The control arms on your Toyota are sturdy components of the suspension, requiring little attention. However, control arm bushings and ball joints tend to wear out and need to be replaced. Removing a control arm for service on your Toyota is not difficult, if you avoid the common mistake of not respecting torque specifications and suspension stabilization during the re-installation process. It is necessary not to make this mistake in order to correctly replace the control arms, so that they can properly stabilize the steering knuckles as they move up and down during driving.
If your Toyota comes equipped with a stabilizer bar link and a brace (the long member that spans across the wheel assemblies, under the suspension), disconnect the link and remove the brace first. Then, disconnect the lower arm from the lower ball joint by unscrewing the two nuts and bolts.
At this point, if you are replacing the lower control arm on the right side (passenger side), you can unfasten the arm’s mounting bolts and nuts. You can do the same for the left side control arm, if your car has a manual transmission (M/T).
However, if you are servicing the left control arm and your Toyota comes with an automatic transmission (A/T), first remove the arm mounting bolts and nuts, and then remove the front suspension cross-member with the arm attached to it. Once out of the vehicle, you can detach the control arm from the suspension cross-member. Install the control arm following the reverse procedure of removal.
To be able to remove the control arms from the rear suspension, first disconnect the center exhaust pipe from the front and rear pipes, then remove the strut rod. The rod mounts to the rear of the wheel assembly and points towards the rear of your vehicle.
Your Toyota might be equipped with a front suspension (control) arm on the rear suspension. This arm or rod connects to the front side of the rear axle beam (which runs from one wheel assembly to the other) and to the rear of the wheel assembly. If you are servicing this arm, you can remove it without detaching the rear axle beam.
If you are removing the rear suspension (control) arm, which connects to the rear side of the rear axle beam, position a floor jack under the rear axle beam for support. Then, after removing the front suspension (control) arm, unscrew the six mounting bolts from the axle beam. Once you have detached the beam from the rear of the suspension, unscrew the rear suspension arm from the knuckle.
Remove the rear axle beam and rear suspension arm from the vehicle and then remove the suspension arm from the axle beam.
To install the control arms on the rear suspension, simply follow the reverse procedure for removal. However, before you can tighten the control arms and strut rod mounting bolts to their required torque, you need to load the suspension to its proper weight, as it rests on the wheel/tire assemblies, and without extra weight in the trunk except the spare tire, if present. This can be done by resting the rear wheels on ramps. After tightening the mounting bolts to their required torque, as indicated in the service manual for your particular Toyota model, install the exhaust pipe assembly.
