heel2toe

iTrader: (41)

Oh boy I had a lot of fun trying to get my LCA's bolted back on the car. I'd venture a guess that having a second set of hands and/or a lift would certainly facilitate the process but unfortunately I had neither.

To make matters worse I also have the Whiteline LCA horizontal bushing which doesnt allow for much play at all of the LCA relative to the stock bushing.

It's all about leverage here since the offset bushing is changing the mounting point. I was getting pretty frusterated and I had a lot of other work to do on the car which didnt help my case. Every time I was close the spacer would fall out or something and it drove me crazy

Anyway, here is how I got them bolted on. First I lined up the control arm and slid in the side where the PSRS resides. AS IO was sliding it in I made sure that the spacers were in there because I tried putting them in after and it was too tight of a fit so I couldnt get them in. Anyway once I had that side lines up with the spacers sitting properly in place I put a long screwdriver through the hole so the spacers wouldnt get knocked out. Then while holding the screwdriver I bolted in the horizontal LCA bolt. I didnt completely tighten it but rather just got it to catch the nut in the subframe.

Then I used a prybar and carefully pried on the LCA until the holes were lined up for the vertical bolt. At that point I held the position removed the screwdriver and inserted the bolt.

I know what you are going through right now and I was getting extremely frustrated as what should have been a simple task ended up costing me way too much time.

To summarize, the key takeaways would be:

-Line up the LCA with the spacers sitting in place.
-Hold them in with a screwdriver through the hole so they dont fall out.
-Then bolt in the horizontal bolt first.
-Use a prybar to line up the other bolt and you should be able to torque it down.

Once you figure out the proper technique the other side should go on a lot easier. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions

charlie.tunah

iTrader: (7)

Yeah. Pretty frustrating. I too have a very long list left and 2 weeks of time before I need to start breaking everything in, which is 2 weeks before the 1st autocross up here. These 4 bolts are pissing me off....

Ive got the ES bushing up front, so Im assuming its lack of compliance is hindering the process.

Ive been able to get the front bolt in and get a 1/2" drive extension all the way through the psrs into the nut. Then holding it still, try to put the vertical bolt in...I swear its 0.5mm from going in and one of these times its just going to happen and I probably wont be able to reach the rachet.....

Ive tried doing it the opposite way and figured that the taper on the front bolt would help it line up....but no go...its just too far out of being aligned. And Ive spent too much time on those front bolts during disassembly and bought new bolts to be beating on that end too much.

I got it together enough to know that my dent wasnt big enough the other night. So I suppose Im glad I wasnt successful yet or Id be pulling it back apart later. This afternoon I plan to hit HF on the way home for a BFH and punch. My 6lb mall and carpenter's hammer doesnt seem to be cutting it .

charlie.tunah

iTrader: (7)

Victory...finally. Passenger side took only a couple minutes after I finally figured out a method that worked for me.

I wound up doing the psrs bolt 1st, then using a pry bar in the lca hole using the frame for leverage to push the control arm in while tapping on the front bolt until it sank into the nut.

aaaahhhh......

heel2toe

iTrader: (41)

Glad you were able to get them back in. I remember thinking to myself how I would try the spaced on the bottom and the top and see if I could notice a difference. After I struggled with getting the LCA's bolted back up I decided that I don't want to do that anytime soon so I put the spacer on the top and called it a day.

Oh and bashing the frame in was a ball as well I bought a cheap air hammer at HF. Unfortunately I couldnt find the flat attachment so I ended up welding some flat metal on the end of the chisel portion so I wouldnt break through the sheetmetal. Worked like a charm...well until I killed the air hammer after very little use. Then out came the torch and a ball-peen hammer to finish the job.

charlie.tunah

iTrader: (7)

Yeah...the passenger side dent went MUCH easier as well. BFH and a cheap punch set from HF, along with a pointy hammer from a cheap hammer/dolly set and a medium 1/2 drive extension.

Funny the pass. side took 1/4 as long as the driver's and there is so much more clearance there now. lol

I probably should've got an air hammer. oh well...a nice big 4lb hammer has been on my list for a while.

Today I plan to tackle the trailing arm bushing.

most wanted

iTrader: (1)

Whats the part number for this kit

most wanted

iTrader: (1)

What's the part number for this master kit for the rs rear diff

janderson13

Hate to beat an old thread, what bushings/bushing kit was used here?

MinusPrevious

iTrader: (3)

Glad you found this thread. Usually the yellow bushes are always WL.

Joe

Eclipse4651

iTrader: (4)

Sorry to keep bumping this very old thread, but a random question came to mind...How many people replaced the shock absorber bushing with the Whiteline or equivalent? I know the inner and outer bushing on the Rear control arm are spherical, but trying to determine if this one should also remain OEM (I can't tell if it is spherical or not). Any input is greatly appreciated!

MinusPrevious

iTrader: (3)

The manual notes 2 of the 3 bushes are spherical. Mine are still stock

Eclipse4651

iTrader: (4)

Ahhh perfect! Thanks for the diagram and explanation Minus!

heel2toe

iTrader: (41)

Last time I replaced some bushings on my car a few seasons ago I picked up new OEM sphericals for the rear LCA's (inner and outer) and also pressed in some WL ones for the lower shock mount. I can't honestly say if it did anything but I wanted fresh bushings back there so there you have it.