DIYDanCars

Thanks!

Yes, I reused the 4 bolts, no thread locker is needed as they are located on the outside of the sealing area.

Do you need help removing the wiper cowl? If so, I made mention in my control arm video to see my video on how to replace a windshield wiper motor. In that video, I tell you step by step how to remove the wiper arms and cowl. It seemed redundant to add it in the control arm video since I already covered it.

I had my ball joints separated within seconds with my pickle fork. I wouldn't trade them for the world.

DIYDanCars

Thanks! .

Those parts won't seem so "inexpensive" when the owner has to do the job again in a few months. If it were me, do it right the first time by buying quality parts from brands you trust. There's nothing worse than having to redo a job.

Brainz

Ok -- I'll get a pickle fork too. And a BFH -- I've misplaced my 3lb mini sledge.

I've got a wiper arm puller -- I'll actually try to get those "popped" this weekend in preparation.

J'sWorld

Pickle fork pretty much destroys the rubber grease boot. That's a terrible tool. Unfortunate that you can't find the sledge.
What I usually do is hit both sides of the knuckle @ the ball joint stud at the same time with two hammers( like one in each hand). Since the hole/stud is tapered it will usually pop it out or loosen it up enough that you can hit the top of the stud with a drift and hammer and pop it out.

Dan87951

If you're replacing everything who cares...

J'sWorld

True. It's nice to have a trick in the arsenal if the ball joint needs to be separated and put back together. Personally I am still on my original ball joints and they are just fine. Complete new lowers are very expensive compared to replacing the three bushings.

Jamescoop

how many miles on them?

Jamescoop

Are these really a big failure point? Can the chinese ones really be that bad? I have to believe since there are so many Cayennes on the road, that these get purchased/used a lot...especially at indy shops... If they last 80% of the life, 80% of the performance, and less than 50% the price -- seems like its not a terrible idea. Would love to get feedback from people who do use these parts, but hard to find them on the forums.

I called this shop, and they said they have soild rubber bushings...this is already an improvement over stock. Can ball joints fail/break easily? Other than that, the arm itself is probably just a big cast piece...hard to imagine it ever breaking.

Id love to just replace my bushings, but think the odds of getting the ball joint out nicely are slim...120k miles...I need backup ready to go in case I fail at removal, so my car isnt on stands for a week getting new parts in. BTW, I checked out your videos, and they are great. I really hope you continue to make them. Add a commercial in there so you get a little bit of compensation for your work, and thank you very much -- they are very indepth and I wish I had came across them long ago!

CTTS520

I used the style shown in the Amazon link with great success. It was an Autozone rental.

J'sWorld

I bought the porker with 65K on the clock so about 110K at least. But in that time I have done lower front and rear twice and lower shock once .

DIYDanCars

Go read some of the reviews on Amazon about those cheap Chinese control arms and I think you will have your answer. A few that come to mind are URO, Hamburg-Technic, and Deutsche Parts.

I'm a big fan of doing a job like this once and doing it right the first time, because my time is more important than saving a few bucks. Are you really saving any money over a control arm that can be had from a reputable company for less than $200 a side after investing your time and money in tools to press in new bushings? How many more miles do you think the original ball joint with 70k+ miles will last after refreshing the bushings? Are you willing to tear it all apart and pay for another alignment if the ball joint fails in 20k or 30k miles? These are questions you have to ask yourself. FYI: My ball joints were loose after 70k miles, they weren't totally gone, but I doubt they would of made it to 100k miles.

I'm not saying you have to use OEM parts because you don't. There are plenty of good aftermarket vendors out there that make quality replacement parts for our vehicles, some of which are better than OEM (solid bushings). All i'm saying is, do your due diligence in the company before buying parts from them, because you will have a lot of labor invested in them no matter which company you choose. Hope this helps!

MKITGO2

I am in the similar boat of having to do an upper control arm, as the ball joint is going/gone and am planning to do an entire refresh. The shock tower bushing is a part that has eluded me in my searches and reading this thread, I think I want to look into a few of the other 'Minor' parts if I can get them easily enough.

- Shock tower bushing for air strut assembly.
- Air Spring Dust boot
- Air Spring O-ring

Thanks,
MK

Brainz

I've should receive all my parts by the end of the day. I hope I wont regret it, but I did not get new air spring dust boots or the air spring O-ring. The former looks OK on my PIG [touches wood]. I did get the shock tower bushings.

Time permitting, I'm going to tackle the replacement this weekend. Wish me luck.

BTW -- I filled my bushings with 3M Window Weld last night to reinforce them. On the rear/big bushings of the lower control arms, the amount of fill is not insignificant. Will be interesting to see what this does to driving feel, and if it holds up. I took pictures -- looks decent. We'll see...

I also bought a digital inclinometer -- I've been using it to measure the camber of my fleet using various points on the rotors as a reference point, and then adjusting for the slight measured slope (left to right) in my garage floor. It actually seems repeatable to less than 0.2 degrees -- that's better than I would have guessed. I also found an "unusual" result on a wheel or two in my fleet which needs further investigation (although one of the "unusual" results is on the front of the Cayenne where the bushings are clearly shot, so that makes some sense). I need to move the cars around and do some more measurements, but seems like setting/checking camber could be DIYable.

JAGMAN1

If you are not going to replace the o rings, make sure to re-grease them with silicon grease. Dialectic grease is an acceptable substitute. If you don't use grease they WILL leak.

Personally I think it crazy to do all that work and not replace the $5 o rings. Also, only use OE o rings. Home Depot or auto parts store o rings are junk and will crack and fail within a year or two.

My list of components would be:
O rings
Strut mount
Upper control arm
Lower control arm
Sway bar links
Sway bar bushings.

MKITGO2

Also meant to ask if anyone could share part #'s for the above items or locations where you found them... I have not had much luck finding components of the Air Spring

THanks