DIY First Generation Nissan Murano Lower Control Arm Replacement
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- Torque Specs published at bottom of description.
Video showing the basic procedures to replace the lower control arm on a first generation Nissan Murano crossover SUV. Entire procedure took approximately 1 hour to complete end to end and the part cost was approximately $175 CAD for an aftermarket control arm with a lifetime warranty. Basic tools was all that was needed to remove the 5 bolts attaching this control arm to the vehicle! You will need the following:
1. Penetrating oil
2. Chassis grease
3. Large pry bar
4. ½" drive sockets
5. ½" drive ratchet and breaker bar
6. Breaker bar pipe
7. Large wrench (I can't remember the size but you need it to hold the pinch bolt nut)
8. 4lb mini sledge hammer
9. 2 Hydraulic jacks
10. Jack stands
11. Wooden blocks/wheel chocks
12. Anti-seize compound
13. Possibly a dremel tool with a wire brush to clean up the threads on the bolts you're going to remove securing the control arm
14. A helping hand will make this process a little easier too
The video unfortunately wasn't as good as I could make it because of the time constraints. The process if fairly easy and patience and common sense should always prevail. Under no circumstances are you supposed to install the control arm retaining bolts with an impact gun! You can pre-thread them until they're almost all in and then use an impact gun AFTERWARDS. The threads in the chassis cannot be replaced and should you "strip" the chassis threads then you've basically ruined your car's front end and I don't know how you'd repair that. When in doubt consult a professional or hire someone to do the fix. Once you've removed the bolts make sure you remove ALL traces of corrosion on the bolts and thoroughly coat them in anti-seize compound and install them carefully by hand.
Prior to tightening the control arm bolts make sure they're almost snug (but not completely torqued down) and "pre-load" the suspension by jacking up on the bottom of the control arm to the point where the vehicle begins to lift off of your jack and jack stands. You want to establish your baseline suspension no load state. Why? When driving, any wheels that are being bumped and deflected away from the resting state level geometry will have counteracting forces acting on it -- from bushing tension, sway bars, shocks, springs all working tandem to "auto level" the vehicles chassis to give best braking and handling. So when pre-loading your bushing you're essentially mimicking what the vehicles "resting" position and height.
Be aware that the control arm bolts can be quite tight so you'll want to make sure your vehicle is securely supported. When tightening the bolts you'll want to make sure you tighten everything back down to factory specs. You can find the specs at your local Nissan dealer or online resource.
Troque Specs:
107 lb-ft for the two bolts holding the inner rear bolts
77 lb-ft inner front bolt
58 lb-ft for the outside bolt that holds the ball joint post into the steering assembly.
Good luck!
Brother I can’t tell you how much this video helps me. I just my mechanic shop and they were going to charge me 850.00 for this job... are you freaking kidding me. I’ll be finding some tools so I can do this myself. Thanks so much you.
Glad you found the video useful. Yes shops are crazy in the prices they want to charge for an otherwise straightforward fix. Key to successes take your time and make sure you follow the video to the exact word.
Great video, I followed the steps and was able to get mines down in about to hours. And putting aluminum part in first saved me hours of trying how to insert the arm.
Glad it helped
Just changed mine on an 07 Murano. Worked great! Thank you for the video and instructions.
Glad it helped
Nice and easy to follow. Thank you. I feel comfortable tackling this project on my own now!
thank YOU!!! very well spoken & methodically undertaken.
Great video, thank you for posting. I wish I watched it when I was doing the right side, the left side went much easier. I find it interesting that even though Nissan does not make the ball-joint a serviceable part as you've mentioned, it is still sold in aftermarket stores. I ended up replacing the ball joint by itself in the past and it was a royal pain in the behind.
yes I think the issue with replacing the ball joint only is labor cost. In the end it may be cheaper for a shop (or the owner) to just change out the whole piece and be done with it. I used to just replace components only and in the end it drove me crazy with the time I was wasting dismantling things when an entire assembly may have costed me $50 more but would've saved me HOURS of time.
Thanks for the video, i have managed to change my control arm.
you're most welcome!
great video will be changing both front lower control arms this week and needed some guidance for my dad and i .. thank you...
glad you liked the vid!
Great video, very well explained! I'll be changing out both of my 2003 Murano's lower control arms this weekend, so I figured a preemptive thank you for making the video would be appropriate!
no problem! Good luck with the replacement. As a service tip I strongly advise you spray some penetrating oil a few days before the job to allow it to loosen the corrosion on the bolts and to prevent possible damage to the threads in the frame of the car. Rust has a habit of screwing things up for people. Hope it all works out for you!
Great instructional video. Remember to use a high impact socket with 1/2" drive breaker bar. I used 3/8" drive breaker bar, and broke it. Oh well.
