I installed new Whiteline compression rod bushings and inner lower control arm bushings.

My problem is I have the compression rod in with the cross member bolted up. My problem is that I cannot for the life of me get the lower control arm matted back to the cradle to install the long 19mm bolt.

Is there a method or sequence of re installation I am missing? I know that once everything is matted back up I am going to support the weight of the car on blocks up in there air so I can torque all the bolts while under load.

Thanks for your help

 

I have no answer for you, just wanted to check in and see if you fix your issue.

 

not yet. Going to work on it this afternoon. I am going to install the control arm first then install the compression rod. See if that works.

 

Okay please keep us posted, I might be heading down this road.

Gl

 

ok,

The problem is you are doing it in reverse...

you have to install the part going to the chassis first and then plug in the ball joint into the hub and tighten then... but you have to remove the upper control arms in order to allow the proper amount of distance to travel to the lower install.

 

Thanks for the reply. I tried some more this afternoon with more fighting. To make sure I am correct

1. I need install the comp. rod bushing side first to the chassis on both sides (While lower control arm is bolted in & strut bolt in place to hold it to lower control arm. And while the lower control arm ball joint is in home position with nut loose)

2. Bolt up the cross member plate underneath.

3.Then unbolt the upper control arm to allow the compression rod ball joint and wheel hub assembly to get close enough to bolt together.

4. Then jack up wheel hub assembly to move the entire unit upward to bolt upper control arm back.

 

With the bushing side of the compression rod butted to the body/chassis and the lower control arm in place with shock attached to it this is how far the ball joint on the comp. rod is from the wheel hub.

 

I have not unbolted the upper control arms yet but why don't the DIY's on this tell you the method for reassembly?

The new bushings on the comp rod are fatter and ALOT stiffer.

This is the biggest pain in the A**. No problem taking it apart and pressing the old bushings out and new ones in.

 

I'm at work thinking about the problem I have and believe it might be because only the front of my car in on jack stands on not the rear. This is throwing the geometry of the car off and putting things in a bind. I will check this afternoon to see if this theory is right.


Thanks

 

unbolt the top...

 

I just replaced mine last weekend.

INSTALL THE COMPRESSION ARM LAST!!!!

I made the mistake of putting it in first and wasted almost four hours trying to wrestle the rest of the suspension back together. Then I read the manual, and it clearly states that the only thing required to remove and reinstall the compression arm is the removal of the crossmember and the compression arm. I.E. the rest of the suspension is to be installed before you reinstall the compression arm.

Edit: when I installed the compression arm on the other side (using the correct procedure this time), to include installing a new strut, total time to do it all was about 45 minutes.

 

Thanks for the reply. Unbolting the top control arm will not do anything. Here is a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpIgj...ature=youtu.be

It seem like it should not be in this much of a bind to attempt to make it right. I will never do this again. I'll stick with my fbodys.

 

I had a similar issue when I re-installed my comp rod bushings. You are correct that the stiffer bushings make it harder to get the ball joint bolted up. Like others mentioned, install the lower control arm first (don't need to unbolt anything on the upper control arm). Slide bushing end of compression rod onto body and bolt up the bottom support brace. Place jack under the knuckle and slowly jack it up to compress the struts. This should close the gap between the compression rod ball joint and the knuckle. With some muscle you should be able to press down on the comp rod to get the ball joint in.

Another thing that could help is to a use racheting strap to make a loop around the comp rod and then use your body weight to stand on the strap to put some extra downward force on the comp rod to get the ball joint in.