Since my camber was off by two degrees, and I didn’t want my tires to wear unevenly, I invested in adjustable rear lower control arms. I went with the mid-state kit as opposed to the DeLorean Motor Center kit to save some money. The only issue was I had to remove my control arms, and send them off to be modified. This was over the Memorial Day weekend, so it took a little bit longer. That’s okay; the quality of the work is top notch.
Alright, this is my first time doing suspension work by myself on any car. I assembled my tools:
Workshop Manual – Section K (Rear Suspension)
½ drive breaker bar
Ratchet set
½ drive Torque Wrench (rental from Autozone)
Low profile jack
2 ton Jack stands
2 X 4
Anti-seize lubricant
Hammer (rare to use on a car)
Utility light
Paper Towels
Simple Green
Orange Hand Cleaner
Tire removed, preparing to remove to lower links:
Supporting the hub carrier with a jack, trying to get the hub carrier pivot bolts out.
I stopped taking pictures because I got so dirty, and the job was very frustrating. I finally got the hub carrier pivot bolts out after using a hammer to pound them out. I sent the arms off the next morning, but forgot to get a before picture of them. Mid-State recommended some anti-seize on the bolts when reassembling.
13 days later, they arrive:
Beautiful, aren’t they? The welds are really nice looking.
Supporting the trailing arm, trying to get the bolt back in:
Wow, I got it together. It’s almost like I know what I’m doing.
My rental torque wrench, and new ½ drive breaker bar:
Torqued and back on the ground after almost two weeks!
Beautiful.
Almost ready for an alignment. This is probably the best time to replace my stock trailing arm bolts…
Costs:
Mid-State Lower Control Arm kit: $210
UPS Ground Shipping to Mid-State: $13.18
Anti-Seize Lubricant: $3.21 @ Advance Auto Parts
½ Drive Breaker bar: $5.98 at Menards
Torque Wrench: $97.20 at Autozone – (deposit charge, will be refunded when returned)