Control arms are an integral part of your car's suspension system that can become seriously damaged in situations where they are hit by a sudden force, such as driving on extremely rugged terrain or a collision. You may consider repairing your control arms, but once the metal has become damaged there is no safe way to repair them, so it is best to replace the part with a new one. Replacing the control arm on a front-wheel drive car such as the Toyota Camry is not the most difficult job, but it should be done by someone with at least moderate automotive repair experience.
Use a jack to lift the section of the car with the control arm you would like to replace. Place jack stands underneath to secure the car in place.
Remove all of the lug nuts on the wheel using a tire iron, then remove the wheel.
Remove the upper and lower mounting bolt on the brake caliper assembly and pull the assembly off of the brake rotor. You may want to use a zip tie to tie the brake caliper assembly to a nearby part of the car. Never let it dangle by the hydraulic fluid line.
Pull off the brake rotor to expose the CV bolt in the center of the wheel mounting. Remove this using a large socket. Pull out the CV shaft from behind the wheel assembly. If it is stuck you can use a punch and a hammer on the hole in the center to push it out.
Remove the ball joint retaining nut by placing a wrench on one side of it to hold it in place, then using a socket wrench on the other side to loosen and remove the nut.
Use a wrench to disconnect the sway bar linkage on the center of the control arm, then use a wrench to remove the mounting bolts on the far end of the control arm. Remove the control arm.
Place the new control arm into the spot where the old one was then thread all the screws in by hand. Do not tighten the screws until you have put all the screws in, otherwise it may be very difficult to get the control arm in the correct spot.
Once you have put all of the screws into the correct spots, tighten them with a socket wrench.
Place the new ball joint into the area where the old one was and secure it with the supplied ball joint retaining nut.
Place the CV shaft back into the wheel housing and screw the CV bolt securely into place.
Place the brake rotor back on, place the brake caliper back into the correct position, mount the brake caliper with the two mounting bolts you removed earlier, then place the wheel back on, and secure it with the lug nuts.
Remove the jack stands and lower the wheel back onto the ground.
