PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

Bent the right rear control arm pretty bad so ordered a new one and plan to replace. Anybody done this and anything to look out for? Does this have some sort of pre-load on it so I will need to jack up the right side?

should be straight forward.... i would get some rust penitrating spray and put on the bolts and let soak for a bit, been on there a while might be a little stubborn. I assume its the lower one.. your spring is also in there so be carefull removing it so the spring doesnt fly out.. use a jack to lower the control arm slowly to relieve the pressure.

Who did you get new arms from (manufacturer and seller)?

I have to replace my rear springs yet. I didn't really look all that much at the lower arms, but if it is possible to get them out, you'll probably have to use a wrench on the bolts. Hopefully they are like the front and have a nut that has a tab welded to it so it can't spin and doesn't require you to have a wrench on it. When I took out my front arms, I didn't have any problems at all with the bolts. A breaker bar (think mine is 18") and an 18mm is all I used.

Moog K660168 Control Arm from Amazon.com. $52.83 free delivery.

Note to readers -- poster is referring to the long, skinny black toe link and not the the large silver V-shaped control arm. Some places call them both control arms, which fuels confusion.

There is no pre-load or anything like that needed, but you will want to support the large silver V-shaped control arm while swapping this out.

You will probably need a rear end alignment after doing this, as this part controls the alignment (via the large cam bolt on the inboard side).

Ken_W

Yep, that part number is the toe link. I did those. They are a piece of cake to remove. I did removed them with the car in the air though. I marked the cam bolts/plates with a silver sharpie/paint pen and put them back in the same place. You will need an alignment. The Moog are drastically beefier than the factory ones. I wasn't able to compare the two to see how much of a length difference there is.

Correct. Just the metal arm that goes from the center to the aluminum arm. Just replaced it. No pre-loa on it. Just put on the ramps and change it out. Not sure I understand the alignment. Seems adjustment is done with different washers. Also changed the fuel filter. Was rusted on pretty good but luckily broke loose without damage.

The adjustment is at the bolt at the center of the car. The hole in the washer is off-set. This allows the toe (I believe) to be adjusted from something like 1 degree + or - (out or in). You can get different camber bolt sets. There's one for 1 degree and another for 1.25 degree (I think).

If possible (and you want to keep your tires for a while yet), get a 4-wheel alignment.