Well finally got around to do this damn job, after months of debating whether I should take it in for 520 big ones of just pay 62.99 for a 4-wheel alignment with 6,000/6months from pepboys.


Alright the writup is the same as the ones on the board already, but there are a few crucial procedures and steps that I did not enwounter in any of the writeups and would have helped me before hand.

Anyway here are the additions if you have already read up on the project online.


-you will need to remove the stabalizer bar first, very easy, four bolts then the bolt and washer securing it to the ctrol arm and your set, without removing this there is no access to the 7-8 bolt in the middle of the control arm

-be sure to prop the jack stands under the rotor (for lack of a better support spot)


-once you start removing the the control arm the thing will not pop out you have to give it several wacks with the sledge hammer to set it free, then it will fall to the ground one by one and the rotor will also want to fall to the floor, so make sure the jack is in there centered and can support it well.

-replace the control arms with the new ones before you try to get the tire rods off

One thing I did not know was that the the bolts will not tighten, ie it will spin in the socket, the only way to stop this from happeneing is if you take a jack and prop it under the respective sextion of the bolt and then use a 2x4 and place it and raise the jack until it is snug in there. This actually puts pressure on the bolt and then you can tighten them.

-the tie rod end that bolts up to the strut housing is also this way.

-make sure you have a tie rod lock plate, it is basically a pliable washer with an inverted section that you smack flush so that it does not come loose when you are driving.

-ONe other thing that is good to know before doing this project is to be ready to take the car for an alignment afterwards.

My cheap way of removing the control arm bushings from the lolipop


use your hacksaw to saw thourough two sides but try not to saw the lolipop, to avoid this I did some prelimenary sawing then used a sharp chisel and the sledgehammer and whacked away on a concrete garage floor to mae the one of the tips bend inside, once it is bent enough that you can fit a good protion of your chisel in there go anead and use the sharp end and get the cab to tear or rip apart, eough of this in a local area and the thing will end up creating a gap and then you can bang it out of contine this until it rips out.

then when you are ready to install the new ones go ahead and use the propane torch to heat up the lolipop and then removes the cabs from the freezer, place it by aligning the arrows with the bulge on the oposite side of where you fasten it and use a large flat waher and give it a few preliminary wacks to get it in there and then wack away until it is in there and will not go any further, all the while the lolipop is still scorching hot, then go ahead and use your hand dandy gear puller with a solid piece of metal or thick washer and put it in the vise and crank away until it is in there just centered.

Worked for me, Took me from 6-12:30 (waiting on tools, getting a propane torch........really an easy job with no real technical procedures to follow. Took the car in for alighnment the next day way better than before but the car does feel real rough on bumps, next up are the lousy struts and springs and the rear trailing arm bushings. I miss the new car feeling....