+Frank Cortinas IV agreed. Good tip for our viewers. Thanks for watching!
@ Kiersten G - Glad you feel more confident in doing this job. Hopefully you'll make it through this project with little resistance.
I'll be sure to do so, thanks for the heads up. I'll update and let you know how the installation goes.
Sounds like plan. Hoped it all worked out for you.
Great Video and explanation. I have on 03 that I am told will need to have control arms replaced to the tune of $1400 at a Nissan Dealership....YIKES!
$1400?? I guess that is why they call dealerships "stealerships".
Excellent tutorial, thanks!
glad you like the vid. Thanks for watching.
Hi Pierce, thanks for this great video. Much appreciated. I did this job 2 weeks ago but forgot to pre-load the suspension during the install. However the car drove great afterward. But because I wanted to make sure the job was done right I went back in, backed off all the bolts a bit, jacked up each arm till each side lifted off the jackstand and then re-tightened all the bolts. However, now my brakes make a light clacking noise when I brake lightly at low speeds. No noise at higher speeds or when braking harder. My theory is that I have vibration because maybe I trashed my ball joints by jacking up the car up off each jackstand to do the pre-load.The ball joint isn't designed to support ~1000 lbs. even for just a few minutes, so I think maybe I squashed the ball joint in my new LCAs. What do you think? And would it have been better to bolt on the brake rotor with the lugnuts and then jack up the suspension from there? Seems like that would be a safer solution. Thanks again.
Great video! I especially like your tips. Can't imagine why anyone wouldn't give you a thumps up.
good videos are subjective I guess. I appreciate the thumbs up and the subscribers. I try my best to document what I can and try to provide new content whenever possible! Subscribe and share my channel!
Cheers!
Matt Phillips because Matt there are dusche bags among us...
@ James enlow - I guess that is very true!
great video. Clear instructions and great demonstration of removal and assembly as well.
glad you liked my vid. Thanks for watching!
You are awesome! Very easy to understand and follow. Thank you!!
Glad you liked the video. Thanks for watching!
Yeah, the wheel was not turned properly. I managed to get done on both sides. Thank you for your reply.
Glad it worked out for you.
Thanks I feel I can do this with confidence. :)
Got an '06 with 143K miles on it, runs great although Nissan did replace the cvt at about 115K under super-extended warranty because they had so many problems with the early cvt. Would be nice to now what else would be adviseable to pre-emptively replace.
@ D. Goines - did you get an alignment done on the car and did you make sure that axles did not get overextended such that the bearings inside the axle did not get dislocated from the internal bearing cage? There isn't much to installing this component but this is concerning if you can drastically feel a huge difference between the fix and what it was like prior to doing the repairs. I would double check your work.
Now before tightening screws on new lower control, shouldn't you preload that side like if it was standing on ground....? This is will prevent future early wear, cracking on bushings and have big impact on ride quality.
best practices would say yes preloading is important. I used to do it until after doing so many of these that I found it did nearly nothing to the ride or durability. They tend to fall apart around the 180, 000km mark and I've done a few cars where their mileage was over 500, 000kms with the similar failure results and ride characteristics. Other cars yes, this car... no.
he did pre-load before tightening..........?
awesome,,, very resourceful. do a video on rear shocks and front struts
lol, I will eventually as the cars make their way to my garage.
Whoa! flip-flops? Good job with this video tho.
lol yeah that is my footwear of choice in the summer but I really should be wearing steel toed shoes.
Yes steel toe shoes. SAFETY IS ALWAYS THE PRIORITY.
Thank you for the details
you're welcome!
I was always taught not to use anti seize on suspension parts. Normally a medium strength thread lock is used.
it really depends but threadlocker I don't think is really necessary. Heck the rust on bolts will make bolts threadlocked over time :) I've heard of multiple arguments on whether one should use anti seize or not. My issue is taking rusted bolts apart is never fun and thus I think far ahead years in advance of when I or another mechanic will need to take things apart again and having things coated makes re-assembly AND future disassembly that much easier.
i have just recently found out that locktite is also an antiseize when used wet i believe.
Great video, thank you sir
You're most welcome!
Great video. My control arm bushings are worn, so I get a clunking sound. I recently had a shop say they would just replace the whole assembly. Is that sound legit?
What's the overall time that it took for one side?
yes, in today's car repair world and the access to relatively inexpensive parts that it kind of makes sense for them to replace the whole arm. A competent tech should be able to get this in and out in about 1 hour's time + alignment.
thanks for the great video. One of the best on RUclips.
thanks tatooo1900!
Well done!
Thanks!
Hi Dad you speak very well english….. :))))))
Great video Sir. I’m having issues getting my ball joint to line up. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you in advance
What do you mean you're having issues getting your balljoint to line up? My response is likely too late to be of any use but did you end up figuring out what your problem was?
thank you for a fantastic explanation and video, not too technical but common sense.
