Lower control arm

[BigDave!!!]

just wondering how hard would it be to take off the lower control arm completely. I was wondering if anybody had any advice or steps they knew on how i should go about doing this, if it helps i am 2wd.

 

[IZwack]

removing the control arm itself from the vehicle is really easy.. its really just two bolts that attaches the arm to the cross member. the hardest part will be removing the lower ball joint from the arm.. but if i were you, i'd just forget about re-using the lower ball joints - just get new ones and press those onto the new lower arm. it'll save you a little bit of time and thats one less ball joint to worry about in the future (and get Moog lower ball joints as they are re-greasable)

 

[BigDave!!!]

what should i do with the torsion bars? if i loosen the adjuster bolt all the way out can i just slide them out of the lower arm? ive heard that you needed somehting like a 2 jaw gear puller or something to get them out, the T bars were pretty much my main concern and thanks for the info about the ball joints...

 

[IZwack]

oh ahaha, forgot about the torsion bars!!!!.. ahah asorry.. umm somewhere on the board there's instructions on how to remove the torsion bars... i forget who wrote it but i hope the search will pop it up.. but yeah you got the right idea, you just gotta relieve it of stress (via the bolts on the back), and use a gear puller to slide it out.. tho JGarrett has a great idea on how to avoid using a gear puller on this thread (sscroll down to post #6):
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112570&highlight=remove+torsion+bar

 

[BigDave!!!]

thanks a ton IZwak that is just what i wanted to hear!!! no gear puller for me