balboa850
New Member
- Joined
- November 5, 2023
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 2
- City, State
- Tacoma, WA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2005 XLS
I needed a upper ball joint and thought I'd just buy another ball joint and install. Nope. Apparently if you have 16" tires the aftermarket Moog ball joint would rub against the tire. I ended up getting a complete control arm. This was for the rear passenger side.
You'll need 18mm, 21mm, 15mm, 13mm sockets. The same in wrenches. I have a 1/2" Milwaukee Torque gun which made it easier to remove. Spraying the bolts with penetrant helps.
The bolts are held in with nuts that have a retaining wing so you really dont need to hold the other side when removing, I found that out after I removed all bolts! Top right bolt is 18mm and was taken off using a couple of long 1/2" extensions.
The left side bolts, 2 each at 15mm, are easier to reach by dropping the spare tire and removing the cabling retaining clip bolts, 2 each at 13mm. Again I used my long extension bars.
Re-assembly for the right side is easier but left side requires to line up the winged nuts ( if you remove the plastic mud guard in front of it it would make life easier, I didn't because I have long monkey arms.
I received the control arm with the left support upside down so when I turned it around and tightened it was installed with the ball joint way high. When trying to install back into the hub I had to use a long squeeze clamp. Once i got it in the hole I used some penetrant and a couple of whacks from a hammer to get it to sit.
I had to take off the wheel hub, 36mm deep well, because the broken wheel studs would not come out! After making a makeshift punch holder using a long socket and some magnets I knocked the hell out of the studs using some 3-2-1 blocks to support the hub on the ground. Using a propane torch and penetrant didn't initially work for me when mounted.
Now I'm just fighting with the damn spring for the brake shoes!!
Edit: whoever invented parking brake shoe clips and springs can burn in hell! Damn it was a pita to get it put together without using tape, clamps, etc with eventually having to knock the hub back off to get some clearance to hold the stupid little ping for the clips.
You'll need 18mm, 21mm, 15mm, 13mm sockets. The same in wrenches. I have a 1/2" Milwaukee Torque gun which made it easier to remove. Spraying the bolts with penetrant helps.
The bolts are held in with nuts that have a retaining wing so you really dont need to hold the other side when removing, I found that out after I removed all bolts! Top right bolt is 18mm and was taken off using a couple of long 1/2" extensions.
The left side bolts, 2 each at 15mm, are easier to reach by dropping the spare tire and removing the cabling retaining clip bolts, 2 each at 13mm. Again I used my long extension bars.
Re-assembly for the right side is easier but left side requires to line up the winged nuts ( if you remove the plastic mud guard in front of it it would make life easier, I didn't because I have long monkey arms.
I received the control arm with the left support upside down so when I turned it around and tightened it was installed with the ball joint way high. When trying to install back into the hub I had to use a long squeeze clamp. Once i got it in the hole I used some penetrant and a couple of whacks from a hammer to get it to sit.
I had to take off the wheel hub, 36mm deep well, because the broken wheel studs would not come out! After making a makeshift punch holder using a long socket and some magnets I knocked the hell out of the studs using some 3-2-1 blocks to support the hub on the ground. Using a propane torch and penetrant didn't initially work for me when mounted.
Now I'm just fighting with the damn spring for the brake shoes!!
Edit: whoever invented parking brake shoe clips and springs can burn in hell! Damn it was a pita to get it put together without using tape, clamps, etc with eventually having to knock the hub back off to get some clearance to hold the stupid little ping for the clips.
