Husky
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- Pakenham
- Members Ride
- VXII L67 Berlina Wagon and VEIISSV M6 Sportswagon
Over the last few months I have been experiencing a persistent clunking noise in my front right section of my VXII which sounded like metal on metal, after checking/replacing the usual suspects (Sway bar links, Strut tops, bearing, etc) I was left with just one culprit, the control arm bushes. as I couldn't find a comprehensive guide i did some research, worked out how and got around to it a couple of days ago. All up the process took me around 3 hours each side with some very stubborn nuts and quite a bit of lying under the car staring at the damn thing. For ease of reading the terminology I will use will be the following. The parts control arm will be referred the ball bearing, which connects below the strut, the outer bush, which connects to the radius rod and in turn that connects to the castor bushes at the front of the car, and the inner bush which connects to the under carriage.
If you are reusing the control arms, the old bushes will need to be pressed out, which shouldn't cost more than $10 at any mechanics or suspension shop. the new bushes may or may not need to be pressed in depending on which brand and type you get. I bought a whole new arm set to avoid this hassle. Nolathane 45906 Front Control arm - complete lower arm assembly
I also used this as a chance to polish my brakes using a wire brush drill bit. if you choose to do so it looks great, especially when you wheels show the caliper, however please be sure to wear protection, as brake dust is carcinergenic if inhaled, and crappy if you get it in your eyes. I used a surgical mask from work, but I'm sure you'll find something to use.
Tools you will need
- 19mm socket
- 30mm socket
- 22mm spanner (I used a 7/8" spanner as I didn't have one, but i assume this is the right size)
- 24mm ring spanner
- 13mm socket
- Trolley jack and jack stands
- A second jack (You can use the car one)
- The wheel nut remover that comes with the car.
- Some wire/strong cable ties.
- Heavy duty degreaser/WD40
Being able to drench all the relevant parts in degreaser overnight would also be handy, if time allows (Some nuts were f'ing tight). You will also be removing your rotors and castor bushes, so if you need to replace them now is a good chance.
Let's begin.
STEP ONE
Jack up your car using the standard precautions. Support it on jack stands. if you do this wrong or use just a jack, the car will fall on you, and you will die, and paramedics will laugh about you after the job. Once you have the car up I would suggest removing your wheels.
STEP TWO
Start by removing the nut at the very end of the control arm, which is in the red circle. I used a 7/8" spanner, but a 22mm should work, you WILL NOT get a socket onto this. If you are having trouble with the bearing spinning while you are turning the nut, put a spare jack under the arm in the blue circle, and this should help. once the nut is halfway of, use something like a socket extension and place one end on the arm in the yellow circle and bash the other end with a hammer to break it loose. You will not be able to get the bolt completely clear of the hole until later.
STEP THREE
Crack the 24mm nut on the front of the castor bush, don't remove it just yet. now removing the 30mm nut that goes through the outer bush on the control arm.
STEP FOUR
Now you need to free the control arm from the radius rod. Apparently this can be done buy just loosening the 4 13 mm nuts on the front of the castor bush, but I couldn't get it free, and as I replacing the castor bushes I just removed the whole thing, allowing me the slide the rod out of the control arm. To remove the castor bushes all you have to do is remove the 4 13mm nuts and the 24mm nut from the front then slide the whole thing out, just remember what order the spacers go in if you are putting the old ones back. if you have the original non-adjustable bushes, replace them you cheapskate. I got super pro bushes off eBays for $150 and they are great, probably better than the Nolathane ones I removed. Leave the castor bushes to the side for now as you won't refit them for a while.
STEP FIVE
Remove the nut and bolt that slide through the inner control arm bush, as pictured. the best way to do this is to use the wheel nut remover to hold the bolt in place while you use a 19mm socket on the nut.
STEP SIX
By now the only thing holding the arm in is the fact that you can't slide the bearing end of the arm out past the rotor, which is really annoying as it makes the job impossible without touching the brakes, well now it's time to sort that out. Start by removing the two 19mm blots that hold the caliper in place. Make sure you know where to put the caliper once it's off, NEVER hang a caliper by the brake lines. Some people suggest using wire to hook the caliper to the spring, I just place a trolley jack nearby and tied the caliper to the top. Once those two bolts are out the caliper should slide freely off the rotor. I twisted the caliper on the way off to spread the pads apart to make it easier to put back.
