Control Arms

AJTnGA · Post by **AJTnGA** » 26 Mar 2011, 18:46

I have a 2000 S80 with 147,000, I have read everything I can find online. My first attempt resulted in installation of new pads and rotors and called it a day. What is the best way to remove the two bolts of the control arm that are bolted to the sub-frame? I will take any additional help.

Post by **jimmy57** » 26 Mar 2011, 19:59

take the vertical bolt out of the rear bushing. liberally apply your favorite penetrating spray to those bolts and then take turns unscrewing them in steps. Be sure the rear is loose from its opening in subframe. When bolts are out a couple turns, spray more penetrating spray on them. It isn't the most fun you can have with a wrench in your hand but it gets the job done.

aok404 · Post by **aok404** » 27 Mar 2011, 09:32

AJTnGA,
To remove the bolts (i.e., to pull them out of the holes), you will have to lift the engine by about an inch. If you just want to remove and reinstall the control arms without lifting the engine, you can use a deep offset box wrench to turn the bolts -– I used a Craftsman 44366.

AJTnGA · Post by **AJTnGA** » 27 Mar 2011, 15:19

@ jimmy57 thanks for the advice applying penetrating oil is one thing I did while staring at them after changing the brakes.

@ aok404 just removing the old control arm and reinstalling new on my way to grab said offset tomorrow, from what I notice yesterday there is only four bolts I need to remove to drop the arm.

aok404 · Post by **aok404** » 27 Mar 2011, 19:59

AJTnGA,
When reinstalling the control arms, the most difficult part (at least, for me) was reconnecting them to the ball joints. New bushings are really stiff, and you will have to tilt the control arms down at a considerable angle to be able to align and insert the ball joint stud. I used a long (~8 ft) sturdy pipe and a help of another person. None of the two VADIS methods of lowering the arms worked for me… By the way, the other end of the box wrench that I mentioned was used for loosening/tightening the ball joint nuts.

AJTnGA · Post by **AJTnGA** » 28 Mar 2011, 10:00

aok404,

How did you leverage your pipe? I have new ball joints as well so I will be replacing those.

Thanks for the learning curve notes and anything additional you recall. With 404 in your username that gives me the assumption that your a techie as well?

aok404 · Post by **aok404** » 28 Mar 2011, 10:41

AJTnGA,
I tied the pipe tightly to the down side of the control arm and leveraged against a 2x6 piece of wood protruding from either side of the car. The wood was put between the stands and the car bottom. My helper was pushing the pipe down, and I was aligning and inserting the ball joint stud.

AJTnGA · Post by **AJTnGA** » 10 May 2011, 07:45

Sorry about the delay but I was able to change both control arms with little to no issues. The way I went at it may not have been the best way but worked. Taking the old controls arm off was not difficult getting the new on is what took a little time. Getting the two bolts from the sub-frame to thread into the new control arm was a bit of a challenge. Also, the two sub-frame bolts on the driver’s side I had to work at for a while. I would suggest to anyone preparing to change control arms buy the offset ratchet wrench. This would have helped a lot on the driver’s side, as I barely had enough room to get the wrench off the bolt head.
This is where I probably went a little stray, unable to find anyone to lend a hand. I turned the wheel to make it easier to get the control arm back on the lower ball joint. I only live about a mile or so away from an alignment shop so I was not too worried. I did drive about 25 with my hazards on…. the person at the shop seemed somewhat proud on far they were out of whack… The only thing was he said there was not a way to change the camber but they were within spec at five.

Tunnaman88 · Post by **Tunnaman88** » 10 May 2011, 17:40

How did you know you needed control ares? What were the symptoms and first indication?

AJTnGA · Post by **AJTnGA** » 10 May 2011, 18:57

I kept hearing a noise from the front end, tightened the spring seats, and the noise kept up so I did some digging on the threads.
I fingers pointed to the control arms, talked to a few guys who are knowledgeable and decided to change them. Noise free...

The noise is at low to moderate speeds and would sound the same as if you placed a decent size rock in a box and the shook it around...(best description)