Service Procedure
SERVICE PROCEDUREA. Inspect Lower Lateral Arm Ball Joint Boots:
1. Raise vehicle on an appropriate hoist.
NOTE: The front tires must be allowed to hang from the suspension.
Fig. 1:
2. Inspect the LEFT ball joint rubber boot on the lower lateral arm. Using a light, look for cracks, cuts and/or other damage by pushing the boot with your fingers (Figure 1). The boot is damaged if there is evidence of grease leakage. If necessary, use a clean cloth or cotton swab as an aid to determine if grease is present.
NOTE: It is not necessary to remove the front tire/wheel assemblies.
Fig. 1:
3. Inspect the RIGHT ball joint rubber boot on the lower lateral arm. Using a light, look for cracks, cuts and/or other damage by pushing the boot with your fingers (Figure 1). The boot is damaged if there is evidence of grease leakage. If necessary, use a clean cloth or cotton swab as an aid to determine if grease is present.
4. If either rubber boot is damaged, proceed to Section "B" - Lower Lateral Arm Replacement. If no damage is found at either rubber boot, no further action is required.
5. Lower the vehicle from the hoist and return the vehicle to the owner.
B. Lower Lateral Arm Replacement:
NOTE: Only vehicles with damaged ball joint boots, as determined by the inspection in Section "A," require lower lateral arm replacement.
1. Remove wheel/tire assembly.
2. Loosen, but do not remove, the ball joint retaining nut.
Fig. 2:
3. Using special tool MB991113, separate the ball joint from steering knuckle (Figure 2).
CAUTION: Be sure to tie the cord of the special tool to the damper fork.
4. Remove and discard the ball joint retaining nut.
Fig. 3:
5. Loosen, but do not remove, the lower lateral arm-to-frame mounting nut and bolt (Figure 3).
6. Remove the damper fork mounting bolt and nut (Figure 3).
7. Remove the lower lateral arm-to-frame mounting nut (Figure 3). Pull the bolt rearward far enough to clear the lateral arm bushing and remove the lower lateral arm from the vehicle.
CAUTION: It is possible to inadvertently install the lower lateral arms on the wrong side of the vehicle. Verify that the correct arm is being installed on the correct side of the vehicle by comparing the new arm to the old arm.
8. Apply a light coat of multi-purpose grease to the top of the ball joint boot lip, around the ball joint stud. This helps to prevent ball joint boot wear after installation.
CAUTION: Do Not apply grease to the ball joint threads. If any grease is inadvertently applied to the ball joint threads it must be cleaned off.
9. Place the new lower lateral arm into position and loosely install the lower lateral arm-to-frame mounting nut and bolt, but do not tighten (Figure 3).
10. Loosely install the damper fork mounting nut and bolt, but do not tighten (Figure 3).
11. Start the new ball joint retaining nut onto ball joint stud by hand.
12. Place a jack stand under the ball joint and apply sufficient pressure to the bottom of the ball joint to prevent the ball joint stud from spinning (Figure 4). Torque the ball joint retaining nut to 47 ft.lbs. (64 Nm).
13. Install tire/wheel assembly. Torque the wheel lug nuts to 94 ft.lbs. (128 Nm).
NOTE: If both lower lateral arms require replacement, repeat steps 1 through 12 to replace the other arm before continuing with step 13 of this procedure.
14. Lower the vehicle.
15. With full vehicle weight on the suspension, torque the left and/or right lateral arm-to-frame mounting nut and bolt to 78 ft.lbs. (106 Nm) (Figure 3).
16. Torque the left and/or right damper fork mounting nut and bolt to 64 ft.lbs. (88 Nm) (Figure 3).
CAUTION: Failure to have full vehicle weight on the suspension before tightening lower lateral arm and damper fork mounting fasteners may cause lower lateral arm rubber bushing failure.
17. Place the vehicle on a front-end alignment rack. Install the wheel alignment equipment onto the vehicle per alignment equipment manufacturer's instructions. Adjust the vehicle's front wheel total toe-in settings to 0.0 in. ± 0.12 in. (0.0 mm ± 3.0mm) on all models.