Unholy control arms replacement from hell.
Thread Starter
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1st Gear
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 111
From: Milwaukee, WI
Unholy control arms replacement from hell.
76k miles on my 98 2.8 V6 and it sounds/feels like the suspension is completely shot. every bump hard and loud, dips out of a driveway would shift the wheels, poor steering... found that a lot of the boots and bushings were shot so i bought an entire kit including driver and passenger upper control arms, lower control arms, tie rod ends, sway bar links and hardware. got it from fcpgroton for $275, shipping was quick and the parts themselves feel solid so far.
but today the 'removal and installation' was a goddamned nightmare.
with the drivers side wheel removed and suspension supported with a jack i go ahead and let the tie rod end free. i notice the inner is fucked and i dont have the tools to remove/reinstall. the end came out with little effort as i just replaced it last night. at that time i liberally applied PB blaster to all areas needed for todays descent into hatred. that turned out to be helpful as today the pinch bolt for the upper control arms and areas around there looked like the dirt/rust/grease had softened up. the bolt was stuck at first but came out with some wiggling, using a hammer on the nut and then a punch.
the arms themselves didn't want to move even with PB, wiggling, hammering, jack adjustments, punching and prying. a ball joint removal tool probably would've helped. i eventually got them off with a steel pipe and way too much force to pry them out. doesn't sound so bad, is not as bad as later on but sucked pure ***. i'll skip a little bit and say don't even bother trying to remove the upper control arms from their mounts on the strut tower. on my car, at least, the bolt was too long to even come out (itll hit the body) once i managed to get my hands and wrenches up there to free the nut. i took the strut tower out but had to practically rip it free from the lower control arm after using a punch on its seized bolt which is long and fought for clearance with the rear lower control arm which hadn't been removed.
with the strut tower finally out i proceed to remove the nuts and bolts from the old control arms, clean it up and get the new pair seated. a nice break coupled with some hot whisky from my girlfriend. both boots are blown, both bushings are wrecked with the rear bushing actually lodged to one side: the arms are complete trash but i'll make maybe $15 from the metal recycling center.
onto the lowers..
the sway bar link took some heavy cleaning, PBing and wrenching to remove the top nut but compared to the lower nut was fine. i now find out that my sway bar will not move at all. not sure if thats how its supposed to be (the idea of a 'sway bar' gives me an image of some movement) but it made it very difficult to maneuver around the shitshow that was the lower nut. the nut took all the force i could muster to even budge and when it did the crows foot (i think?) on the opposite side started slipping. the sway bar wouldnt move and the space is tight. i had to jam a random wrench on it that couldnt move past the other control arm, then the nut seized midway, then the crows foot started slipping again so i had to stick another random wrench in there. last resort type deal but with the amount of force i had to use i got hit in the face with 1 or 2 wrenches at least 3 times. it took me at least an hour but i finally got that ****** off. this is the sway bar link that came with the car:
avoid unless you enjoy hating everything for an hour.
now the front left lower control arm simply will not budge. the nut (painted over by the dumbass before me who painted the calipers, rotors and collateral areas surrounding orange) came off after PB, scraping and a lot of torque. but with the ball joint the steel pipe that yanked everything else out won't even cut it and i'm a 6'2" 200lb dude. in addition to the pipe i've tried loads of PB, hammering, prying, jamming, with different angles and different jack heights but it refuses to come out after 2+ hours. what the ****. im about to melt it off with a magnifying glass and the sun.
since it started to get dark and i couldnt remove it, i tried to reassemble the strut tower. the top reinstalled without much effort but at different heights on the jacked suspension, no matter what the arm is no longer aligned properly i cannot install the bolt through the old lower control arm. steel pipe to force it into position, loosened bolts on strut tower, hammering of the bolt.. nothing. its now sitting without a bolt. no good.
as it stands now i've spent 7 hours on what i thought was to be maybe a 3 hour job during a shitty sub 50 degree day and haven't even finished the drivers side. the lower control arms - which are now almost annihilated - are still intact, i couldnt reinstall the bolt connecting front lower arm and strut tower. still have to do the passenger side and who knows how deep this abyss will open with that.
ive researched for weeks, watched videos, searched the forums, etc
but please, any advice on a DIY control arm replacement especially in terms of frozen ball joints?
but today the 'removal and installation' was a goddamned nightmare.
with the drivers side wheel removed and suspension supported with a jack i go ahead and let the tie rod end free. i notice the inner is fucked and i dont have the tools to remove/reinstall. the end came out with little effort as i just replaced it last night. at that time i liberally applied PB blaster to all areas needed for todays descent into hatred. that turned out to be helpful as today the pinch bolt for the upper control arms and areas around there looked like the dirt/rust/grease had softened up. the bolt was stuck at first but came out with some wiggling, using a hammer on the nut and then a punch.
the arms themselves didn't want to move even with PB, wiggling, hammering, jack adjustments, punching and prying. a ball joint removal tool probably would've helped. i eventually got them off with a steel pipe and way too much force to pry them out. doesn't sound so bad, is not as bad as later on but sucked pure ***. i'll skip a little bit and say don't even bother trying to remove the upper control arms from their mounts on the strut tower. on my car, at least, the bolt was too long to even come out (itll hit the body) once i managed to get my hands and wrenches up there to free the nut. i took the strut tower out but had to practically rip it free from the lower control arm after using a punch on its seized bolt which is long and fought for clearance with the rear lower control arm which hadn't been removed.
