Contents: Removal ↳ Installation ↳
Warning: If suspension or steering fasteners are lost or loosened, they must be replaced with new ones; do not reuse them. Fasteners must be replaced with new ones of the same design, quality and marking.
Removal
1. Loosen the wheel nuts, lift the car and place it on stands. Block the front wheels and remove the rear wheel.
2. Place a floor jack under the lower arm and raise it to normal height.
3. Remove the brake drum. Unscrew the four bolts securing the brake shield, remove the brake unit from the knuckle, hang it on a wire (see figures 15.4a and 15.4b).
4. Unscrew the pivot bolts and nuts that connect the upper suspension arms to the frame (see figure 17.4)
5. Mark the location of the toe-in cam in relation to the rear lower control arm. This will help to set the rear wheel toe-in correctly during assembly. Remove the bolt and nut securing the lower control arm to the knuckle, remove the toe-in cam and washers (see figure 18.9).
6. Remove the knuckle from the vehicle along with the two upper control arms.
7. Unscrew the nut securing the suspension arms to the knuckle and disconnect the arms from the knuckle.
Installation
8. Connect the upper arms to the knuckle and screw on the nut but do not tighten it.
9. Install the upper control arm knuckle assembly onto the lower control arm. Tighten the lower control arm to knuckle bolt, install the toe-in adjustment cam washers and nut with the bolt head facing the front of the vehicle, do not tighten the fasteners.
10. Thread the pivot bolts through the upper arms and frame then thread the nuts onto the bolts, do not tighten yet.
11. Make sure the floor jack supports the suspension at the correct height. Tighten the upper control arm pivot bolts to the specified torque.
12. Tighten the upper arm-to-knuckle mounting nuts to the specified torque.
13. Visually check the alignment marks on the toe-in cam and the lower arm, then tighten the lower arm-to-shaft mounting nut to the required torque.
14. Install the brake shield assembly onto the knuckle and tighten the four bolts to the specified torque.
15. Next, the rear wheel bearings should be installed and lubricated. See Chapter 1.
16. Install the wheel and tighten the support nuts. Lower the car and tighten the nuts to the required tightening torque.