HELP! FD rear lower control arm installation
 

Hey guys, I just got through replacing a crapload of stuff in my suspension and am 90% done. Last thing (before spring/shocks) is the rear lower control arm. I just can't get the thing back into the spindle. The fit between the arm bushing and spindle is like an interference fit... anyone have experience they would like to share? I took off the trailing arm, the toe link, and have the upper arm still installed. The spring/shock is out of the car. The lower arm is not yet attached to the subframe (no bolt), I tried it that way and no dice. I'm in a serious bind because I need to have everything together by tonight... hopefully alignment tomorrow. Only other thing I can think of is to remove the spindle from the car and stick it in a vise and try to hammer the arm in....

TIA :)

I never had that part apart but could it be like the front lower control arm where it has a sleeve that slides until it makes contact with the LCA pillowball?

If it does, you can use a bolt, nut and washer to compress it back into the spindle so the LCA can slide in.

yeah, you need to wack out that sleeve a little bit. You can put the bolt halfway through and screw the nut on in between the two things, like so.

[Spindle] [nut] [spindle] [ the bolt]

Then you wack on the bolt a few times with a rubber mallet to push back the sleeve a tiny bit so you can put the LCA back in.

Hope that helps.

yeah!
 

^^ Yes, you are the man. When I first looked at the spindle, I assumed the sleeves were integral to the spindle.. like they weren't a separate part. That was a stupid assumption :) After looking at it again it would make no engineering sense for it to be that way. Anyway, I went downstairs, used a little bit of PB Blaster and a small hammer... voila... popped right over. I put the arm back on and bolted it up. Thanks so much, [heart]rx-7 club[/heart]

Ran into the same problem when I changed out my front swaybar links. It's all in the sleeve... :)