Front Control Arm Suprises

So last week I went into my local tire shop for some new tires and an alignment and they told me I needed a new front left control are as it had lots of play and would be pointless to do an alignment in the current state. I’ve worked with these guys before and they have always taken care of me so I ordered a new control arm and new steering knuckle pinch bolt (both OEM of course) which came in a few days ago so I went to my buddies place to put everything in.

 

As I got the car up the first thing I did was soak the pinch bolt in WD-40 penetrant formula as a precaution to avoid it snapping on me. While waiting for it to do its work I started working on getting everything else loose and noticed some interesting things that led to my problems. The rear bushing was nicely torn which didn’t surprise me on a 200k mile car but what did surprise me was the cause, the front pivot bolt on the control arm was only hand tight. Yikes. Once I got those items taken care of I had a moment to check out everything else in the car, which according to the previous owner only had coilovers, but boy was I pleasantly surprised.

Turns out the car actually had both the Whiteline Anti Swaybar kit with Kartboy Endlinks along with the Whiteline Antilift kit. Can’t complain about that!

Moving along on my job once I got the pinch bolt loose without breaking (thank you WD-40) I noticed it was not even the correct bolt and instead was a random one with a washer. Easy fix however since I ordered the OEM one from Subaru expecting problems with it anyways and the control arm itself came out like butter, zero issues.

 

The Whiteline ball joint is still on the old control arm as I didn’t have a pickle fork to remove it with although my buddy is getting a hydraulic press which might make things quite easy later on. Once I got everything back together and torqued down she was off the the alignment shop for one last check on torque specs then a new 4 wheel alignment.

 

Later on when I have saved a little more money and time I’ll replace the other control arm and do wheel bearings while I’m in there to celebrate just rolling over to 200k miles.

 

 

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That's not a anti-lift kit; it's a roll centering kit, and you just replaced part of it with an OEM unit. I imagine that you might have some weird bump steer now that you have unequal suspension geometry from side to side.

That's not a anti-lift kit; it's a roll centering kit, and you just replaced part of it with an OEM unit. I imagine that you might have some weird bump steer now that you have unequal suspension geometry from side to side.

 

Still learning what exactly is on the car this is just what I was told by the GT Owners Club on facebook. Had I known this was in the car I would've rented a pickle fork to swap everything across but that gives me a project for when I do the other control arm later. Everything is pretty equal from side to side the only variance really is in camber but also 99% of my driving is around 45 mph in a straight line to and from work so unless I take it to a track day, which I have zero intention of doing, I really doubt I'll feel any difference.

You can order replacement ball joints directly from whiteline if you need. I had one fail with about 25k miles and a few track days on it. They are not covered by their warranty.

You can order replacement ball joints directly from whiteline if you need. I had one fail with about 25k miles and a few track days on it. They are not covered by their warranty.

 

 

Good to know thank you! I don’t think there was anything wrong with them it was a different problem with the control arm itself that prompted the service.

 

 

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You don't need a pickle fork to remove the ball joint when it's installed. All you need to do is remove the cotter pin and nut, then put a jack under that side to raise only the knuckle (not car). Put a 13-14mm socket between the knuckle and arm. Release the jack quickly and the ball joint will pop out of the arm.

You don't need a pickle fork to remove the ball joint when it's installed. All you need to do is remove the cotter pin and nut, then put a jack under that side to raise only the knuckle (not car). Put a 13-14mm socket between the knuckle and arm. Release the jack quickly and the ball joint will pop out of the arm.

 

 

Good to know I’ll be sure to do that when I get back under the car.

 

 

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Did you think to put anti-seize compound on all the threads before you bolted things back together ?

Everything is pretty equal from side to side the only variance really is in camber

 

This is a dynamic part of the steering/suspension system, so your alignment being correct will not save you. Just be careful out there until you get stuff even'd out.

Did you think to put anti-seize compound on all the threads before you bolted things back together ?

 

 

Lots of it haha, I live in a salt state so anti seize makes it way onto everything I put back onto the car.

 

 

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This is a dynamic part of the steering/suspension system, so your alignment being correct will not save you. Just be careful out there until you get stuff even'd out.

 

 

Good to know, my commute right now is maybe 1/4 of a mile to work and occasionally to my ladies place but I don’t do much driving at the moment.

 

 

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