R33 Lower Control Arm Removal

[SHY 33]

Hey guys,

I've been searching on here for approx 3 hours now, and i cant find any how-to guides on removing the lower control arms for an R33 GTS-T...

I might be using the wrong search terms or maybe there isn't one, either way can someone (or multiple someones) "hook a brother up" ?

I stacked my car on the weekend and so far i've got the damage down to bent drivers side lower control arms (front & rear), bent drivers side front rack end, radiator top tank shat itself (but not bothered by that = easy fix), and obvious panel damage that can be easily replaced. I work in a servo so funds are minimal, but i'm pretty hands on when it comes to diving in & having a go at fixing busted stuff. I should have the necessary parts (control arms / rack ends / tie rod ends) lined up from a dude on here, and i want to have a crack at replacing this stuff myself.

Can some of you guys point me in the right direction (with directions), so i can at least have a bit of confidence to start pulling my suspension apart without worrying that a spring is gonna fly across my garage BTW i have TEIN coilovers all-round if that makes any difference (prolly not)..

The sooner i get some pointers/confidence from people who have done it a few times instead of from a bottle of wild the sphincter of the universe, the sooner i can buy the parts off this dude and start hooking in.

Cheers..

[260tech]

Hey guys,

I've been searching on here for approx 3 hours now, and i cant find any how-to guides on removing the lower control arms for an R33 GTS-T...

I might be using the wrong search terms or maybe there isn't one, either way can someone (or multiple someones) "hook a brother up" ?

I stacked my car on the weekend and so far i've got the damage down to bent drivers side lower control arms (front & rear), bent drivers side front rack end, radiator top tank shat itself (but not bothered by that = easy fix), and obvious panel damage that can be easily replaced. I work in a servo so funds are minimal, but i'm pretty hands on when it comes to diving in & having a go at fixing busted stuff. I should have the necessary parts (control arms / rack ends / tie rod ends) lined up from a dude on here, and i want to have a crack at replacing this stuff myself.

Can some of you guys point me in the right direction (with directions), so i can at least have a bit of confidence to start pulling my suspension apart without worrying that a spring is gonna fly across my garage BTW i have TEIN coilovers all-round if that makes any difference (prolly not)..

The sooner i get some pointers/confidence from people who have done it a few times instead of from a bottle of wild the sphincter of the universe, the sooner i can buy the parts off this dude and start hooking in.

Cheers..

Hi, without pics of damage to go by, here are some generic instructions, coil spring wont come off/take off as long as you do not undo the top jesus nut on your shockie. That's the biggy in the top of strut tower middle. Usually.

Jack up front of car safely. Both wheels.

Get Wheel off on offended side, susp should be extended/relaxed by now.

To drop suspension damper assy out in one piece;

Bonnet must be up at this point.

2, 3 or 4 maybe nuts on top pillar easy access over wheel arch, 12mm spanner maybe. Before ripping the damper/spring assy out in one piece......Mark pillar/shock assy top plate for re-install in same orientation.

One nut or nut & bolt 17mm spanner maybe on lower end of damper/spring assy. Undo this lot, disconnect any brake bits attached or hindering extraction & pull whole assy down/wiggle/out. Crowbar jemmie could be handy depending how bent things are?

Have you looked through SK's very informative suspension threads btw. good place to start in there.

Cheers GW

[SHY 33]

Have you looked through SK's very informative suspension threads btw. good place to start in there.

Cheers GW

Cheers for that info, makes it sound not that hard.

Yeah i checked thru SK's posts - well all of the topics he started anyway. Knowledgable bastard aint he ? LOL

I got zip on what i'm after, a fare bit of general info on suspension itself but no how-to or pic-by-pic tutorials. I've replaced castor rods, sway-bars, steering racks, rack-ends, tie-rod ends, wheel bearings, rotors, calipers and the like before on both my old Gemini & SII RX/7, and a few mates cars for them. But I've never had a go at pulling a lower control arm assembly out before.

I was a little concerned on whether i'd need spring compressors or something like that to do this job. Also unsure what the go was with fitting new lower ball-joints with the new lower control arms. Like whether they had to be press fitted and if so, is there an old-school mechanic way of doing the job with good results etc.

I might see if i can rustle up the digi-cam off the missus so i can put pics up of what i'm up against - and possibly add my own tutorial on what to do...

Anyone else want to add anything ?? I'm all ears, coz the car aint going anywhere while its up on chassis stands ATM..

[BHDave]

Removal of the lower control arms is a pretty simple job, there is just a bit of fiddly shit to look out for.

first off, leave the strut in. It provides a bit of downward pressure for removal and installation of the ball joint(s)

Undo the inner nuts but leave the bolts in, drop the sway bar on the rear, the caster rod on the front.

Remove the split pins on the top of the ball joints

Undo the castle nut on the ball joint.

Now is the fun part. On the front it is pretty easy to bash the ball joint out. If you don't care about saving it (i wouldn't if it's taken a hit) just bash it out. Put a jack under the hub to support it while you bash. This is the reason i leave the strut in. It holds the whole assembly steady. If the thing is flapping around in the breeze it could take you hours to get it out. Rear is a bit harder to do but still acheivable as the drive shaft is in the way. just get a 300mm long bit of steel rod to use as a dolly.

seriously, once you get under there and have a look there's not much to it. If you get stuck, post up specifc questions.

[SHY 33]

If you get stuck, post up specifc questions.

OK, i got a specific question now...

