Lumina :: 1997 - Lower Control Arm Bushing?
Apr 4, 2013
my problem is this: my lower control arm bushing, front but (rear bushing) unfastens alright but i cannot get the bolt out no matter what i do. it just keeps spinning and will not come out the control arm has snapped itself so needs to be replaced. now is there a secret way (lol) to get this out iam about to become on nerve pills because of this lol. it just keeps turning on me and will not come out the other nut/bolt came out without any problems.
and from the manufactures book the actual gm book 375.00 paid for this darn book
anyway it says that these bolts have got to be placed back in from the inside (both of them) meaning they aren't supposed to be placed back one one way the the other way. a guy has told me its okay to be doing it the way where i place it back in to wiggle it back and forth to get it back in but the gm manual says to put both bolts back in the exact same way from inside the control arm out and the both nuts to be facing outside. and even when i took them both off the one was bolt end from the outside in and the other from the inside out? i have a 1997 3.1 front wheel drive. and i have only 1 lower control arm on each side
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I took my Touareg in for an oil change. When the tech lifted it up, he called me and pointed our a bushing on the lower control arm which was leaking oil or some fluid. I touched it and it seemed like oil of some sort. It was like black or something near that color. He told me that maybe it was some kind of a hydraulic bushing and the seal had gone bad. The oil was not coming from anywhere else, but the bottom of the bushing.
I took it in to service and the tech couldn't really explain where the oil was coming from, but told me that that bushing did not have any type of fluid in it. While I had the Touareg in, the air suspension compressor finally got replaced. I feel like I'm actually driving a luxury car now. It feels so much nicer! That immediately got rid of most of my cabin rattles. Boy, was my ride bad before. That was in "comfort". I can't begin to describe how horrible it was in sport.
They replaced the dual horn, because mine went bad. They also replaced the wood trim on the driver side door. They kept ordering the wrong color. My original Myrtle was almost chocolate in color. The ones that they get now are much lighter. Just about all my wood has now been changed. The only problem now is that for some reason or another, the headlight washer isn't working. I'm wondering if they disconnected a plug while working on the horn.
So, after about a year, I've finally got just about everything done. Now all I need are new tires and an alignment. Speaking of alignments, I've noticed that my Touareg is the only vehicle I've ever driven that will continue to drive in a circle with the wheels turned, even when you let go of the wheel... while going forward. In other words, if you turn the wheel enough and accelerate, the wheel will tend to turn further until it locks. Other cars will straighten out as soon as you release the wheel, if you are going forward (not in reverse). Ok, there are 3 questions on this post: The deal with the bushing, the deal with the headlight washer and the deal with the wheel that doesn't straighten itself out.
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I am having an issue with the car not feeling stable on the highway or at speeds over 50mph when I am on a curve and go over a roadwork patch. The cabin of the car seems to float way too much to the side, almost like hydroplaining although the wheels stay put on the road.
After describing this to a mechanic, he said it sounds like my lower control arm bushings are gone. He looked at them and confirmed it, the rubber bushings that control the side to side action are cracked and worn out. He said that he is unable to just replace the bushing and has to special order the whole arm from the dealer (approx 200$ each arm).
I went to get a second opinion and another mechanic basically told me the same thing except the price on the part went down to 175 per arm with 2-3 hours labor.
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Replacing lower control arms? I've read a couple places that you don't need a spring compressor. Anything else to look out for? 2000 F150 4.6L 2WD 288,000 miles....
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1999 Lumina / I need to replace the lower ball joint. The original one is installed by 4 rivets.
According to the factory service manual, you need to use 1/8 drill bit to open a pilot hole, then use a 1/2 bit to finish it.
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I'm pulling my control arms to replace the bushings (they were completely split) and I'm trying to get the right one off. How the heck did you get the boot out on the front passenger side?! See pics. The bolt jams right up to the oil pan. The only way I see it is to remove the pan. Is this right?!?!
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Any hints on a easy way to change these.
After I have the wheel off do I need to disconnect the upper ball joint to remove these. It looks like I can just remove the two nuts on each side and use a jack under the rotor to support the weight. It looks like it might shift back and forth enough to get them out/in.
Will this work?
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Alright, after taking everything off and replacing all the joints/bushings, I am left with the control arm. (it hasn't been easy either)
I am at the control arm (Passenger side) and i got the rear bushing loose. I managed to brake the front one loose, with a lot of force, but it spins. I see in HMA that it has a bolt, or so it appears, but how on earth do you get to that?
