Hi I had ago at replacing the lower arms last weekend and have two problems firstly the torque pinch bolt head holding the ball joint knuckle in place disintegrated I was using the right size torque socket but it just ate it. So any ideas on removing this now would be most welcome the bolt was very tight.

Secondly after removig the otherside I found I couldn't get the new arm to sit right at the back and couldn't get it to go low enogh to get the bolt through the whole. the parts are pattern and not Ford but look right it appears that the rear bushes are just alot stiffer than the ones I took off. A friend suggested putting them in hot water, will this work or do I need to pay 4 times the amount for Ford ones?

Any advise greately appreciated.

Thanks, Matthew

 

I have just done this myself last weekend, and i used pattern parts. Pattern parts are an arse as they are never quite right, mine did not have the hole and threaded rivnut for my traction control so i had to improvise.
I know its a bit too late to say this now but the pinch bolt is a Torx head so the chances or rounding this fucker off are high, so what i always do is break the rust by undoing the nut on the other end first, then put the nut back on till the thead is level with the top of the nut and hammer it out, no need to touch the Torx head then.
What i learned when putting it back together again is that the right tools help, you will need to get an 18mm spanner on the end of the front bolt when you come to tourqe it up, think carefully where you put the spanner otherwise you will not be able to remove it again once you have tourqed up the bolt. I copper greased the inside of the front subframe so the arm can be manipulated better, put the front bolt in first and then a good pry bar can help you guide the rear of the arm into place, dont forget to fit the cam washer to the rear furthest nut, you have to angle tighten the bolts too after torquing them to around 115nm, the toruqe values are important as is the tightening procedure, dont try and do this without a torque wrench. Patience is the key. I had a disaster when i did the passenger side, i did not check i had located the ball joint into the hub so when i moved the car forward it slipped out the supension shot forward and ripped the inner driveshaft to bits lol
Hot water wont do a thing, dont worry about the stiffness of the bushes, i fittred polybushes to mine before i fitted them and trust me there is no give in these at all.
Try putting the bottom ball joint back in the knuckle as this may pull the rear of the control arm down enough to locate the bolts.

 

Thanks, I've have another go, I did undo the pinch bolt nut first, but will try knocking it out this time I was reluctant to at first in case there was a screw thread in the assembly. I have bought new pinch bolts and nuts anyway.

I tried putting the knuckle in after the first bolt but the gap on the rear bush was still to high to get the nut on the bolt. Would it matter if I fitted the rear bolt the other way up so the nut is on the underside and the bolt goes through the top. I was wary of levering it off anything in case I slipped and damaged something.

 

You need to put the bolt upwards through the lower arm and subframe with the nut on the top.

It will make it a bit more awkward to do up and undo but this is fuck all compared to exposing the remainder of the thread to all the water, dirt, salt and shit that gets kicked up to the underside of your car. Leave those threads exposed and you will NEVER get them undone again once the threads corrode away!

All bolt heads should be at the front or on the bottom with exposed threads pointing towards the back or top of the car to give them maximum protection against the elements!

 

Hi there guys, I know this thread is about 3 years old but I need a bit of advice - I have tried everything in my power to get to the nut your talking about on the arm - I know normally you can slip a 17 spanner in securing the top nut while using a ratchet to undo the bolt but unfortunately for me the nut has gone a bit soft so neither size spanner will grip it - I have tried with mole grips but because the space is so tight they keep slipping. I have thought about cutting the bolt head but again as there is no room I would be unable to slip it out - any suggestions?