instead of paying someone to do it. Will keep you guys posted.

 

Those are both basically the same part - not handed, right? Thanks for clarifying.

 

I don't really know for sure until tomorrow when I replace the LCA. I think they are the same though because on the nissan website, they only listed 1 part number for it.

 

Thanks for this thread and your other one for the SB end links and TRE's. They are very timely as I need to do this in the next couple of weeks. Didn't know what I was getting into, but your pics and description have put my mind at ease and will help me plan for the unexpected.

Any chance you are doing your wheel bearings too?

 

Do you try a breaker bar? I got my heavily rusted LCA nuts off using a 3' breaker bar. A rachet wrench never could of done it.

 

I don't think you know what the problem was. The problem isn't taking the 27mm nut off, the problem is trying to break the metal sleeve that's rusted shut on the pivot rod off.

But anyway, to confirm, the left & right pivot rods are the same. I replaced it today and it works perfectly. I will post pics tonight when i'm home.

 

I used a breaker bar and a 3ft steel pipe to brake the bolts lose.
I also ran into the same problem with the LCA bushing sleeve being seized. A grinder and a dremel tool to surgically remove the pin link bush took 10 min each. That's how I removed them I cut them out cuz the old LCA were garbage. This is not a fun job that's for sure but doing it your self save's you a ton of cash for other stuff like an alignment ect.

 

i must be really lucky my max has 222k and when i replaced mine it seriously just fell out i dont get it why is everyone having so much trouble with these? ive heard nothing but horror stories

oh and i cant even imagine doing this with only hand tools those of you that have done it i give mad respect cuz that had to SUUUCCCKKK

 

Oh I had trouble with mine but nothing I could not handle what pist me off the most is that Nissan from the factory put one of the three bolts that hold the back of the LCA on they put the large one in the wrong place and mushroomed the top. That was a pain to get out and I had to buy a tap set and tap the hole and cut the mushroomed tip off and reinstall with new LCA. I also had to perform surgery to get the pin link bush out of the old LCA like I said in post 15. This project took me 8 hours but I did sway links and sway bar bushings and the time to go to the local harbor freight for the tap set.

 

oh yeah right
nobody believes your story ok

 

if you plan on working on your car and doing big jobs. You need to invest in air tools. Try doing everything by hand and its just a cause for headaches. Btw, if you searched, most of the people on here grind that sucker off. I know i did.

 

i did my lca on my 5th gen along with both axles new sway bar links ball joints and tie rod ends and it took me and my buddy 9 hours....thats with driving back to the parts store twice for a new axle cause they gave me one for a honda somehow and then i broke a socket...i had no issues with the lca at all....my issue was my pass axle was stuck to the carrier bearing so we had to take the whole assembly out and put it in a vice.....but the lca was easy...i had all hand tools and i live in CT and drive 1000 miles a week in the winter as well as summer..i guess it goes to show some cars can be VERY different when repairing...

 

Couldn't do it without this...

 

WOW! thats a big *** piece of metal!

is the dunkin doughnuts cup a tool too?

with enough leverage you could tilt the world

 

Whats up Paul no one believes yours just fell out I know mine didn't that pin bush link was seized and for others to as well but you know nothing goes right for me any ways so I have to show my max who is in charge no matter what it throws at me like I said nothing I couldn't handle with hand tools and a sat.

 

STOP YELLING AT ME!!!

 

jobs like this that call for the matco cordless 18v impact gun with like 700 breakaway torque.

 

 

That rust will get ya. Perks of living in the south hehe

 

Amen to that, brother!!!!

 

what exactly is the issue with the pivot arms? I'm most likely dealing with the same stuff you guys are being in chicago. the 4th gen i have gots a weird *** knocking on the front pass side. I did the axle a couple months back, so i'm looking to do this arm.

Is the pivot arm rusted to the control arm or to the body of the car? from the picture i gather it goes pivot, control arm then body. I assume one can torch off the rubber bushing and free up the pivot arm rather then spend $35

 

The problem with the op's control arm was that the sleeve inside the bushing was rusted to the pivot arm. The pivot arm should move freely inside this sleeve.
In your case turtle, the knocking sound could be coming from either the bearing for the strut tower or the wheel hub bearing. I'm at 200k + miles on my maxima and my lca bushings withstood 15+ years of rhode island winters. Not saying yours couldn't be bad but I would check the other bearings before you replace anything.

 

I hope this help you understand. I'll take paypal donations

Again, do yourself a favor by buying the new pivot arms first, you'll save yourself a lot of time and headache.

 

^got you now.

i know that control arm is held on by 3 bolts and then i saw the pivot having 3 bolt holes.