Did I just screw up my front control arm?

#1

I’ve been trying to remove these piece of shit Bilstein shocks so I can put camber plates on and in the process of removing them I tore the rubber boot on the front control arm that attaches to the wheel hub. It’s not a very big tear but it’s a tear nonetheless. There’s also a tear in the tie rod boot but that’s pretty minimal so I don’t really care. Is there a way to patch it up? The thing is almost brand new.

#2

I think you can find new boots if you look hard enough. Of course you’ll have to separate each joint to put a new boot on. I don’t think that the boots can be “repaired”. Anything you try to cover the hole in the boots will be defeated by the harsh environment they work in. If you’re going to replace the boots, do it now before grit can get in.

#3

So I also have another issue.

Urg I’m so pissed off right now that maybe I should just stop for the night.

Anyways, start here: http://spece30.com/forum/10-steering-and-suspension/44792-tightening-top-of-front-strut-what-am-i-missing?limit=10&start=10

I was trying to get that damn nut off my shocks. I don’t have power tools so I decided to go the route that guy did. I bought this hollow socket wrench from Lowe’s so I could remove the nut (19mm) while holding onto the shock shaft (8mm). The damn shock shaft is now pretty much a circle instead of an 8mm hexagonal shape.

I got the other one off without issue.

So where do I go from here?

I’m done for the night.

#4

If you can get car to friend with a really good air or battery-powered impact gun, you might be able to zing off the 19mm nut. Since those use the element of ‘surprise’ :slight_smile: with the nut, the fact that the head of the shaft is stripped will not come into play.

But, stopping for the night is definitely your best move.

#5

So say I can get it off. Is it something that can easily be fixed or do I need a new shock? I was hoping to get all of my shocks serviced eventually but I think they’re good for now.

#6

As long as you can zing it off and on with power tools, you’ll never care about the rounded-off head.

Most of us who use them have never put a wrench on that fitting, so it may as well not exist.

#7

Alright I’ll try that tomorrow. Should I put everything back together and lower the car down or doesn’t it matter?

#8

Also, I can’t find the dust boots by themselves although I have managed to find the ball joints themselves. Maybe I’ll just order one and then scavenge the dust boot from it.

#9

[quote=“MrDomino” post=71901]So I also have another issue.

Urg I’m so pissed off right now that maybe I should just stop for the night.

I was trying to get that damn nut off my shocks. I don’t have power tools so I decided to go the route that guy did. I bought this hollow socket wrench from Lowe’s so I could remove the nut (19mm) while holding onto the shock shaft (8mm). The damn shock shaft is now pretty much a circle instead of an 8mm hexagonal shape.

So where do I go from here?

I’m done for the night.[/quote]
I had this problem when I was building new #6. I removed the finish off of an hex key, inserted it into the shock, then carefully welded it in place. That will give you plenty of purchase on the shaft. The trick is to do it w/o screwing up the threads too much. By far the hardest part was repairing the threads because I suck as a welder.

#10

My shocks might be a really old design. They have an 8mm male hex so I can use a socket whereas I think you’re talking about an 8mm female where you’d use a hex wrench.

#11

Ok, so tackweld a nut on the top.

#12

There is no dust boot available for any of the ball joints, You can either replace the ball joint or the whole control arm. having said that a tiny little hole in the boot could probably be sealed with a bit of black rtv, we were able to seal a leaking axle boot on a lemons car in an emergency and it didn’t leak anymore that race. We did replace the boot before the next race though.

Now put that pickle fork away and only bring it back out when you are changing control arms and you need to break the inner ball joint from the subframe. You don’t need it on the outer or the tie rod. Get yourself a ball joint tool or just use a well placed blow with a hammer. Back the nut off until the threads of the ball joint are covered before hitting or you’ll destroy the stud.

#13

If you don’t have access to an impact gun, this is a great excuse to buy one. Due to my garage renting circumstances, I couldn’t buy a compressor and such. I bought the cheapo corded electric impact gun from HF for $50 and their $20 set of impact sockets. It’s extremely loud, not that powerful (can’t always break lugnuts free), but will happily zip the shock nuts on and off all day.

For the boot, I have no experience. You shouldn’t have needed to break the inner or outer ball joint free for this job. You can remove the camber plate by disconnecting the tie rod and sway bar.

#14

Yeah I just disconnected everything to make it easier to work. I’m going to pick up another HF impact in a few weeks (before Mid Ohio) since my old one died at Putnam last year.

A few questions that I need answered real quick.

  1. When busting this nut (hehe) free, should I reinstall everything and then lower the car so that the spring is pushed up against the perch or can I just do it with the shock bolted into the tower hanging free?

  2. Is this how the Ground Control camber plates should be oriented?

#15

Wow, nice looking camber plates. The black anodized plate looks inverted to me. “Nominal” caster/camber settings should just about center the strut rod in the hole. Yours looks pretty far offset towards the rear of the car. But I have $100 internet specials, so what do I know.

+5 on the electric impact. I bought one about 8 years ago for $50 to remove the front axles from the minivan. Worked like a dream. Best $50 I ever spent on a tool. Mine’s a Chicago Electric (HF) and seems to generate boatloads of torque. I’ve never found anything it wouldn’t loosen. I have not yet tackled the Jesus nut with it though.

#16

They’re not bolted in. I just have them sitting there to make sure that I have them oriented correctly.

#17

I put mine in backward the first time. The guy from Ground Control emailed me: Conventionally the “wide” side goes toward the front of the car(away from the firewall). So you got it right by your picture. Weird that they can go in either way.

Make sure your spring hats detents line up with the end of the spring when you reinstall. Also glop some grease above and below that bearing.

While beating out the control arm, I buggered up the threads on both. I carefully used a “thread file” to straighten out the threads - worked well and less dramatic than rethreading dies.

#18

I just took an impact to that nut and it came right off. I’m really relieved now.

When you say wide side you’re talking about the pink line vs. the orange line, right?

#19

Looking at the plates (I have the same set, bolted to my struts but not yet back in the car), it seems to me that if you put the wide side forward, you are mean-shifting your caster adjustment range towards more positive caster. If you put the wide side toward the firewall, you’d mean-shift your caster adjustment range toward less positive caster. I would imagine the ranges would overlap.

Anyone care to double check my spatial reasoning here?

#20

Yes that’s right. It should give you a bit more positive caster adjustment than the other way.