Lower Wishbone

[skyman]

hi guys thinking of replacing the lower wishbone on both sides is it easy or a hard job to do and what are there pit falls if any I should look out for changing the whole unit both sides thanks in advance

 

[paul.h]

I have looked at all your past posts and so far you have not given any details of your car. What year and model/engine is it ? There are different part numbers for the suspension arms depending on the engine and rpo number so when buying the parts you need to use your VIN.

 

If it is the 2002 to 2009 model it seems easy enough to remove, from the procedures.

- remove the swivel arm ball joint bolt and disengage the joint from the swivel

- undo the 2 bolts at the inner end of the suspension arm and it should now be free to remove.

 

On refitting the inner bolts are tightened to 140 Nm and the swivel arm bolt to 40 Nm using a new nut. The ball joint to suspension arm bolts are 55 Nm.

[skyman]

sorry its a Citroen C3 1.4 16V HDi diesel  year: 2002   Engine: 1398cc 90hp.

 

thanks for the information it has given me more confidence tackle the job now

 

 

 

[paul.h]

A look in the Haynes manual suggests changing the lower arm may be a bit more difficult. To remove the ball joint from the swivel arm the slot needs to be opened up a touch and a lever may be needed to help remove it from the swivel arm. The ball joint has a protective cover that needs to be re-used and fits in the slot. A torx bit is needed when undoing the inner bolts to stop them turning as the nut is undone. The torque values in the Haynes manual differ to the ones given above which come from Citroen's procedures. Since the inner nuts have a high torque, the car needs to be well supported when undoing them and tightening them.

[skyman]

job done yesterday (friday 19/6/15) not to bad 4 hours  so to start would like to thank my son-in-law for helping me. right the first thing about 4/5 days before you start wd40 all the nuts and bolts every day till you start the job it dose help next you will need a good TORQUE WRENCH + a good set of Hex Star Torx Spline Socket Bit Set Tool Kit about £11-00 of ebay next a good set of Deep Impact Socket Set  1/2" Drive 12 Point Metric Socket 13-32mm 13 Piece ebay about £25 to 30 pounds. just take your time think what your doing. job is defo a two man job (all the tools plus the parts cost about £80 to 90 pounds) citroen wanted £900-00 to do the job so if you can do it yourself do it. it`s a £800 saving

[paul.h]

Thankyou for getting back to us. The job did not read too bad in the manuals, what bit needed 2 people ?

[skyman]

getting all the nut and bolts of as you can not hold the TORQUE WRENCH with the Deep Impact Socket and the Torx Spline Socket just impossable  the only problem we had was the drive shaft came out of the gearbox housing so after doing the wishbones had to fill gearbox with fresh oil. cost of parts (£57 wishbones) = plus baught deep impact socket set + torx socket set so in total cost about £80 to £90 pounds  citroen wanted £900 so saving £800 doing it yourself happy days

[skyman]