Rear control arm help!!

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2005jeepliberty

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Hi Guys, I'm new to the form. Recently purchased a used 2005 Jeep Liberty 3.7. noted knocking and clunk from the differential area since I bought it. Initially I thought it was the u-joints, therefore I replaced both of them however still the clunk was there. I looked above the differential and their appear to be a control arm which I never even knew existed. A use the pry bar and the ball joint was very loose and made a clunking noise.

Today I was able to remove the rear control arm however I was having a hard time installing the driver side control arm bushing bolt, first it was not going through the bushing itself however I noted the captive nUt that is supposed to be housed in the frame was loose and is spining on its own. I'm not sure what to do now. There's no way I can even see you why the nut is spinning. I can't even hold it with anything. What are my options?
 

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tommudd

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What tri link did you buy ? ( manufacturer )
some of the cheaper ones are junk

Now on to the captured nut , is it just loose or is it spinning
They are all somewhat loose but when you tighten them down they are good
Run the bolt up in finger tight and then see if you can use a punch to kind of lock it in place
 

2005jeepliberty

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What tri link did you buy ? ( manufacturer )
some of the cheaper ones are junk

Now on to the captured nut , is it just loose or is it spinning
They are all somewhat loose but when you tighten them down they are good
Run the bolt up in finger tight and then see if you can use a punch to kind of lock it in place
Thanks for the reply..I made a mistake a d orders a cheap one on Amazon. Should have ordered oem from jeep. The bold thru the passenger rear bushing area is so hard to get thru and the bushing is not aligned with the hole. The captive nut is very lose and I almost lost it in there. How would I use a punch to lock it in place?
 

mercdudecbr600

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Yeah here's the deal: there are 2 (basic) ways to install, I've tried both ways and I prefer the 2nd method.

Bushings first. Bolt the control arm to the body first with the 2 bolts, then try to get the ball joint into the differential. You'll have a hard time getting the ball joint in and you'll have to take a jack (possibly 2) and rotate the differential slightly until you find the perfect angle for the ball joint to slip down into the differential mount. A small 2-3lbs sledge is your friend to help persuade the control arm into the joint.

Ball joint first. Place the ball joint into the differential first and secure with pinch bolt, then try to get the 2 body bolts in. You'll find that the differential will rotate on you and you'll have to jack the differential up, put it on jacks at the correct height, and then use a jack on the front of the differential to rotate the nose up which will also push the control arm forward/back so the body bolt holes will line up.

If you are planning to install anything else on the rear end, do this first before you do anything else. Once you take everything apart, the springs will push the rear diff into the gas tank and your driveline will slip out, etc. Don't ask how I know. :)
 

tommudd

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remove the whole bracket from the rear diff , mount tri-link to all points, then bracket to rear diff
that is the easiest and fastest way
 

2005jeepliberty

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Yeah here's the deal: there are 2 (basic) ways to install, I've tried both ways and I prefer the 2nd method.

Bushings first. Bolt the control arm to the body first with the 2 bolts, then try to get the ball joint into the differential. You'll have a hard time getting the ball joint in and you'll have to take a jack (possibly 2) and rotate the differential slightly until you find the perfect angle for the ball joint to slip down into the differential mount. A small 2-3lbs sledge is your friend to help persuade the control arm into the joint.

Ball joint first. Place the ball joint into the differential first and secure with pinch bolt, then try to get the 2 body bolts in. You'll find that the differential will rotate on you and you'll have to jack the differential up, put it on jacks at the correct height, and then use a jack on the front of the differential to rotate the nose up which will also push the control arm forward/back so the body bolt holes will line up.

If you are planning to install anything else on the rear end, do this first before you do anything else. Once you take everything apart, the springs will push the rear diff into the gas tank and your driveline will slip out, etc. Don't ask how I know. :)

So here is the update. I was trying to install the bushings first however the bushing on the driver side, the hole did not align well with the frame hole so really I had to jam the bolt in. Also the captive nut was spinning. I used my impact wrench and was able to somehow get the bolt through and tighten it. I think I may have damaged threads on the bolt. I was able to get everything together and that ball joint was pain in the a** however was able to get that in as well. Had to use a chisel to open the ball joint yoke.

