Does anybody have any hints on a easy way to change these.

After I have the wheel off do I need to disconnect the upper ball joint to remove these. It looks like I can just remove the two nuts on each side and use a jack under the rotor to support the weight. It looks like it might shift back and forth enough to get them out/in.

Will this work?

Thanks
Doug

 

I wrote about this last year, but I can't easily find my old postings, so here are some highlights.

The best way to support the suspension is to put a jack stand under the control arm. Then you can easily loosen the pinch bolt on the spindle to free it from the upper ball joint.

You have to remove the control arm and pivot assemblies in order to get at the bushings. To do that, you have to remove the 3 huge bolts that hold the two parts of those pivots. (Mark the positions of the pivot assemblies first so you can get them close on re-assembly.) The bolts extend all the way to the bottom of the frame rail, where they're held on by these huge nuts. You will need a large socket (15/16") to turn them. There is a 4th bolt on the top side of the bracket, but it's pretty short.

Once you have removed the pivots and arm assembly, you can remove those nuts on the ends of the pivot rod, which will allow you to pull the pivot assemblies off of the rod. Then, you can try to press the old bushings out of the pivot assemblies, or you can do like I did, and pound on them until they distort enough to be pulled out. I used a carpenter's "cat's claw" and a small sledge hammer to beat on the bushings' outer shells until they collapsed.

The new bushings will have to be pressed into the pivot assemblies. You will need to buy or make some sort of mandrel to push against the outer shells of the bushings. Since the pivot bases have some what irregular shapes, you will also need little shims to keep them aligned with your press as you push them into position. Try to press them into about the same positions as where the old bushings were.

This will be a good time to check the upper ball joints as well. If they need to be replaced, you will need to drill out the rivets that hold them in. It's easiest to do that with the arms off. Even if they don't need to be replaced now, you might consider removing the rivets and replacing them with bolts and nuts. When they need to be replaced in the future, you can just unbolt them from the arms, without having to remove the arms again.

 

What xlt4wd90 is not telling you, is that you'd better eat your Wheaties before you attempt this. The torque specs for the three through bolts are 135-142 ft lbs for the front bolt and 145-152 for the two back bolts. I'm 6'4" and weigh 252......I had one hell of a time getting them off even with a breaker bar.

 

spray with PB Blaster and soak overnite

rent a 3/4 or 1" drive breaker bar with socket and get a 4' section of pipe to slip over end

 

Or Have them replaced at Les Schwabs with a realignment.

It was cheaper and faster having Them do it then Me doing it.
Plus you still have to take it in for a Alignment job when you are done. Added Cost.
It was part of the deal when I had the Job done.

Took it in that morning, Had it back by the afternoon.
They have all the tools and a rack to do it on. I don't have a rack and would of had to go out and buy a bunch of special tools to do the job.

JaY

 

I used a socket just smaller than the metal on the bushing,to drive them out.I used a pipe to rest the A frame on and in three maybe four strokes they came out. Insert the same way.

 

I am not sure if the bushings are my only problem. So I am planning on replacing the Upper ball joint, and wheel bearings at the same time. Paying for an alignment is the least of my problems. I have some good breaker bars and pipe so I am not worried about that. I just need to find some time!!!!

Doug

 

Would it be easier to just replace the upper arm itself?

 

Replacing the whole upper arm could be done; you would need to some how get at the nuts on the inside of the pivot shaft that hold the arms on. It's easier on the driver's side, but there is not much room on the passenger's side.

I used the top half of my jack handle slipped over a 1/2" drive ratchet to loosen those nuts; it's like an 18" pipe. You need to make sure the socket sits squarely onto the nut, and apply steady and slowly increasing pressure; don't try to shock it off. And you need to hold the tops of the bolts steady. I used a 19mm or 3/4" box end wrench which was wedged against the frame as I turned the nut.

I forgot to mention about the reassembly; before tightening those end nuts on the pivot shaft, set the upper arm to about the same angle that they were at when the van was sitting level. This way, you do not stress them when the van is just sitting.

 

i replaced upper control arms myself with no problems at all. Let a shop replace the lower ball joints, only because he quoted me $65 labor per side!

 

It's been a while since I changed the bushing in my van, but if I remember correctly, the bolts that hold the brackets for the upper A-Arms also hold the engine cradle to the frame. Therefore, you need to make sure you have support under the cross-member when you take those bolts out or you are in for a nasty surprise...

Cheers,
Eric

 

And they should be done one at a time, meaning do one side complete then do the other.

 

I replaced the front upper control arm bearing on my 96 Aerostar without removing the control arm, or disassembling any of the front-end (except taking off the tire).

First, I want to thank the fine folks on this forum for making it possible for me to save hundreds of dollars on this job. Without you all outlining the problems in advance, I could never have solved them.

For awhile, especially while reading the posts about how difficult it is to remove the upper arm, I was considering having the whole shebang replaced by a pro, but didn’t want to take from the budget.

I admit I’m not a mechanic and wouldn’t be surprised if some of you are flabbergasted and/or appalled by my methods. However, I often work as an RV tech, so I have experience working in tight corners and finding ways to get around design flaws.

Since the rubber was already gone, and the replacement bushings I ordered did not have the metal part, I figured that there was nothing to “press out”, and the only problem would be to press the new rubber one into the old metal part. The nuts and washers were of sufficient strength to do the pressing; the puzzle was how to get a washer and nut where it would start to thread on.

The replacement bushing was apparently designed for a one-size-fits-all, and was considerably longer where it sticks out at the end than the original. So, I shortened it about an inch with my grinder wheel.

To start the install, I put the bushing in place over the end of the back end of the control arm. Then I loosened the front nut until it was almost off, pried the control arm as far back as it would go, and managed to start the nut at the back. After that, it was simply a case of applying pressure by tightening the two nuts while directing the rubber bushing into the metal part with a large screwdriver. I did have to smack it a couple times with a small mall “just ‘cause”.

As the photos show, I didn’t even disturb the caked-on mud on the rest of the assembly.

I just got back from the test drive and am happy to report that all the sounds and wobbles that were worrying me are gone, and the van tracks straight down the road and brakes evenly.


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That's awesome. Did you replace the front bushing the same way?

 

what brand and part # of bushing used?

something definitely looks different

dig into the caked on dry mud on top of the upper outer control arm end. there is a grease fitting there for the upper ball joint which is probably shot also.

working on the front suspension fully flexed down usually finishes off the flex brake line to the caliper on a high mileage rig. blows or particles break off inside plugging up braking action.