Hi.
Need to replace the left front control arm on an 07xls.. does not look too complicated{ per youtube video} and am wondering if anyone can advise and or offer tips on doing this...btw. I am a fairly competent''shade tree mechanic''.. I have all the tools except for the pickle fork which I'll pick up at autozone..probably going to purchase moog arm from rock auto... local midas wants 185$ for arm and 150$ for labor---I declined. Just wondered how easy this will or wont be?
Thanks

 

It's not hard, but seperating the ball joint from the knuckle is a bit of a pain. Definitely buy a pickle fork with the longest handle and turn the steering wheel so you can get at it from the side. Just keep working it until it comes off.

Other than that, should be fairly simple.

 

I just did this. I had the joy of using a lift when I did mine. Generally easy except putting the rear-most bolt back in...the shaft in the grommet is slightly off axis to do this nicely. We solved the issue by having one person pushing up on the bolt while another knocks the shaft/tube from the outside towards the car with a hammer and screwdriver.

 

thanks..
my brother in law has a lift in his barn..I was going to do it in my driveway though...hoping this is the right choice as needing his lift is problematic. ..

 

not necessary, but was helpful to get under and get a good look at how far off-axis it was....about half a bolt in my case.

 

I've done lower control arms a few times. The one vertical bolt is a pain to get back in because without weight on the vehicle it sits at an angle. If you have a lift putting some weight on the wheel to lift it makes it really easy. This is a little iffy on an axle stand to put lift on the wheel though. Otherwise elbow grease and a bigger hammer. Keep in mind a pickle fork will ruin the ball joint. Not a big deal on the old one but if for some reason you need to remove the good one to get better position or whatever you'll be in a bind. You can buy a ball joint removal tool. Its basically a C clamp made to fit over the knuckle.

Also a small slot screwdriver bit and a hammer tapped on the knuckle makes removal and re install of the ball joint easier. Make sure the bolt through the knuckle lines up with the notch in the ball joint.

Good luck!

 

You could use a ball joint separator which would save you the pickle fork hammer thing, and preserve the ball joint, if your ball joint is good, maybe you can press in new bushing on the other ends to reuse the control arm next time. I have this following one, if you want to buy it at a discount just let me know, it's brand new, I bought this and then I bought a bigger service kit and contained the same tool. It's the one in the link below:



Remember you should tighten the bolts to their final torque with weight on the wheel, like a stack of wood and the vehicle off the jack and jackstand. As such, a lift may not be that useful for the final tightening. Some people jackup the control arms with a jack but I think the outlander have enough clearance you can just throw a few boards on each side and you can slide in to tighten the arms.

 

Trust me, that ball joint seperator won't work. I used the harbor freight version and it simply didn't have anywhere near the travel needed for it to work. The way our ball joints are setup didn't give enough room above to push it out.

Really, i think a pickle fork is the only thing that'll work, and it works quickly and easily as long as you don't mind messing up your ball joint boot.

The ball joint seperator did work great for the tie rod end. So i didn't waste my money :-)

 

I haven't done this job yet. I saw it done online and they used a crowbar stuck under and in the bottom of the control arm with a chain wrapped around the arm and crowbar to use leverage to easily pop the ball joint out...I'll buy the pickle fork as well for insurance... btw--how easy was it to use the pickle fork? Also, did you have any trouble with seized bolts?


Is an alignment needed after replacing the arm?
Thanks a lot..

 

This is the correct tool for the job, however it's expensive:

The pickle fork works just fine. You have to turn the steering wheel to make sure you have room. Then just hammer it in, and yank it up and down a few times. The only downside is the ball joint boot gets ruined when using a pickle fork, which is why garages use the more expensive tool above.