2012 Chevrolet Express 1500 Van All Wheel Drive Front Driver Side Lower Control Arm with Ball Joint TRQ PSA84030

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Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. I hope this how-to video helps you out, and next time you need parts for your vehicle, think of 1AAuto.com. Thanks.

In this video, we're going to show you how to replace the lower control arm on this 2002 Chevy Suburban. We show you on the passenger's side, but on the driver's side it's the same procedure. It's the same part and similar process on these Suburbans from 2000 and 2006.The items you'll need include a new lower control arm from 1AAuto.com, a 14mm, 15mm, 18mm, 21mm, 22mm, 24mm, and 35mm socket and ratchet with a socket extension, a 21mm wrench, locking pliers, a hammer, a pry bar, a torque wrench, a jack and jack stand, spray paint, and the reciprocating saw depending on the condition of your vehicle. We do recommend two people for this job, and also air-powered tools.

Start off by spraying this bolt with some spray paint, so that you can match up to the same thread where it was. Then, just remove your hubcap by loosening up these lug nut caps and pulling the hubcap free, and then pry up this cap. Loosen this 35mm nut, but don't remove it. Now, you want to remove your lug nuts. If you don't have air-powered tools, you want to do it while the vehicle is on the ground, loosen them preliminarily, raise the vehicle, remove the lug nuts the rest of the way, and then pull the tire off.

Now that the paint has had a chance to dry, just loosen this bolt all the way up, which loosens up the tension on the torque tube. Remove this 24mm nut. Now, you want to loosen these, and it's a 24mm nut and a 22mm bolt. We'll just fast forward as Mike loosens both of these. You can remove the nut, but you want to keep the bolt in place. Using locking pliers, clip on to the top of your stabilizer link. Then remove this 14mm bolt. Next, you want to remove this 21mm nut. In order to do that, you're going to first want to just jack up the lower control arm. This will release some of the pressure on the shock. Then, just remove that 21mm bolt. Now, with the nut back in place, on the bottom of your lower control arm, just put the jack underneath it, and just push this up. Then hammer on the side of it and the knuckle will fall off of the lower control arm. Now you can lower the jack.

Next, you want to jack up underneath the lower control arm and remove the nut. If you have air-powered tools you can just remove this 35mm nut the rest of the way, and then remove the washer behind it. If you don't, you can use your socket and ratchet, but you will need someone to apply the brakes while you do this. You also want to remove the stabilizer link now. Ours is jammed in there, we tried with a hammer to knock it out, but we have to end up using a reciprocating saw to remove it the rest of the way. Meaning, we will need to use a new stabilizer link.
Now, you want to remove these bolts around the axle. Use a pry bar on the hub, you just hold that into place and then loosen up and remove each of those 15mm bolts. Now, just hammer the axle over to the side a little bit to break it free, and then pull it straight back and out of the wheel, and just pull it down and out. Push the shock out of the lower control arm. Then jack up the lower control arm until the wheel knuckle falls through. Now, lift up the wheel knuckle, and just let the jack fall free. You can pull it out the rest of the way. Then just remove those two bolts that you left on the back of the lower control arm. We'll fast forward as Mike does this.

Once you remove that bolt, you can just pull the control arm down. You want to have someone lift up the wheel knuckle, or you can try to do both, but it's a lot easier with an extra person to lift that up. Pull that control arm down and over. On the right is the old control arm, on the left is the new one from 1A Auto; you can see they're identical and they'll fit exactly the same. You want to get the control arm onto the torsion bar first. Sorry, we didn't take a good video, we didn't take a good angle, but I'm working the nut part of the control arm onto the torsion bar. Once I get that in place, then push up in place and work your bolts back in.

We'll just fast forward as he replaces both nuts and tightens them up preliminarily. Once you get the bolts back in you can use a jack to support the control arm, and then line up the stud or the ball joint into the steering knuckle, and then let the jack down. Then, actually put the jack underneath the steering knuckle and support just the steering knuckle. Raise the steering knuckle into place and put the bolt onto the ball joint. Then tighten that up. Tighten up those other two bolts as well. Now, feed you axle back into place, and line up the back. Just replace those 15mm bolts. We'll just fast forward as Mike does this.

Now, using your pry bar to hold the wheel still again, you just want to torque each of those bolts to 65 foot-pounds. Now, you want to put your stabilizer link back into place, starting with a washer and a grommet, then through the hole, then another grommet, then a washer, then the tube; then, before going through the next hole, another washer and grommet; then, on the top another grommet and another washer, then the nut. If you don't have much room up there, then you can just use your jack stand to help push it through. You want to do this until you can get the nut on the tall. You can tighten up this 18mm bolt back to the line of the paint. Replace the lower bolt and the shock, and just tighten that up. We'll fast forward as Mike does this.

I'm torquing the control arm bolts. You'll notice I have the jack underneath the control arm. I've basically got the full weight on the control arm, getting in position, so when you torque them they'll be in the riding position. Now tighten up your link so that the bushings are basically the same width as the washers, and replace this 35mm nut and tighten it up. Put the wheel back into place, and then replace each of your lug nuts and tighten them up. You want to tighten them preliminarily, lower the vehicle and then tighten them the rest of the way. Torque each lug nut in a crossing pattern to 100 foot-pounds. Okay, now torque your center hub nut to 160 foot-pounds, and then put the dust cap on there, which if you notice I forgot to do, then put the hubcap on.

We hope this video helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet. Please feel free to call us toll-free, 888-844-3393. We're the company that's here for you on the Internet and in person.