Hey guys,

Im looking to replace the control arm on my 94 Z. Other than a replacement control arm what do i need? are there any guides you guys might know of? Can someone break down the process to me, i would really appreciate it!

thanks!

D

 

Which control arm are you replacing?

 

Passenger side lower control arm

 

In a nutshell. Disconnect shock/spring assembly from LCA, disconnect stabilizer bar link, disconnect ball joint from steering knuckle, disconnect LCA from frame. Reassemble in reverse order making sure the rubber bushings are good, replace ball joint, and align wheels.

 

Great thank you!

I'm assuming i can grab a new ball joint at autozone or a competitor? Anything specifically you think i will need to watch out for or be aware of? You made it sound simple but i KNOW its not that easy.. unfortunately. Any special tools required yada yada, you get what im saying.

thanks !

 

Yes you can can a ball joint and bushings at Autozone or the like if they have it in stock. I just did this job on my '95 and it's not difficult. If you have an impact gun or a friend who has one it definately makes the job easier. Just follow pete's instructions, that's really all there is to it. Since you have to go to Autozone anyways, look through a manual and see which sockets and wrench sizes you'll need. You may want to see if a friend can give you a hand. Just some tips, you'll need to lift the brake system away from the control arm. Use a floor jack to do the heavy lifting, as the brake+suspension is pretty heavy. Let us know how it goes.

 

great, thanks guys. hopefully ill get this done soon. I haven't driven er' in so long i forgot how she rides

 

am i going to need any special tools? when i go into autozone what exactly should i ask them for? thanks

 

replaced! took my uncle(who can pretty much fix anything) about 4 hours to do the job. the replacement control arm i got off e-bay is definitely compatible but just seems less "beefier" than the one we just took off. shouldnt be a problem should it? that being said im entirely grateful to be able to DRIVE it again it was a pretty big job. going forward from here do i need to do anything since i replaced the arm? re-align? anything??

Also im not sure if i should start another thread for this (probably should to get a little more attention) but something just isn't right with the car and how it rides, its just to shakey... the steering wheel is "loose" i can wiggle it left and right without it affecting the steering (which seems harder to steer making 90 degree turns than it should anyways)

secondly it just doesnt seem like i have that great of control of the car. when im driving on the highway it seems like the wind is blowing the car around too much and when i hit bumps it seems to throw the car off its rocker a bit.

its really kind of hard to explain without DRIVING it yourself but something just isn't right. i know my explanations arent that savvy but i really dont know how else to explain it, being im not that big of a car guy. suspension issue?

(before we replaced the control arm a buddy and I replaced the rear rotors and pads. Rotors were really pretty worn down and loose and pads were worn very unevenly). think that has anything to do with the problem im experiencing? Heres a link to a post i had previously made to explain the rotor and pad issue better.

thanks for the input and all the help thus far!

 

Yeah you need to get an alignment done as soon as you can. You more than likely did not install the control arm exactly as it was before. Take it to an alignment shop and they will get you squared away. I'm pretty confident it will fix your steering issue.