rear wheel wobble? how to diagnosis and replace a bad lateral control arm

[ghettosled]

i noticed a problem when i was driving down the highway and the backend felt loose. i also noticed a clunking noise every so often when driving and braking.

video of the movement:



but its noticable when the rear wheels are off the ground and a wheel is grabbed at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions has some movement. i ordered a replacement part (there are 4 different lateral control arms - 2 fixed length front and 2 adjustable rear) from rockauto.com (adjustable right rear was $70 with shipping). its really not challenging to replace as its held in place by 2 nuts, but i just wanted to take some photos in case anyone was wondering.


view from behind the car looking up.



after chiseling some rust off and dousing with PB blaster (nuts are either 19mm or 3/4" (mine were so rusty, after hammering each on i couldnt tell which was a better fit)). i had to use 2 24" breaker bars to break the nuts loose from the bolts. the nut holding the left side arm had to be removed in order to move the brace out of the way to remove the right arm.



pic of lateral arm removed



pic of the old next to the new. i used a transfer punch to line up the busings to adjust the new arm to the correct length.



when installing, the arm isnt perfectly straight but rather slightly offset. i tried taking a photo holding the camera perpendicular to the bushings to show the offset of the two ends. the arm can be installed backwards if not paying attention (i did this, it can fit just not fit well).



finally the photo of the new arm installed. its always recommended to get an alignment after any suspension work, but im cheap and wont unless i notice issues driving or increased tire wear.


hope this helps!

*edit*

this part is how to replace the forward rear lateral control arm. with the inner and outer nuts removed, the bolts also have to be removed. there are several ways to remove the inner since they were factor installed before the fuel tank was in place. you can A.) drop the exhaust and fuel tank B.) drop the exhaust and rear sub-frame or C.) cut the old bolts out and replace them. since i live in the rust belt i figured i would either snap the bolts for the tank or sub-frame i opted for option C of cutting the old bolts and replaced them with bolts i bought from a local salvage yard. i also then inserted them backwards so they could slide back in place.



i did transfer the cup-thingie on the bolt head end on the bolt to the nut end. i think it is there just in case of sever rear-end collisions to lesson the likelihood of piercing the fuel tank.



at least for me, the true challenge was removing the outter bolts going through the rear knuckle (is is called the knuckle?)



since i had those extra bolts and matching nuts from the junk yard to replace the inner bolts, it was okay if i partially mangled a nut. after soaking the bolt shaft and ends in PB blaster i used a 24" breaker bar on the bolt head. the bolt didnt even budge. i left the rear control arm in place to help guide the bolt, i loosened the nut until there was only about 3/16" of the bolt sticking out past the nut. i started off using a 4lb mallet to hit the bolt through. after an hour with that and zero progress, i switched to my 8lb sledge. i stopped every so often in attempt to spin the bolt with the breaker bar while yelling profanities. after about another hour it finally started to break loose.

because the end of the bolt that was sticking out 3/16" was beaten severely, it was now flattened and preventing the nut from coming off. i spun the somewhat-mangled nut further only the bolt (a couple of my swings werent exactly on target and the nut protected the threads) i used a grinder to re-taper the end of the bolt. now that the bolt was sliding out, the arm that connects forward was in the way of the bolt sliding out, so i unbolted the knuckle from the rear strut and tilted it around to give me the room i needed. an end of the arm could be removed instead, but mine were pretty rusty and after a feeble attempt, seemed fused in place.



after spending about 5 hours getting the old front arms off, it took about 15 minutes to reassemble everything. just like the rear lateral arms, the non-adjustable fronts have to be installed in a certain orientation with the 'skinnier' bushings on the wheel side and at the proper angle or else the bushings will really be flexed just installing.

[peshwa]

thanks for another nice DIY.

[LynchburgCSI]

In line for the DIY update.

[BMR]

Nice post! This'll be a nice DIY to refer people to, as this prob seems to come up fairly often. I did this on my Camry a while ago, and set the new arm's length to match the old in a way similar to what you did. I used a steel ruler to measure the old and set the new one to the same length. I figure that would get it close enough to drive to the alignment shop without tearing the heck out of my new-ish tires. When they checked the alignment, the toe was out of spec, but just barely. So I'd say chances are good you got it pretty close.

[shadezz]

I'm planning this along with suspension this spring. Do you mind telling me the price of those arms?(L&R) Thanks!!

[dudutzu]

it looks like the exhaust pipe might be in the way if you wanna adjust the toe, or is just the angle?

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by dudutzu

it looks like the exhaust pipe might be in the way if you wanna adjust the toe, or is just the angle?

It's not in the way.

Mike

[roach4047]

Bingo!

This is the info I've been looking for.

Thanks for the write up.

Roach

[Mister_Perkins]

Originally Posted by LynchburgCSI

In line for the DIY update.

Ken, when are you going to add the DIY's to the Actual list???


and,

Nice DIY Ghettosled

Its pretty easy once you get in there. The other bar is a pain to remove though if you replace both

That's why I flipped the bolts around and put Rubber Stops at the end.. so it wont puncture the fuel tank

[DogToggler]

Did just replacing the rear adjustable one solve your problem? I have the same symptoms on one of my rear wheels (play when gripped at 3 and 9 o'clock) but it is also wearing heavily on the outside edge of the tire - could both these symptoms be caused by the rear lateral control arm? Also, there is heavy clunking/rattling back there when I go over bumps, even slowly.

[ghettosled]

yes, replacing just the rear solved my problem. the wheel is solid in place now. though im waiting for the others to start failing at some point. check to make sure it is in fact the rear and not the front that has the bad bushing. bad lateral control arms can cause uneven tire wear because the alignment is off.

the clunking/rattling can be from really bad bushings, but its more likely from another source like sway bar, end links or strut mounts.

go under your car (while supported on jackstands) and use a pry bar to flex the various bushings to see which are bad.

[daw22]

A question for ghettosled. I'm trying to replace one of the lateral control arms and I'm running into the same problem you described with the rusted bolts at the center. I was going to try using 2 big breaker bars like you did, but I can't find the room to get the socket on the bolt head because the gas tank is in the way. Did you use some kind of very short socket? Thanks

[jbrttn04]

Thanks! I have a '96 Camry and I just had someonepush the rear up and down and discovered which link it was by the vibration. Turned out it was the left front link with no adjustment nut. Is it as easy to change and should alignment be done?
Thanks!
jbtrrn04

[daw22]

Unfortunately, the rear suspension front control arms aren't as easy to change as the rear control arms. The long bolt that holds the end of the arm near the center of the car has to be completely removed to get the front control arms out. To get the bolt out, which slides forward, not back, you either have to remove the gas tank or drop the rear suspension mount. I'm not sure what the official name of that part is.

[ghettosled]

updated with how to replace the rear lateral control arms on the forward side.