control arms came loose!!

[vtecwho]

its not as bad as you think. the rear end did not fall off or anything but i did think that this was a big enough deal to warn others about.

for no reason i double checked my bolts that hold my lakewood control arms on, both upper and lower, and most were very loose!

the car, i noticed, was very sloppy around corners and such.

after tighting them up i noticed right away that the rear end did not move side to side NEAR as much as it did before.

it only took me time to change shirts, get a jack, and a 3/4 inch socket and driver to do this, SO GO AND CHECK.

i would hate to imagine what would have happened it on came off while on the highway

it was never anything that i thought i would have to check again but its kinda a big deal if they were to fail, so, i just thought i would share some "useful" info with you all

Eric

 

[93 LX]

Well on my control arms the nut side has is a self locking nut. Been on there for 5 years and never gotten loose. Maybe you should try some loctite on them.

 

[capri debris]

The recommended torque for those bolts is 190 ft/lb. Most people who replace their control arms just get a breaker bar and give it hell and think they are tight enough... WRONG. That's probably all you did after you found out they were loose. I suggest you go back out to your car, with torque wrench this time, and you're gonna crap at how much MORE you have to tighten them to achieve 190 ft/lbs. And BTW, it pretty tough to do by yourself. You need someone to hold the bolt for you with a breaker bar and a socket while you use BOTH hands on the torque wrench to tighten the nut.