Has anyone installed this part before??

[AODfan]

ok, last week i slid into a curb due to it raining and it was really slick i wasnt driving fast at all and broadsided my front passengar rim, the damage from what i can ryan can tell is just the lower control arm was bent. well i have the part on the way. just wondering has anyone installed or replaced this part and if so is it hard, moderate, simple. or should i just leave it to a shop to install it ?? (help)

[rustychops41]

I've done the trailing arm myself. That's the one that runs fore and aft, one per side, and it's not very hard. The lateral links I can't say. They are the ones that run from the middle out to the wheels, 2 per side. Which one did you mangle?

[AODfan]

here is a pic of the part that i bent.....

[Shane5425]

if you have access to a lift or a high jack , Air tools , shouldnt be hard. if u have to do everything by hand and low to the ground, u might resite every curse word in the english dictionary , plus a few in another language... u might not have thay many problems though.. air tools make it easy, real easy..

[Moeed]

yea, mine got bent a while back. The damn thing was an expensive part too. Mazda made a real weak control arm. I slid and was only going 15 and the damn thing bent.

[AODfan]

heh good then i have an air rachet so then it might be easier

[Shane5425]

yeah that will help , a really strong air impact makes the job like a tire change, hehe, 130 foot pounds of torque can make anything easy, thats what i use at work..

[AODfan]

im just worried if i have to know anything about the dust boot and crap like torque spec and all that. like if i have to get other newer parts. also i just hope its nothing else other than that arm.

[Shane5425]

torque spec-- TIGHT.

[hi-perf]

hardest part is the ball joint.

you should have checked junkyards, i found some locally where i used to live for only $50 each.

it is not impossible at all to do it without a lift or air tools, i did it. just be sure to torque it down to spec, i think its over 100ft/lbs or so.

the people up there are really exaggerating the difficulty of the job, its really not that hard. id say the hardest part would be getting the ball joint out and positioning it back in with the new one. my situation was especially difficult because i unbolted the strut also, meaning my friend had to lift the entire brake assembly, without an axle or control arm connected to it while i pounded in the sucker.

next hardest part would be jacking the car up and putting it on jackstands. DO NOT ATTEMPT WITHOUT JACKSTANDS. when youre trying to bust off a bolt torqued to that spec, you might just push the car on you if youre just half-assing it without stands.

finally, you will need the follwing:

deep 14mm socket (for ball joint bolt)
17mm socket
lead pipe (for even more torque)
torque wrench to get things to spec
hammer (if applicable)

[AODfan]

sweet...thx hiperf that helps

[RyanJayG]

dude, I have all the tools at work... and I am pretty sure the only damaged part is the control arm. anyone else know if there is another part possibly broken out of view from this type of thing happening?

[hi-perf]

well the new control arm comes with a new ball joint and dust cover, i dont think theres anything else he could have damaged. maybe the strut tower, but i think that would be obvious if you messed it up. also look for the steering tierod-end, when i hit a ditch a while ago i think i popped it then. also check your endlinks...

you know at the texas meet i had a broken endlink AND my steering tierod end on the opposite side was busted as well.

[AODfan]

hmm ok, well the part that i ordered is used so i dont know if itll be coming with a new ball joint/dust cover...