I am considering a DIY of this part due to the common OEM bushing failure.
I found a few youtube videos, one of which makes it look too easy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOEMdrhalak

He didn't remove the caliper or hub, and the only "special" tool he uses is an impact wrench.

My only real hesitation, other than having to finally buy an impact wrench, is the unknown of fighting the coil spring/strut during reassembly. I have seen reports of letting the car down while a block is under the control arm to seat it - not the end of the world but I don't want to beach the car in my garage and not be able to get it back together. I don/t have a lift - this will be done on jack stands.

In this video, there is no indication that the mechanic did anything special to reinstall the arm, such as compress the spring or use an air hammer to seat the ball joint end of the arm onto the ball joint.

Have you done this job? Can it be as easy as this video makes it look? Do you know of a link to a DIY procedure?

Thanks in advance,
Don

I saw that video a while back and always wondered why he took the axle nut off, makes no sense to me.

This video is a little better, there is no pan under the car to take off:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teAcFHVAswM

Correct, the rotor and strut remain in place. Always. The strut spring only needs to be compressed when the shock is replaced or some other need to disassemble the strut.

Please use a Meyle HD control arm! They are much better and last longer.

Hi Klaus! Thanks for the reply.

So, I am to assume there won't be much fighting with the spring when attaching the new arm at the ball joint? Have you done a P2 (my car is a 2005)? The video you showed is for the 850/S70 platform - is your belief that the procedure should be similar except the ball joint arrangement?

If you look at the video at the link I supplied, you can see why the axle bolt has to come out - to get the movement needed, the hub needs to be pulled away so the axle actually falls free. In some blog I saw, a contributor stated you'll pull the axle in half at the joint if you don't pull the bolt.

Don

I have no experiance with the P2 cars, I can't aford them. If the hub must come forward, then so be it. The large bolt cannot be reused, the torque is tremendous.

No, the strut spring does not move and you are not to worry about it. The strut does not come off during the procedure.

Yep, the axle end definitely has to come out of the hub using this procedure, to get the control arm off the ball joint stud sticking down (on this model).

At first, it didn't appear so. The drive shaft was only inwards 1/4" and everything looked like it would fall down. Not so.

I haven't gotten it back together, but it looks like it should work. It is a bit of a juggling act, with the axle loose, etc, but it isn't bad. I took pictures and will try to post a writeup somewhere.

(The following procedure assumes you are keeping the control arm ball joint)
The steps are as follows:

1. (optional) drive car up ramps to give 10" of starting clearance.
2. Remove center cap and loosen axle bolt slightly.
3. Loosen wheel lugs slightly.
4. Jack wheel off ground and block frame off ground at mount behind anti-sway bar.
5. Remove wheel.
6. Remove axle bolt.
7. Remove turn stop from control arm.
8. Remove nut from control arm ball joint.
9. Remove nut from tie rod end, and detach tie rod end from mount.
10. Remove splash pan.
11. Loosen two bolts at front bushing, and nut at rear bushing (tight).
12. Remove bolts from front bushing, and nut and bolt from rear bushing.
13. Pry at back of rear bushing to move control arm forwards and outwards, until it releases from mount.
14. Pull hub towards you, while pulling down on control arm to free it from ball joint stud. Axle will fall free.

Installation is the reverse (I hope).

The guy in the video failed to show how he got the new arm in and connected. There is a trick, because you have to flex the rear bushing (which was unflexed in the uninstall with a prybar), and there is no way to do that so you have to put the arm in level.

If you flex the arm with just the rear bushing in, and register the ball joint end, there is no way to connect the front bushing because the front bushing then needs to be flexed, as well as pushed inwards.

My solution was to seat both bushings with their bolts, and then investigate rotating the control arm down. I borrowed a trick from a Volvo publication - use a ratchet strap. The hook fits in just behind the ball joint connection, so that when it is fully flexed, the ball joint will go in without interference. Once I got the end of the ball joint started, I put the axle back in, and then deratcheted the strap.

This job was lousy - like putting in hardwood floors - something it's nice to pay someone else to do.

Okey dokey. Thanks Klaus! I'm going in. I saw complaints about the Meyle non-HD - that they failed in less than a year. At FCP Euro, they have packages of arms/links that say Meyle, and then individual parts that say Meyle HD. I may call before ordering to be sure. Thanks for the warning on the bolt.

The stub of the ball joint on the P2 bolts to the control arm. An alternate procedure (seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyakjFTmix0) to avoid removing the tie rod end is to leave the ball joint attached to the control arm, remove two bolts from the ball joint bracket and use an air hammer to remove/install the ball joint body from the hub assembly. I am thinking those who have trouble may be using that procedure. Some people try to use the two bolts to draw the ball joint home, and strip the threads.

Ridiculous failure time on the OEM bushings - my car had 55K/6 years and they were shot. I am hoping the replacements do better.