Wrenchinjoe » The control arms can come in two types: one has 2 bolts through the pivot bushings, and the other has 4 bolts through the sub-frame. The 2-bolt type is quite easy to do and standard tools (metric sockets, hammer, pry bar and torque wrench) are all you need.
The 4-bolt type is more difficult. The bolts through the sub-frame can be difficult to access. I think the passenger side of the engine needs to be raised slightly to remove the bolts. Somebody correct me if I am wrong about this.
turbotim2 » No special tools needed. It is a very easy job. You will need some metric sockets and wrenches (18, 17 and 15mm I think) plus a jack, jack stand and lug wrench. A hammer and drift helps knock the ball joint end out of the knuckle.
Ozark Lee » The only thing that is remotely special is a torque wrench. Be sure to have the control arm at its normal resting position before you torque down the bolts through the bushings. I use a floor jack to raise the center of the hub up to a point where it is centered along the line of the lower door seam.
bobsnow100 » Just changed both left and right control arms and a hub bearing assembly on my 850 last weekend. It was the 2 bolt type. I did have difficulty getting two of the bolts out from the control arm . The bolt rusted itself into the bushing and the rubber spun instead. Must of been that way for awhile. I couldn’t get a hammer in there to hit it with any force. Finally got it loose with a lot of cursing, pb blaster and the hammer. I had to cut the rubber part off one side of the bushing and put on vise grips so I could hold the bushing and put a wrench on the bolt . Finally got it to spin inside the bushing so I could hammer it out.
Suggestion when putting the control arm in is to put the ball joint in first then the control arm to the frame second. You’ll find one side will be able to line up and the other won’t easily. I found that by moving the steering wheel either left or right helped align it better.
Schmitty » I just got both my control arms installed, it took me 2 days. I have a few tips for those in snowy climates where they use salt on the roads.
The bolt that keeps the ball joint in place will be so rusted that (in my case) an angle grinder was needed to cut off the control arm and cut the bolt in three spots. I then used a big hole punch and a hammer to punch out the shaft of the bolt that remained. It took me about 3 to 5 minutes of tap-tap-taping on it for it to budge loose and then finally come out. An angle grinder can be used to cut the bolts without cutting any other of the parts (I nicked a few here and there but not bad).
Oh, and also, I was using PBlaster on it for *days* and the parts weren’t budging, so out came the angle grinder.
2 Comments
Any chance you still have the old control arms?
Hi, I have a 1994 volvo 850 sedan that needs the lower control arm/bushings replaced on the passenger side as well as the rear shocks. But, the car was originally owned and driven in germany and I have nivomat rear shocks as well as the older half year aluminum looking lower control arms with the bolt in ball joints. I am trying to figure out if i can swap to the newer style lower control arm with the pressed in ball joint as well as swapping out my tired nivomats for standard rear shocks?