Specifically.. Howdafaaark do i get that REAR lower ball-joint out ?? I've finished doing the front, now i'm onto the rear.

I've undone the nuts to the arms that connect to the sub-frame, undone the ball-joint nut, removed the sway-bar link that goes through the lower control arm, couldn't manage to get the tie-rod end seperated so i left it where it is with the nut undone...

I've bashed the shite out of it from every angle possible, even jammed a jack between the upper and lower control arms to give me some extra downward pressure, used a 20-30cm 1/2 inch extension bar as a dolly to hit at it from all angles from top, sides, angles, the thread, but - No cigar !!

Should i just go out & buy one of those 'ball-joint seperator' doodads from 'Superbroad minded person Auto' ? Would one of them even fit in there with enough room to swing a hammer properly ?

Does it sound like i've done everything right so far & i just need to keep on a bashin' the nasty sod - even after 1/2 hour of bashing ?

I really hope somene has some words of wisdom for me here..

[BHDave]

I expect the thread is f**ked now so no use in trying to save the ball joint. Try one of the tuning fork looking things from supercheap. I have one sitting in my tool box but have never needed to use it.

[Sydneykid]

I expect the thread is f**ked now so no use in trying to save the ball joint. Try one of the tuning fork looking things from supercheap. I have one sitting in my tool box but have never needed to use it.

They work just fine, slide it in between the upright (hub) and the lower control arm with each of the forks on either side of the ball joint. From the rear is the easiest. As has been previously suggested, leave the spring/shock unit in until you have the ball joint cracked as it holds the upright in place while you work.

Cheers

Gary

[SHY 33]

Update..

Finally got the sumbitch sucker off..

Yes went down to 'Superbroad minded person Auto' and invested 17 of my hard earned slaving dollars in a 'mini ball-joint seperator'. The normal sized one was a different design that looked useless on a rear ball-joint of the R33. The drive-shafts hub is in the way and would make using it a an absolute stuff around.

After slipping the "mini ball-joint seperator" in place i gave it a few smacks with the hammer but it didn't do any good, cue the next door neighbour's and they're generosity to lend a baby sledgey to a neighbour

Sorry i didn't take any pics, the digi-cam is cactus & i don't have the cord for my mobile to transfer onto the computer.

Tips for future search references....

FRONT & REAR..

Yes, definately leave the strut assembly in place to help in LCA & lower ball-joint removal - it saves time & is less hassle for the removal & install process, and there's less to remember/think about when you're bolting everything back together.

Yes, slip your jack underneath the rotor assembly to support the weight for when you finally get the lower control arm seperated.

Ball-joint nuts were 22mm

The front lower ball-joint nuts can be undone with a 22mm 1/2inch drive socket

The rears however HAVE to be done with a ring spanner - the drive-shaft stops any socket & ratchet options. They're best taken care of with a long-ish ring spanner and a few hits with a hammer to 'crack' the nut. Or the old 'ring end over the open end' 2nd spanner trick will get you the leverage you need.

FRONT..

When installing the new/secondhand lower control arm - its alot easier to slip the tapered end of the ball-joint through the hub assembly first, then do the ball-joint nut up finger tight.

If the strut assembly has moved, don't stress - inch the whole assembly across with a trolly jack toward the sump..

Then when you've pretty much lined up the inside end/s with the bush to the bolt hole, just slip the bolt through and tighten both ends from there. The hub & rotor assembly may require a little jiggling back & forth to get the bolt to slip through all the way.

Castor rod bolts were 17mm from memory. Put the two LCA end bolts through 1st and spin their nuts on a few times, then move the whole lot into position so you can slip the bolt through the other end with the bush.

REAR....

Is easier coz it doesn't move back & forth due to the drive-shaft, and with the jack underneath the rotor it wont move up & down either. It's just a little bit of a pain to initially undo everything..

The old 'ring end over the open end' 2nd spanner trick will get you the leverage you need for the ball-joint nut.

Don't let the jack hang too much lip on the inside side of the rotor. If it does, the lower control arm will foul on it when trying to slip the arm out. If your lucky like i was, you won't have to release and re-position the jack - the LCA will juuust slip out past it. (this makes it quicker for alignment when fitting the new LCA)

Inner LCA bolts were 19mm and needed a bit of persistance to 'crack' open. Looked as though Nissan used some sort of thread compound or loctite on them. Again spanners are best for the rear - too much fouling to use sockets.

This is a 'basic tips' guide.. Sorry if it seems a little confusing, i had a couple of JD's to make the process a little more enjoyable

Cheers for your input guys, it definately gave me the confidence to 'Ava-crack-atit'

[H@ME]

Hey guys i hope this is on topic but i doing a 5-stud and brake conversion on my gts r33 skyline with rb25det. i will be replacing the hubs, calipers, rotors and the arms connecting to them. I just want to know will i need a coil compressor to get the arms on etc, or is there an easy way around this?

Edited January 26, 2008 by H@ME

[BHDave]

you won't need spring compressors. You just pull the hub downwards (or upwards) and slip the bottom of the strut onto the mount.

when the car is jacked up the whole assembly is at full droop so when you remove the strut it may sag another inch or so. You just man up and lift it back up when you have to remount the strut.

[H@ME]

back guys, i have now aquired an r32 with ear end damage..wont go into detail however need to separate the balljoint in the rear that holds the hicas arm onto the hub assembly! any ideas i have a 'fork' from supercheap...tried bashing with a rubber mallet...no go...

also when connecting the arm again how do i go about this?

hame