What I'm more worried about now is if I have to replace the control arm in the future and I'm experiencing the captive nut spinning again that would be a disaster. I do not think there's a way to hold the captive nut unless I cut into the body panel.
 

tommudd

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Yes you made it extra ******* yourself in doing it that way
also the pinch ( ball joint yoke, what you are calling it ) if pressed open too much will break, have seen it many times
That is one of the reasons I remove the whole bracket making is way easier to see what you are doing and also getting everything apart and aligned correctly and easily going back together
As far as the nut spinning, now that you have possibly damaged the threads on the bolt and nut spinning you may have to cut next time
 

mercdudecbr600

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remove the whole bracket from the rear diff , mount tri-link to all points, then bracket to rear diff
that is the easiest and fastest way

Huh. Hadn’t thought to do it like that but yeah that would probably be easiest. Still would require a jack to rotate the diff to get it to line up but at least you aren’t fighting the bushings or the ball joint. The ball joint is particularly frustrating when it goes in last. I actually like to use my jeep bottle jack and jack right at the nose of the diff to rotate.
 

mercdudecbr600

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So here is the update. I was trying to install the bushings first however the bushing on the driver side, the hole did not align well with the frame hole so really I had to jam the bolt in. Also the captive nut was spinning. I used my impact wrench and was able to somehow get the bolt through and tighten it. I think I may have damaged threads on the bolt. I was able to get everything together and that ball joint was pain in the a** however was able to get that in as well. Had to use a chisel to open the ball joint yoke.

What I'm more worried about now is if I have to replace the control arm in the future and I'm experiencing the captive nut spinning again that would be a disaster. I do not think there's a way to hold the captive nut unless I cut into the body panel.

yeah sounds like you cross threaded the bolt. Did you try rotating the diff to get it to line up?
 

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Huh. Hadn’t thought to do it like that but yeah that would probably be easiest. Still would require a jack to rotate the diff to get it to line up but at least you aren’t fighting the bushings or the ball joint. The ball joint is particularly frustrating when it goes in last. I actually like to use my jeep bottle jack and jack right at the nose of the diff to rotate.
I have several floor jacks, just jack it to where it needs to be in the beginning, remove old one with bracket and usually it will go right back into place , with maybe a minor adjustment on the nose of the diff
Also, I always toss the Jeep balls and worthless sway bar on 99% of the KJs I work on anyways, so all of that is out of the road when reinstalling

Sure am glad that the 05 is the only one of mine running a stock type tri-link anymore
 

mercdudecbr600

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I have several floor jacks, just jack it to where it needs to be in the beginning, remove old one with bracket and usually it will go right back into place , with maybe a minor adjustment on the nose of the diff
Also, I always toss the Jeep balls and worthless sway bar on 99% of the KJs I work on anyways, so all of that is out of the road when reinstalling

Sure am glad that the 05 is the only one of mine running a stock type tri-link anymore

You don’t get any extra vibration from the driveshaft without the counter weights? And what about the sway bar - on road handling must be affected, right?
 

tommudd

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You don’t get any extra vibration from the driveshaft without the counter weights? And what about the sway bar - on road handling must be affected, right?
No extra vibrations and the sway bars do nothing really
they are only attached to the lower control arms
KKs were done right with their sway bars, but KJs are worthless
The 04s been off for over 230,000 miles off roading, pulling trailers 1000s of miles etc
03s been off since the day I bought it and over 80,000 miles
I have about , well did have before last junk load about 40 some jeep balls/and that many sway bars
 

2005jeepliberty

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What are the bad brands of tri-link? I ordered a Mevotech...
Joe, not sure which are bad. I ordered a cheap on from Amazon and I believe they Are all built in the same factory in china. The only other one I saw was moog. Dealer and AutoZone ones were really pricey. The one I ordered was made well overall. Not sure how long the ball joint will last.

The issue with mine was the captive nut in the frame of the Jeep was spinning. Other than that the process is simple
 

2005jeepliberty

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remove the whole bracket from the rear diff , mount tri-link to all points, then bracket to rear diff
that is the easiest and fastest way
Hey buddy which bracket are you referring to? Maybe I didn't pay attention when was I was under the jeep.

The captive nut somehow didn't spin as quick as the impact wrench tightened it. I think next time I do it it will be an adventure
 

tommudd

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Hey buddy which bracket are you referring to? Maybe I didn't pay attention when was I was under the jeep.

The captive nut somehow didn't spin as quick as the impact wrench tightened it. I think next time I do it it will be an adventure
The bracket that bolts onto the rear diff with 3 bolts
 

tommudd

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Joe, not sure which are bad. I ordered a cheap on from Amazon and I believe they Are all built in the same factory in china. The only other one I saw was moog. Dealer and AutoZone ones were really pricey. The one I ordered was made well overall. Not sure how long the ball joint will last.

The issue with mine was the captive nut in the frame of the Jeep was spinning. Other than that the process is simple
You get what you pay for, I had to use a cheaper one on the 04 back years ago, wasn't the cheapest, more mid brand, lasted all of 3 months LOL
tossed it on the pile of rejects
Moog or even dealer is best if you want one to actually last
As my wife always says Bure aghali , translated, CHEAP IS EXPENSIVE
 

mercdudecbr600

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I had a mevotech supreme installed for 2 years, which I ended up replacing. The ball joint was fine and still tight, it was one bushing that tore, most likely an install issue on my end though. But lifetime part, so I got a new one for free. 6 months later no issues
 

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