So...I'm still on this mission which began with investigating
why the L/F caliper was hanging & has turned into a brake
job & much more mainly due to being unable to remove
the R/F rotor. All of which I've never done before. I've tried
numerous ways to remove it but it just isn't happening. In
the process, I damaged the steering knuckle which I'll be
replacing now. Although the L/F rotor was difficult to
remove, I was able to replace it & the pads. I cleaned up
the caliper, bracket, pins, etc. & got it back together.

On the R/S, I've removed the damaged knuckle. I'm still
unable to get the rotor off the hub. So, I'm planning to
have a machine shop try to press it off.

Now with all that apart, I've come across other things that I
have questions about.

With nothing connected to it, is the upper control arm
supposed to be stiff & only move a small amount while
using a pry bar? And is it ok for the bushings to have alot of
splits on them as you can see in the pic?

Should I replace the ball joints (see pic)? The boots fell
apart while remove the knuckle.



Steering Knuckle Removed



Upper Control Arm Bushing



Upper Ball Joint



Upper Ball Joint

 

I would replace the ball joints on that side at least while its apart. With no boot the joint will quickly wear out and you will have to take it apart again. Its normal wear for the control arm bushings to split like that over time. The lower joint is pressed into the arm and the upper joint is replaced with the arm. You can rent the tool to replace the lower arm, it looks like a big c-clamp.

 

Thanks 70f100longbed!

That's what I was expecting to hear. I actually already have that tool from AutoZone. I thought I might need it to remove the knuckle. Not sure how to use it though. lol. But it's probably self explanatory.

Do I need to do anything more than remove the 2 bolts to replace the upper control arm? Seeing how I've had problems with other parts, what complications might I run into here?
I read somewhere that after replacing it a frt end alignment is necessary. Is that true?

 

Buy adjustable camber bolts for the upper control arms. When you replace the original, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to get a proper alignment without them.

 

Prior to installing a new control arm, is there anything that can be done to prevent it from rusting soon after? Especially the bare metal around the bushings?

 

If I replace a caliper, do I still need to start at the rear when bleeding the brakes?

 

Not really, but it doesn't hurt. I would actually bleed the corner that had the caliper replaced first to get that air out, then bleed the whole system until all the old fluid is replaced with new.

 

Great suggestion! Thanks. I wouldn't have thought of that till it was too late to do. I'll be doing that as long as the bleeders cooperate.

 

Should I get these even though I'm replacing only 1 arm?

 

When you replace a control arm, it's unlikely the alignment will end up correct. Without these, only the toe-in can be adjusted. These allow for full adjustment. I wouldn't do it without them, unless you get it together and the camber isn't off bad. When I did mine the camber was out, and I didn't even know the factory bolts weren't adjustable until I was at the alignment shop. So I had to tear back into it, and go BACK to the alignment shop again.