This weekend was too much fun. The lower shock mounts were pulling out of my control arms and the balljoints were rattling so I thought I'd swap the arms out. I've got air tools, how hard can it be? I bought a spare set last summer when I had money. Right now I can't make a fist with my left hand and the burns are oozing nicely. Let’s say it went badly.

Tools required not everyone has:
1) Cutting torch
2) Sawzall
4) Bushing press (Ever see 5/8" steel all thread stretch like taffy?)

Parts required:
1) New control arm
2) 54419-B9500 rear pivot, spindle bolt
3) 54560-8B400 rear pivot, bushing

2 weeks ago: I tore down one side to the last bolt holding anything together and it wouldn't budge. The rear lower link bolt (the star headed one that fits in the torsion bar anchor) was fused to the sleeve of its bushing. I tore the bushing trying to get it apart, but no luck getting it to budge.

Saturday: Time for plan B. New parts showed up Friday. I ordered new bushings and new bolts for both sides. After taking out the torsion bar, half shaft and knuckle, I cut the lower control arm to get it out. That left a chunk of the arm hanging from the rear pivot bolt and bushing. Remember the entire arm will be hot after torching it off, I didn't. That left a mark. Time spent up to now is about 2 hours.

After the arm cooled down enough to touch, I chewed out as much of the bushing as I could with a drill and pounded the bolt out. Using a sawzall I carefully cut through the outer sleeve of the bushing and it came out easily.

Now the really fun part of the weekend: putting the new bushing in. I had left the bushings in the freezer to try and shrink them as much as possible. I used a piece of 1/2" all thread and a couple of sockets as a press to push the bushing into the hole.

Here’s what a real one looks like.


Now imagine a redneck engineered piece of shit with a couple of craftsman sockets on the ends instead of the metal disks. This worked for about half the bushing and then the rod stretched and failed in tension. That's okay I bought 2. Move it another 1/8" and snap. Back to Home Depot for more, shit they're closed. It's late, go drink.

Sunday: Go to O'Reilly's, Carquest, and Western Auto to see if anyone has a real press. No luck. When they don't stare at me like I'm speaking in tongues, they tell me "No only the dealers change that"

Go to Sears for a couple 3/4" drive sockets. This will let me use a larger diameter all thread. Go to Home Depot for 5/8" all thread. It's as big as will fit through the bushing.

I'm using my hi-lift handle slipped over my 1/2" ratchet to crank on this, my impact wrench has long since maxed out and can't crank on this. Most of the remaining distance and snap, tension failure again. Try the second piece. No movement and it snapped. I punched the concrete when it let go and left another mark. I only have 1/4" more to push in.

Back to Home Depot: I've now got enough of the bushing in that Home Depot carries Grade 8 5/8" hardware that's long enough, no more of the all thread bullshit. Get home and this finally does work. It's about 5pm and I'm finally at the point to bolt everything back together. I finally get it all back together around 7pm. For shits and giggles I stuck the problem bolt I took out in my hydraulic press. I still couldn't get the bushing sleeve off of it.

This morning I went by a shop to get an estimate on doing the other side. They came back with $260. That's would cut into going to GOX, so this will be another fun weekend.

Sounds like a bitch.

Drink beer and remember the hot metal (ouch)

Ouch... Steve it's a good thing Trina works where she does indulge!

Hmmm....Schludwiller and Evergreen in PNWX replaced a lower control arm, but I believe they didn't have that much trouble! But then again maybe they did? I wasn't there to help out! But that sounds like a bitch! Most difficult thing I have done so far on the X is remove and replace and install Calmini gears in the transfer case!

I'm reviving this 8 year old thread because it recently saved me a lot of time, and saved my Xterra from being pushed off a cliff to suffer a fiery demise due to hours of endless frustration.

I followed this guide almost to the letter, but i'd like to make a few additions that I feel might ease other's frustrations.

1. I burned the rubber bushing out rather than drilling it out.

2. When cutting the bushing sleeve, it's MUCH easier to use a *mini* sawzall type tool. I tried in vain to use a full sized sawzall for at least 30 minutes and did nothing but chew up the bushing hole openings.
In my case, the sleeve was just as stuck as the splined bolt that causes this whole mess in the first place. If yours suffers from the same ailment, it's of utmost importance that you make one clean cut COMPLETELY through the bushing sleeve, otherwise you'll be trying (unsuccessfully) to tap the sleeve out forever..further messing up the hole.

3. I found a more readily available tool that worked flawlessly to press the bushing back in: A ball joint press! I rented one at AutoZone ($100 refundable). I believe Harbor Freight carries them as well.

As you can see in the picture below, the tool is the perfect size to pull the bushing in from side of hole towards the front end of the car:




































I initially used an old brake pad to cover the left side hole and have a flat surface to torque the tool against. Once the bushing was 1/4 way pressed in, I switched over to the more rigid metal end cap that came with the press kit (shown in picture). Once the bushing was 95% in, I added one of the circular spacer/sleeve things that came with the press kit in order to have space for the bushing to press flush into the hole.
It's also of great importance to use the tool in the same orientation i've show in the picture. That way the C-brace section of the tool butts up against the frame of the truck and stops the tool from rotating.

Picture of ball joint press kit:










Hope this helps someone struggle slightly less to swap out an xterra lower control arm!

The right tools and experiance is what makesa good mechanic look like everything is easy.