Front Lower Control Arm Replacement DIY Options

[alienman]

I just did the lower control arm on my 2003 Elantra GT so I though I would do a quick write up for anyone else attempting this.

Personal opinion the level of difficulty for this project would be low to medium if you have the right tools and a little bit of know how.

Time to complete 1-2 hours

WHAT YOU NEED

Impact Wrench (muscles and a breaker bar would probably work)
14mm Socket
19mm Socket
21mm Socket
22mm Socket

14mm wrench
19mm wrench

Ball Joint Removal Tool
Hammer
Extensions approx 15 inches long (I used 2, a short and a long one)
Jack and Jack Stands
Vice Grips




The reason I had to change the control arm is because the bracket for the sway bar link broke off.



First thing is to jack up the car and put it on a jack stand. Make sure the wheels are blocked so it can't roll away and that is it secure on the stand. Take the wheel off using a 21mm socket.

The next thing I did was to remove the ball joint nut using a 19mm wrench, the nut is a nyloc nut so it isn't going to be as tight as you expect. I squished my finger between the wrench and control arm because I was pushing a lot harder than I had to.



Next I used the ball joint removal tool and hammer and separated the ball joint from the knuckle. The easiest way I found to do this was to turn the wheels all the way to the right. It allowed for easier access with the removal tool and hammer.

Just put the tool between the ball joint and knuckle and hammer away till it pops loose.




***If your sway bar link bracket is not broken off this would be the time to remove it from the control arm, just use a 14mm wrench on the back side of the link and then a 14mm socket on the nut and remove. The link on my car was rusted and I ended up having to use the vice grips to hold the link from turning as I loosened the nut.***

After that I removed the 2 front bolts that hold the control arm in place. This is where you use the extensions, you can run them clearly through to the bolts with a 19mm socket on the end and then use your impact to take them out.



When that is complete removed the rear bolt using a 22mm socket and the impact wrench.




To get the control arm out, pull the ball joint out of the knuckle and rotate the control are towards the back and then just pull it out.



To put it all back together it is just done in reverse. You should probably use a new nyloc nut on the ball joint or some blue locktight if a new nut is not available.

When you go to install the new control arm be sure to transfer over any extras from the old one, this spacer was on the old control arm so I transferred it to the new control arm.




And the finished product.