with the strut tower finally out i proceed to remove the nuts and bolts from the old control arms, clean it up and get the new pair seated. a nice break coupled with some hot whisky from my girlfriend. both boots are blown, both bushings are wrecked with the rear bushing actually lodged to one side: the arms are complete trash but i'll make maybe $15 from the metal recycling center.
onto the lowers..
the sway bar link took some heavy cleaning, PBing and wrenching to remove the top nut but compared to the lower nut was fine. i now find out that my sway bar will not move at all. not sure if thats how its supposed to be (the idea of a 'sway bar' gives me an image of some movement) but it made it very difficult to maneuver around the shitshow that was the lower nut. the nut took all the force i could muster to even budge and when it did the crows foot (i think?) on the opposite side started slipping. the sway bar wouldnt move and the space is tight. i had to jam a random wrench on it that couldnt move past the other control arm, then the nut seized midway, then the crows foot started slipping again so i had to stick another random wrench in there. last resort type deal but with the amount of force i had to use i got hit in the face with 1 or 2 wrenches at least 3 times. it took me at least an hour but i finally got that ****** off. this is the sway bar link that came with the car:
avoid unless you enjoy hating everything for an hour.
now the front left lower control arm simply will not budge. the nut (painted over by the dumbass before me who painted the calipers, rotors and collateral areas surrounding orange) came off after PB, scraping and a lot of torque. but with the ball joint the steel pipe that yanked everything else out won't even cut it and i'm a 6'2" 200lb dude. in addition to the pipe i've tried loads of PB, hammering, prying, jamming, with different angles and different jack heights but it refuses to come out after 2+ hours. what the ****. im about to melt it off with a magnifying glass and the sun.
since it started to get dark and i couldnt remove it, i tried to reassemble the strut tower. the top reinstalled without much effort but at different heights on the jacked suspension, no matter what the arm is no longer aligned properly i cannot install the bolt through the old lower control arm. steel pipe to force it into position, loosened bolts on strut tower, hammering of the bolt.. nothing. its now sitting without a bolt. no good.
as it stands now i've spent 7 hours on what i thought was to be maybe a 3 hour job during a shitty sub 50 degree day and haven't even finished the drivers side. the lower control arms - which are now almost annihilated - are still intact, i couldnt reinstall the bolt connecting front lower arm and strut tower. still have to do the passenger side and who knows how deep this abyss will open with that.
ive researched for weeks, watched videos, searched the forums, etc
but please, any advice on a DIY control arm replacement especially in terms of frozen ball joints?
1st Gear
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 219
From: Redondo beach, ca (SoCal)
it took my roommate and I about a week to do this working on it for only like 4 hours at a time, but only because certain parts were stuck. It really wasnt that bad. mine is a 96 with about 160k on it stock suspension.
it took my roommate and I about a week to do this working on it for only like 4 hours at a time, but only because certain parts were stuck. It really wasnt that bad. mine is a 96 with about 160k on it stock suspension.
Thread Starter
|
1st Gear
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 111
From: Milwaukee, WI
i don't have power tools but i imagine that would change a lot about this project
as far as the $275, its actually cheaper with mike from fcpgroton who started group buys on various forums. http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...ontrol-Arm-Kit
i picked option 3 with the full metal tie rods
today i spent 3 hours on the lower control arm and it still wont move. i tried everything including a torch to get it to come out but it just wont cut it. which is exactly what im going to do tomorrow with a dremel. i'm going to heat and then cut the bolt out and its housing in the ball joint. then i will take a punch and knock it out. wish me luck.
as far as the $275, its actually cheaper with mike from fcpgroton who started group buys on various forums. http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...ontrol-Arm-Kit
i picked option 3 with the full metal tie rods
today i spent 3 hours on the lower control arm and it still wont move. i tried everything including a torch to get it to come out but it just wont cut it. which is exactly what im going to do tomorrow with a dremel. i'm going to heat and then cut the bolt out and its housing in the ball joint. then i will take a punch and knock it out. wish me luck.
Thread Starter
|
1st Gear
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 111
From: Milwaukee, WI
just found this resting in an empty spot in the subframe near the sway bar..
top? you can push down on it, there's a spring
bottom?
my search results yield this:
http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl...&aqi=&aql=&oq=
no idea what it is
top? you can push down on it, there's a spring
bottom?
my search results yield this:
http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl...&aqi=&aql=&oq=
no idea what it is
1st Gear
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 219
From: Redondo beach, ca (SoCal)
i did some searching
so i searched the part number on the black rubber piece. seems as though its the bulk of the cap for the coolant expansion tank.
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/1JO121321B/ES1692/
the black part of the cap looks exactly like the part you have just without the top part. i may be wrong but the part number seems to point to it. don't know why that would be in or around ur suspension though.
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/1JO121321B/ES1692/
the black part of the cap looks exactly like the part you have just without the top part. i may be wrong but the part number seems to point to it. don't know why that would be in or around ur suspension though.