Finally got a breather after the Christmas & family stuff so I installed my lower control arms. It is a pretty simple mod, but there are a couple of things to consider to make it much easier, so if you are gonna attempt this just learn from my mistakes and you will be done in less than an hour.
1) Before you jack the car up, find as level a spot as you can, and index the shock body with the protective sleeve. This will allow you to compress the rear end to its normal height at rest before torquing down the bolts after the control arm swap. I grabbed my kids water based paint cause I couldn't find any whiteout, but you get the idea.
2) Jack the car up from the frame, and put it on jack stands at the frame so that the rear can be moved up and down with a jack later on when realigning the control arms.
3) The parking brake cable is routed through the stock control arm so yu have to remove the retaining clip, and then just pull the cable away from the mount so you can snake it out of the control arm.
4) There is one bolt at the front of the control arm and one at the back. Don't waste your time if you don't have a breaker bar. They are torqued to 130ftlbs. I got a 17 inch bar from Ace, and it broke them free like a hot knife through butter.
***5) If you don't have a lift, or are on perfectly level ground the rear is going to shift when you drop the stock arm out. This is what happened to me. Put the front bolt in first and just hand tighten. Realigning the rear bolt in the new control arm is super easy if you have a giant C clamp if you are by yourself, or if you have a friend helping it is even easier. I snaked the clamp through the control arm, and only need a turn and a half to push the rear forward just enough to get the bolt back in the rear hole. being that both wheels are off the ground there is just enough play in the rear to move it back and forth by hand (up and down is easy with the jack). If you have someone who can help just have them push on the tire until you get the bolt through. If you are on your own, the C clamp is a breeze.
6) Once the bolts are hand tight, get the jack under the rear, and jack it back up to your reference mark before you torque the bolts down.
I am a vag so I brought that extra jack stand under with me, and put it under the axle. Note: it isn't engaged. There is a about a 1/4 inch between the jack stand and the axle. Just a little extra safety measure in case the jack gives out.
7) Once you are at your reference mark on the shock...torque down to 130ftlbs.
8) I snaked the parking brake cable back through the control arm, but I am not sure I like it there so I might just zip tie it next time I have the wheels off.
Finished product:
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Test drive:
Effing night and day re: wheel hop. It was 35 degrees earlier when I went for a ride so the tires spun like a mother ****er, but there was no hop at all at 2 separate 3500 RPM clutch dumps. Yesterday under similar conditions I could not launch at 2k without thunderous hop.
Looking forward to installing my control arm relocation brackets and then welded in, and also getting the adjustable upper installed (hoping to do the latter tomorrow).
1) Before you jack the car up, find as level a spot as you can, and index the shock body with the protective sleeve. This will allow you to compress the rear end to its normal height at rest before torquing down the bolts after the control arm swap. I grabbed my kids water based paint cause I couldn't find any whiteout, but you get the idea.
2) Jack the car up from the frame, and put it on jack stands at the frame so that the rear can be moved up and down with a jack later on when realigning the control arms.
3) The parking brake cable is routed through the stock control arm so yu have to remove the retaining clip, and then just pull the cable away from the mount so you can snake it out of the control arm.
4) There is one bolt at the front of the control arm and one at the back. Don't waste your time if you don't have a breaker bar. They are torqued to 130ftlbs. I got a 17 inch bar from Ace, and it broke them free like a hot knife through butter.
***5) If you don't have a lift, or are on perfectly level ground the rear is going to shift when you drop the stock arm out. This is what happened to me. Put the front bolt in first and just hand tighten. Realigning the rear bolt in the new control arm is super easy if you have a giant C clamp if you are by yourself, or if you have a friend helping it is even easier. I snaked the clamp through the control arm, and only need a turn and a half to push the rear forward just enough to get the bolt back in the rear hole. being that both wheels are off the ground there is just enough play in the rear to move it back and forth by hand (up and down is easy with the jack). If you have someone who can help just have them push on the tire until you get the bolt through. If you are on your own, the C clamp is a breeze.
6) Once the bolts are hand tight, get the jack under the rear, and jack it back up to your reference mark before you torque the bolts down.
I am a vag so I brought that extra jack stand under with me, and put it under the axle. Note: it isn't engaged. There is a about a 1/4 inch between the jack stand and the axle. Just a little extra safety measure in case the jack gives out.
7) Once you are at your reference mark on the shock...torque down to 130ftlbs.
8) I snaked the parking brake cable back through the control arm, but I am not sure I like it there so I might just zip tie it next time I have the wheels off.
Finished product:
Test drive:
Effing night and day re: wheel hop. It was 35 degrees earlier when I went for a ride so the tires spun like a mother ****er, but there was no hop at all at 2 separate 3500 RPM clutch dumps. Yesterday under similar conditions I could not launch at 2k without thunderous hop.
Looking forward to installing my control arm relocation brackets and then welded in, and also getting the adjustable upper installed (hoping to do the latter tomorrow).
