I have aftermarket, UMI A-arms I need to know how to install them. can anyone help? or at least point me in the right direction?

btw I've searched the fisr 20 pages of the suspension/chassis threads and done many searches and came up with nothing.

any pics will be helpfull.

 

How much do you already know? You could be a newb, or you could be like me, and had your front end apart several times and just never actually had the A arms off.

The two things that I can think of are of course being safe while removing the springs, and making sure you don't bind any rubber bushings. Since you have the UMI arms, you won't have rubber, and you don't have to worry about how they're positioned when you bolt 'em up.

 

the installation is very straight forward, installation is exactly the opposite of removal. just take note of which bolts came out of which holes and you'll be fine. on the subject of saftey take common sense precautions when dealing with high-pressure springs. jack up the a-arms with a floor jack, and once the ball joints have been disconnected SLOWLY lower the jack until the spring pressure is relieved.

while the process is rather simple its still kinda long to post the entire thing. If you have specific questions (aka: how do i seperate the ***** joints ..etc) just post 'em up and we can help you out.

-Zander

[Edit]

On second thought, i could probably outline (what i can remember) of the general procedure.

1. remove the front sway bar
2. place floor jack under a-arm and raise it support the a-arm
3. remove the ball joint cotter pin and castle nut
4. using a "pickle fork" ball joint tool seperate the ball joint from the steering knuckle (hint: insert the fork between the 2 and smash the living f**k out of it with a hammer)
5. slowly lower the jack while standing to the side (in case the spring were to come flying out)
6. remove the spring
7. remove the two thru-bolts that secure the a-arm to the k-member
8. remove the a-arm
9. installation is the reverse
10. dont forget to torque everything to spec

did i forget anything (its late here in Calgary) ? anyone?

-Zander

 

Chain the spring to either the k-member or the a-arm. We could be talking about your life here. That is all.

Remove old a-arm, Insert new. Curse a lot in between. You'll do it faster next time.

 

if the spring takes my life then you wont have some one to try and sell your car too.

how do i chain the sping to the aarm? like with a lock? or like an s hook?


I'm not a newbie but just never done a'arms yet and wanted to know what im looking at?
how long should this procces take? not that i dont want to do it, just time is an issue. dont have alot of it.

Do I still need to uses the fork even though the new ones have those joints?

 

Rent or buy some spring compressors from AZ. Those springs can seriously hurt you. Other than securing them in/out of the car it's not to hard. I really like the part about the ball joint. Smash the living F%$# out of it!

 

String the chain through a couple of coil, then down through the center of the a-arm. Lock it up with a padlock or perhaps a bolt with washers. You can't be too safe with springs.

JamesC

 

Go to the BMR Fab website and read their instructions on how to.

 

Been there done that hehe!

Be patient with them, I think we've all had our horror stories with them. I know it's a job I don't look forward to doing again any time soon. Safety safety safety. Gloves, glasses/goggles/helmet(hehe). I fought with mine until I finally broke down and used my air ratchet to compress the springs just a little bit futher and they just fit. I had two jacks under the a-arm for extra control. One around the ball joint area and one under the spring cup.

The one under the spring cup would get it high enough for me to get the other one under the ball joint end to jack it up the rest of the way. This is if you are working on jackstands like I was.

If you get it all together and manage to get out for a spin remember to recheck the torques on the bolts. Then head to the alignment shop hehe

 

A quality bolt and quality washers and nut. Remember the role this bolt is playing in the situation. Being your first time, it'll take longer than it should. I can't give you a specific time frame, as we all knows nothing goes as planned.

 

what should the tq be for all these nuts and bolts.
What type of spring compressor do i buy/rent?
Yes I will be doing this on jack stands.

and i will uses p.p.e( personal protection equipment) hehe i get to were my dirt bike helmet!

 

Hahaha, i've never seen anyone wear a helmet while removing springs, but now that you mention it, it's a damn good idea!

One final note, when you reinstall the spring be sure to index the base of the spring correctly. What that means is that the end of the spring coil when installed must be touching a small hole in the a-arm's spring pocket. Given that once the springs have pressure on them you can't really rotate them (without a BFH) it will save you a lot of time and cursing if you install them in the correct orientation initially.

-Zander

[edit]
If you want to use a spring compressor you'll need a central-screw type, i wasn't able to find one that fit, so i made one, but maybe you'll get lucky.