Changing Lower control arm

[Haitham Mohamed]

Hey folks, i was changing lower control arm on my corolla and while i'm installing it i faced some difficulty to install the new one the problem is when i'm trying to fit the bushing to the sub-frame it was going in to hard so what i did is, i put a 19mm socket and pry bar to wide a little bit the metal that pinching the bushing with the throw bolt and it did it, the control arm slides right in so i'm wondering, Is there any problem to expand it ?

[oldcodger]

That rear horizonal bush is very tight, had to do something similar to get mine out.

The biggest mistake is to tighten  the 2 bush bolts with the car jacked up in an unnatural position.  You need to put the wheels on and lower it to the ground  and give it a bounce so the bushes are in a normal position, then squeeze under and torque up the bolts.

 

[Red_Corolla]

Not sure if this advice can be applied here, but boiling water can sometimes be used to make rubber bushes more pliable before they are pressed in, as well as lubricating with silicone grease or, in a pinch, washing up liquid. A bit like the old trick of putting ball bearings in the freezer, but using the temperature to soften rather than shrink.

[TonyHSD]

These can be an easy job done or real nightmare. The higher the quality of the part is the easiest it will go in, I learned my lesson the hard way and I know well. Avoid cheap control arms or unknown brands, stick to oem if possible or high quality names., avoid brand “Optimal”- these should never be used. Make a note the steps u taken the old one out and follow exactly the same in reverse, you can wiggle or do whatever necessary as long as you tight the bolts with correct torque and pre set tension it would be ok. I had used a hydraulic jack placed under the wishbone, car lifted off the stands a bit and then two wishbone bolts torque down to specs. 👍