Once the caliper is dealt with the rotor SHOULD slide freely off. Mine didn't. several tricks I used were heating the rotor with a small gas axe, which worked on the passenger side, and twisting screws into the small holes on the rotor to force it off. No idea where I got those screws from as they were in a bucket of spares. a trick to remember is that if you can find a bolt that will fit into the 13mm nut from the castor bush, they will fit into the rotor. Also remember to mark the rotor and wheel studs so you can put it back in the same direction.
Once the rotor is of and the nut above the bearing in fully removed the control arm should drop freely, if not keep bash it with a hammer like I explained earlier.
STEP SEVEN
Now it's time to sort out your arm and get the new bushes in however you choose. Once that's done assembly is simple.
Start by placing the ball bearing end of the arm into the hole and doing it halfway up. You may need to use a jack again to stop it from spinning. Once that is done put the rotor back, followed by the caliper. Make sure the caliper bolts are on bloody tight (around 75nm of torque, if we're being a bit fancy).
Now wiggle the control arm around to get the inner bush lined back up. I found the best way to do this was to get someone to wiggle the wheel assembly around while I pushed the bolt back through. Once that is done tighten it up again the same way you loosened it.
Now put the radius rod in the right position. do the 30mm nut halfway up so that the radius rod can still move.
Next, put the castor bushes back in place and tight up the 5 nuts that hold it together. Now you can finish tightening the 30mm nut.
Lastly, finish tightening the nut above the ball bearing end of the arm.
STEP EIGHT
Make sure everything is nice and tight. now loosen the 24mm nut on the castor bush and the 30mm nut on the control arm by half a turn, make sure there is some wiggle in the radius rod.
Put your wheels back on (This is very important).
Now lower the car and bounce it up and down a few tines. Drive it backwards and forwards a metre. pump the breaks a few times the reseat the pads properly.
For the next bit I drove up onto ramp. If you don't have any, jack the front end of the car up again. Now tighten those two nuts up and drop the car again, you should now be good to go for a test drive. I did a few stops from 20km/h just to be doubly sure the brakes were on right.
And there you have it, all done. Hopefully you'll notice a much smoother and quieter ride, especially when breaking or going low speed over bump. This is the first proper write-up I have done so any feedback is welcome. I hope someone finds it useful.
If you are reusing the control arms, the old bushes will need to be pressed out, which shouldn't cost more than $10 at any mechanics or suspension shop. the new bushes may or may not need to be pressed in depending on which brand and type you get. I bought a whole new arm set to avoid this hassle. Nolathane 45906 Front Control arm - complete lower arm assembly
I also used this as a chance to polish my brakes using a wire brush drill bit. if you choose to do so it looks great, especially when you wheels show the caliper, however please be sure to wear protection, as brake dust is carcinergenic if inhaled, and crappy if you get it in your eyes. I used a surgical mask from work, but I'm sure you'll find something to use.
Tools you will need
- 19mm socket
- 30mm socket
- 22mm spanner (I used a 7/8" spanner as I didn't have one, but i assume this is the right size)
- 24mm ring spanner
- 13mm socket
- Trolley jack and jack stands
- A second jack (You can use the car one)
- The wheel nut remover that comes with the car.
- Some wire/strong cable ties.
- Heavy duty degreaser/WD40
Being able to drench all the relevant parts in degreaser overnight would also be handy, if time allows (Some nuts were f'ing tight). You will also be removing your rotors and castor bushes, so if you need to replace them now is a good chance.
Let's begin.
STEP ONE
Jack up your car using the standard precautions. Support it on jack stands. if you do this wrong or use just a jack, the car will fall on you, and you will die, and paramedics will laugh about you after the job. Once you have the car up I would suggest removing your wheels.
