Front lower control arm bushings are shot. Should I just replace the entire arm, or can I get away with just the bushings? I have a full shop with torches and presses. I'd rather spend $20 instead of $150ish.

Thanks.

To add, which ones am I going to need here to replace all of them?

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,ca...,parttype,7532

Again, thanks.

 

The bushings can be pressed out. At work, I sell the whole control arm because it is cheaper due to less labor. But for doing it youself, replacing the bushings is cheaper if you have the time and access to a press and various drifts to do the job.

 

Great. I'm going to start on this tonight. I appreciate it. See it works out.

Thanks.

 

post pics on how you did it..

 

I don't have a camera. But wow, that was SIMPLE!

Dropped the plastic shroud.

Removed lower ball joint nut.

Removed nut and bolt on the inner busing.

Removed bolt on center of the hub.

The bushing that needed replacing has two bolts that are horizontal. This is where they mention you need to lift the engine. The bolt heads will hit the transmission pan when trying to loosen them. I used a scissor jack I have and raised the engine up a little. The two bolts came right out.

Removed the entire control arm.

I placed the control arm in the vice. Removed the old bushing with a 4lb hammer.

The metal sleeve remained however. I could have used the press, but instead I used a hack saw. I removed the blade, slid it inside the bushing, and reattached the blade to the saw. I notched the metal sleeve until it was cut through.

Used a sturdy screwdriver, chiseled my way down where I cut the sleeve, and the old metal sleeve fell right out.

Coated the new bushing with lithium grease. Used a 26mm socket and a hammer to slide the new bushing in. Lithium grease allowed to spin the bushing in the control arm so I could align the bolts up again.

Put the control arm back in. Put all the bolts back. Dropped the scissor jack. Dropped the car.

To give you an idea of what I typically do, I build 4x4s. I have a Suzuki Samurai that's all built up. I'm in the garage pretty much every night. I hit so many snags with the stuff I work on, I thought for sure the Volvo was going to give me issues. I had the old arm out in about 15m. 10m to remove/install new bushing. Another 15m to put the arm back. Took me about an hour. I'm still shocked how easy that was. Going to do the passenger side tonight. Though, that's going to give me a new issues. There are some lines that go right over the two horizontal bolt heads. Fuel lines, brake lines; no idea. So I'll have to maneuver those out of the way. Other than that, it shouldn't be a big issue.

But yea, that was really easy. Anyone that is familiar with turning wrenches should be able to do this no problem. Sorry for no pictures. I can't afford a camera. I'm just a poor redneck up in the hills living the simple life. haha

After tonight, I'll probably post up if I have any snags with the passenger side.

 

So the new bushing turns freely in the arm? That isn't good...

 

I wouldn't say freely. I have to put the end in the vice to move it. Took a couple times back and forth from the car to the vice to get the angle right. Its not something you can do by hand.

I got the passenger side in tonight. The lines were actually rubber so they moved easily. I had to use the scissor jack to raise the engine about 1". Came out just fine. The bushing was waaaaay harder to get in there though. I was lucky I did the driver's side first so I had an idea of what angle to get it at for the two bolts to line up. It took everything I had to get the bushing into the control arm. But, its in.

So the bushing are fine. But I have a new issue. I had the radio on yesterday and today. Drained the battery. Popped the truck and jumped it with my F250. Started up fine. I had my sunroof open before the battery died. Now the entire cluster is dead. No sunroof. The lights work on the module, but only by opening the door. The buttons don't work. Passenger side visor light don't work. Sunroof doesn't budge. The little green light on the garage door button doesn't flash green when pressed. So I have a electrical headache I'm working on right now. Fuses are all fine. I'm hoping I didn't damage anything with jumping it. I'll look around tonight online to see if I can get some answers. I may start a post about it.

 

It really shouldn't move in the arm. That's why we press them out and in because beating them out with a hammer and back in with a hammer can easily damage the control arm. And hopefully the angle was right for the front bushing.

For your new problem, try locking and unlocking the car a few times with the remote of you have one.

 

Bushing will be fine. I'm sure of it.

I also read the unlocking car dealio last night. Tried it now on my lunch break. Works perfect. Quick oil change tonight and I'll be on my way for inspection. sweet.

 

Well, if you're sure of it, that's good. Who cares if it shouldn't move.

This is for anyone who searches and finds this later: the bushing should not move in the arm. Sure, the bushing may be fine. But the handling likely won't. And as the car goes over bumps and the arm moves but the bushing doesn't, the arm will eventually wear out and need replacement. They are press fit for a reason. There is also a correct angle they are installed at so there is some tension on the bushing when the arm is connected to the ball joint. When correctly installed, the arm should stick approximately straight out without being connected to the ball joint. You should need a pry bar to pry it down to get the ball joint in.

 

Came back from a drive. Bunch of rough roads. No issues. Well, there was one. The dust shield was rubbing the rotor. Bent it back and it's good. No issues.

Car drives great. Much better than my tank of an F250.

As for the tension on the balljoint, I'd suggest the 4' one. Impossible without a longer pry bar.

I'm more than comfortable with how it drives. I spent about $22 and the bushings took about an hour. I drained the battery by leaving an interior light on though. Took about 2h to figure why my sunroof wouldn't close. Read online that you have to unlock/lock the key fob three times. But that was it.

So yea. 1h. Some basic tools. 'bout $25. And some mechanical knowledge. That was it. But, if you want you could buy the parts, pay the dealer, and waste a day of dropping the car off you could do that too. I'd just prefer to do it myself to save some money. But to each their own.

 

Old thread, I know, but just in case you can help.... I need to slightly lift my engine to replace the one of the horizontal control arm bolts. How did you go about lifting the engine? Engine mounts need to be loosened? Where did you place the scissor jack?

 

Not sure about the S80, but when I did my S60(looks like same bushings are used) I just left the bolt in the subframe while I did the bushings and when I reinstalled it it was fine. You can still remove the control arm without removing the bolt from the vehicle.

But, if you need to lift up an engine this way, just place a nice block of wood in between the oil pain and the jack you are using. Lift towards where you need to access. You shouldn't need to touch the motor mounts for how little you need to lift the engine in this case.

I usually use a 4x4 thats like a foot long or more to 1) prevent the jack from touching the oil pain 2) spread the weight out. I used this method when doing the passenger motor mount and had to lift the engine quite a bit when doing that.