Q. should noise persist would you recommend change of chassis bushes ? or could it be occasioned by improper fitting.
I'd be hard pressed to believe that you could improperly fit the control arm. I'd recommend you take it to a shop to have them give the suspension system a once over to help you pinpoint where the issue is.
Thank you. Managed to get the Vehicle into the shop and reinstalled the arm in the "loaded position". The source of the noise is from the cross member bushes and the after market bushes are too rigid / stiff. Have been asked to provide the Chassis number to identify the part number and replace the ones we pressed
ah gotcha. Glad you got everything figured out.
this is great video, thanks. would you be able to say in comments what torque has to be used for each bolt and nut.
Alex ko why don't the guy just come over & do the job for ya.....
look in your shop manual under torque tables.
i do agree that he did an awesome job!
james enlow Thanks James for the kind words :)
Sorry I don't have the torque values handy on me but James is right in that it is published all over the internet and in most shop reference manuals.
is this going to help with my rough riding car with new shocks and tires, and bring it back to original comfort?
There are many factors that are playing here... Even though you have new shocks and tires what kind of tires and what kind of shocks? If they're factory shocks and say a good quality tire then I'd look at seeing if the control arm bushings are worn out and then decide if you should replace them. Control arms have compliance bushings in them that help with handling and feel and is meant to be tight to remove "slop" from the steering and suspension. Everything worse in unison with each other so it is hard to say if changing the control arms out will improve things (they generally do) but not as drastic as you might be led to think.
2009 Nissan murano, if right side lower control arm failed do I need to replace left side at the same time.
nope just replace what is worn out.
bushings on right control arm are worn out, so I just replace control arm on right side ...I wonder what could have cause for the bushings to get damaged faster on the right side...
Great video, thanks...is wheel bearing grease ok for greasing the balljoint?
you're welcome. yes wheel bearing grease is fine.
its called a "maul" not a "mini sledge". Other than that great job bro. keep it up
Glad you liked my vid! I had NO idea it was called a maul. I thought you were pulling my leg until I looked it up on Wikipedia. Thanks for the terminology correction. According to Wikipedia a maul can similar to a "war hammer". Maybe that's what I should call it in my future vids.. "Okay folks pound out that bolt with your war hammer!!"
hahaha yeah bro dont feel bad! I had no idea what it was called too until i worked offshore with some old salty sea dogs.
Not so much. 99% of mechanics would call it a sledge. 99% of wood-cutters would call it a maul.
i need to replace the ball joint in my murano, only problem is that I won't be able to remove the nut that holds the axle bc the threaded rod is disgustingly rusted and the nut wont come off. Only way would be to cut the axle and replace it. Is removing the lower control arm and putting a new ball joint to it possible?
+libidorocksny No the balljoint is part of the control arm and is replaced as an entire assembly. The axle nut if enough penetrating lube is used and some heat is applied via a torch to the NUT and not the axle you should be able to use an impact tool to break it free. I have yet to encounter even the WORST of rusted axle nuts that I couldn't get off using this technique. Just be aware that when you're working with heat/torch that there is a fire risk so have a helper and a fire extinguisher handy and never do it in an enclosed space where flammable fumes could be present. You don't need much heat just some to help expand the metal nut a bit to break it free.
The pinch bolt snapped off at the head on mine. I would like to know how far it's threaded because I got the nut off but can't pound the broken bolt through. Should it be able to be pounded out?
hmm, it's been a while since I've worked on the Murano... if memory serves me correctly the pinch bolt is threaded at least 1 - 1.5" inches deep. I could be wrong on this since it's been a long time but I'm certain it is that deep.
Tried to get ball joint pinch bolt out by hand tools on 04 quest and couldn't even tapping pinch bolt with hammer while suspended freely and mock loaded all other bolts r out i tried prying hub but i need the pinch bolt out .i took the rear nut off but the bolt itself is frozen in..can b ellaborate with comments or in depth vid
@ Jay tatum - soaking the bolt in penetrating oil for a few hours CAN help and if worse comes to worse you can use a torch to heat the joint up (careful you don't burn other parts on the car!) and then using a 4 lb mini sledge give it a good whack and it should come out.
Just make sure you order a brand new pinch bolt and matching nut from Nissan as all that pounding will ruin the threads. No point putting rusty parts back onto your car.
A mini handheld sledge IS your best friend and I can assure you that a mini sledge vs. a hammer are two very different beasts. Get the sledge and try again I'm confident it will come out.