STEP TWO
Start by removing the nut at the very end of the control arm, which is in the red circle. I used a 7/8" spanner, but a 22mm should work, you WILL NOT get a socket onto this. If you are having trouble with the bearing spinning while you are turning the nut, put a spare jack under the arm in the blue circle, and this should help. once the nut is halfway of, use something like a socket extension and place one end on the arm in the yellow circle and bash the other end with a hammer to break it loose. You will not be able to get the bolt completely clear of the hole until later.
STEP THREE
Crack the 24mm nut on the front of the castor bush, don't remove it just yet. now removing the 30mm nut that goes through the outer bush on the control arm.
STEP FOUR
Now you need to free the control arm from the radius rod. Apparently this can be done buy just loosening the 4 13 mm nuts on the front of the castor bush, but I couldn't get it free, and as I replacing the castor bushes I just removed the whole thing, allowing me the slide the rod out of the control arm. To remove the castor bushes all you have to do is remove the 4 13mm nuts and the 24mm nut from the front then slide the whole thing out, just remember what order the spacers go in if you are putting the old ones back. if you have the original non-adjustable bushes, replace them you cheapskate. I got super pro bushes off eBays for $150 and they are great, probably better than the Nolathane ones I removed. Leave the castor bushes to the side for now as you won't refit them for a while.
STEP FIVE
Remove the nut and bolt that slide through the inner control arm bush, as pictured. the best way to do this is to use the wheel nut remover to hold the bolt in place while you use a 19mm socket on the nut.
STEP SIX
By now the only thing holding the arm in is the fact that you can't slide the bearing end of the arm out past the rotor, which is really annoying as it makes the job impossible without touching the brakes, well now it's time to sort that out. Start by removing the two 19mm blots that hold the caliper in place. Make sure you know where to put the caliper once it's off, NEVER hang a caliper by the brake lines. Some people suggest using wire to hook the caliper to the spring, I just place a trolley jack nearby and tied the caliper to the top. Once those two bolts are out the caliper should slide freely off the rotor. I twisted the caliper on the way off to spread the pads apart to make it easier to put back.
Once the caliper is dealt with the rotor SHOULD slide freely off. Mine didn't. several tricks I used were heating the rotor with a small gas axe, which worked on the passenger side, and twisting screws into the small holes on the rotor to force it off. No idea where I got those screws from as they were in a bucket of spares. a trick to remember is that if you can find a bolt that will fit into the 13mm nut from the castor bush, they will fit into the rotor. Also remember to mark the rotor and wheel studs so you can put it back in the same direction.
Once the rotor is of and the nut above the bearing in fully removed the control arm should drop freely, if not keep bash it with a hammer like I explained earlier.
STEP SEVEN
Now it's time to sort out your arm and get the new bushes in however you choose. Once that's done assembly is simple.
Start by placing the ball bearing end of the arm into the hole and doing it halfway up. You may need to use a jack again to stop it from spinning. Once that is done put the rotor back, followed by the caliper. Make sure the caliper bolts are on bloody tight (around 75nm of torque, if we're being a bit fancy).
Now wiggle the control arm around to get the inner bush lined back up. I found the best way to do this was to get someone to wiggle the wheel assembly around while I pushed the bolt back through. Once that is done tighten it up again the same way you loosened it.
Now put the radius rod in the right position. do the 30mm nut halfway up so that the radius rod can still move.
Next, put the castor bushes back in place and tight up the 5 nuts that hold it together. Now you can finish tightening the 30mm nut.
Lastly, finish tightening the nut above the ball bearing end of the arm.
STEP EIGHT
Make sure everything is nice and tight. now loosen the 24mm nut on the castor bush and the 30mm nut on the control arm by half a turn, make sure there is some wiggle in the radius rod.
Put your wheels back on (This is very important).
Now lower the car and bounce it up and down a few tines. Drive it backwards and forwards a metre. pump the breaks a few times the reseat the pads properly.
For the next bit I drove up onto ramp. If you don't have any, jack the front end of the car up again. Now tighten those two nuts up and drop the car again, you should now be good to go for a test drive. I did a few stops from 20km/h just to be doubly sure the brakes were on right.
And there you have it, all done. Hopefully you'll notice a much smoother and quieter ride, especially when breaking or going low speed over bump. This is the first proper write-up I have done so any feedback is welcome. I hope someone finds it useful.
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