Good luck,
Please help. I tried to do it without using the impact gun and unfortunately, the nut of the first screw (the first one you unscrew which is holding the lower-ball joint colse to the brake bads) got broke. The rest of the screw is still inside with its head. How can I get it out? Can I drive it that way (i.e. with the screw if the lower-ball joint broken)to the mechanic and ask him to get it out with the impact gut for me and install it? Or it will dangerous to drive with taht screw broen?
Please, advice.
yikes I didn't reply to this comment when you had asked - sorry! In a nutshell if your broke the ball joint then you have tow the car to the mechanic to have them replace the entire balljoint since it is in integrated assembly.
Why would a bushing leak oil when turning to one side?
hmm bushings generally don't have oil in them so I'm not sure why yours would be leaking anything. Are you sure it isn't water and dirt trapped in the gap and grooves of the bushing making it look like its leaking?
I didn't notice where the rubber washer goes on the ball joint. Does it go on right before you insert it into the pinch?
I can't say I ever recall seeing a rubber washing on my ball joint. Not to sound stupid or anything like that but you're not referring to the ball joint boot are you?
Just looking at my replacement and noticed there us a large washer that I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with. Any ideas?
probably not used for anything. If your original didn't have a washer then you should re-install the new arm without the washer. Remember there are a lot of interchangeable car parts for many different cars so the washer may be for another application. You could always call up a Nissan dealer to inquire if there was a washer in your car's suspension setup.
If just change the ball joint we need to due aliment?
yes you should always do an alignment.
Hi, how I can search to know the torque for every bolt in lower control arm? Does it shows on the manual of the vehicle?
I want to make it sure that I torque it properly. Can I you give me some torque scale for me?
Thank you
Hey Edwards, my apologies for missing your question. You can often find torque values if you search the Internet forums. I wish I had them handy on me but I don't anymore. Sorry.
Im trying to remove the back bolt on the control arm from the right side but its to hard how you removed it
Is the bolt seized or is it turning but not backing out? It could be badly rusted inside the bushing which can make removal very difficult. The spot in where your ratchet/wrench goes in is quite tight and it did take me a while to get that rear bolt out.
It was just hard i had to hit the ratchet with a slash hammer but was able to removed it
ah glad you got it out. Good job!
This is a BALL BREAKING JOB. Trust me...I've done it. Depending on where you live, the bolts can be extremely rusted and seized. So be prepared with plenty of penetrating fluid and a decent torch. Otherwise, you'll NEVER get them out. When I did mine, I used two jacks that can lift incredibly high and placed 6 ton jack stands under the frame front and back to get the car level and at least 30" off the ground.
While I'm not sure if this is considered ball breaking (I've done far worse jobs) that I absolutely agree with you that rust can make your life a living hell if everything is rusted and seized together. I worked on a car today actually that had nearly ever bolt seized in it and I was ready to hang myself - I can definitely relate...
@@piercedasian These kinds of jobs, especially when dealing with rusted and seized bolts in difficult spots are much easier with a lift. The car being on the floor with jacks and jack stands sucks. I live about 4 blocks from the ocean in New Jersey so rust is a major issue here.
Do the rear have upper control arms or just the lower?
Nope just the rears use a lower swing arm with separate spring and shock system.
What size bolts are those I misplaced mine
Yikes I couldn’t tell you but you best be advised to get the same exact ones from the dealership since they are a ultra high strength bolt that is meant to keep the parts on your SUV bolted together.
Do you need an alignment after this?
yes you do.
Is a new pinch bolt required regardless?
@ Reece Briere - Yes it's always a great idea to get a new pinch bolt but I opted not to b/c I didn't have one.
piercedasian
I didn't have one either so just reused it.
Your video was great, made the job so much easier.
Thanks.
@ Reese Briere - you're welome!
seems more difficult than i thought
+tungym In the grand scheme of things it isn't too too difficult to do. Just takes time and a bit of muscle to remove. You'll have to gauge what your time is worth and whether or not you feel there is value paying a shop to do the work.
Where is your shop located?
no shop just my garage.
What’s your bolts torque spec?
107 lb-ft for the two bolts holding the inner rear bolts, 77 lb-ft inner front bolt, 58 lb-ft for the outside bolt that holds the ball joint post into the steering assembly. Hope that helps!
why why why sandals???????????
lol sorry. I know I'm BAD for that. I try not to wear sandals but it is so bloody hot and sandals are super convenience when going in and out of the house. One day I'm sure I'll break my foot from something falling on it.
All in slippers
lol yes, it was quite warm where I am when I did this video. Not an excuse to not wear steel toed shoes even though I was being a hypocrite here... I have since stopped doing dangerous fixes in sandals.
Put some boots on or shoes bro
lol, true that. I've since stopped fixing cars in sandals. I actually had a near miss once with a brake rotor I dropped and it was enough to spook me when it missed my toe by half and inch or so. Safety first!