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I have 30k on my 97 Chevy Lumina. there is so much vacuum in the gas tank that it crushed the tank. I have replaced the tank but don't know what the problem is. Have taken it to three different shops and got three different opinions. One shop replaced the purge solenoid, no luck. Another said there is no fuel tank pressure data and want to drop the tank and check the sensor. the error code they read is p0440. The other replaced the evap canister. Am driving without the gas cap to protect new tank.I don't want to pay for another unnecessary repair and am sure I can repair it myself but want to be cartain I have it right. Also I didn't realize there was a pressure sensor in the tank. They also said I could have a restricted vent valve or canister.
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Our 1997 Lumina with a 3.1 liter engine and about 190,000KMS is having difficulty starting in the morning.
I have changed the spark plugs, plug wires, checked the connections to the battery and put dielectric grease on them. None of that seemed to make much of a difference. The key has to be held for about 5-7 seconds and it coughs to life and then runs rough for about another 5 seconds and the interior lights are dim during this too. After that it comes to life and runs great.
Is it possible for starters to start to weaken? I have never had a starter do that, they have either worked or not. Besides that, I don't know what else could be the problem.
I have heard that these engines can have condensation issues when the temperature straddles the freezing mark, which it has been the last few weeks. Maybe it just needs to get below zero and stay there?
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For the last couple of weeks I've had a clunking sound coming from the right rear end of my 1997 Lumina when I drive over bumps. Took it to a garage the other day and discovered that the area around the right rear shock (strut?) mount is severely rusted. I assume that other probably causes were checked, but the mechanic was suggesting that this was the reason for the noises I've been hearing. From what I saw, and what the mechanic said, the shock mount is integrated into the wheel well of the vehicle. There's little good metal left in order to support the shock and coil spring, so obviously this situation needs to be addressed, but can this really be the source of the noise? His idea of a fix was that I would have to find a donor car with good metal and use that to replace the rusted wheel well on mine. Not something that his shop can do, but I'm sure there are others in my area that can.
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My security light is on in my car and I can not crank my car. What do I do?
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I have a 99 Chevy Lumina. The car periodically flashes the low coolant light. I check it and its fine. I don't know if its related to my recent problem. A couple of days ago, my car wouldn't start. All the lights and stuff come on, but there is no clicking or even trying to start. I kept trying. It wouldn't work. I left it alone to make some phone calls. I messed with it again after a little while and it started. It has been running until today. It started, I got my son to daycare. Then when I tried to start the car to leave, it did the same thing again. I let it sit for a couple of minutes and it started again.
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I'm hearing a muffled thump in the center rear of my '97 Lumina about 2 minutes after I turn off the engine. It comes in a series of 2 thumps. This started about a week ago and now the thumping is occurring when I'm in a slow idle--just a series of two thumps. Maybe it's releasing pressure? What this could be?
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My check engine light keeps coming on. I've had a couple of mechanics look at this and they say the code indicates the transmission is going out. the transmissions does not slip or have any signs of going out.
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I have a 97 Lumina sedan. When moderately accelerating between 50-60 on a slight incline, the car will sometimes start to "jolt" a little repeatedly. It continues to do it if I hold the pedal steady, but if the incline goes away or I press the gas pedal to accelerate harder the jolting will stop as abruptly as it started. The magic number seems to be around 55mph, never outside that range. I can reproduce it on certain interchange ramps or hills, but only in overdrive. Regular drive gear doesn't do it but the engine is at a much higher RPM. If I accelerate harder than I usually do it also doesn't seem to occur.
At first I thought it was just the same RPM loss issue at speed in a low cruising RPM, something that happens infrequently at idle. But now I'm worried the specificity might indicate a transmission problem. Car only has 87K miles on it for its age though.
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Last winter, my car sporadically stopped while I was driving slowly or while I was standing still. I usually turned the engine off and restarted it right away without a problem. It happened a few times and then it stopped. This winter, it began again - frequently. I realize now that it only happens during the cold months.
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Driver's side strut makes noise, been told by a mechanic it is nothing to worry about just the rubber mount on the strut. Makes noise when accelerating from a dead stop or sometimes turning. It is not a metallic sound. Can i get buy with changing the rubber mount on top of the strut or is it down in the strut itself so the strut needs to be replaced? 1997 Chevrolet Lumina car 4 door....
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Brought the Tig in for an oil change & while it was on the lift the tech noticed that the subject bushings are cracked/separating...Tig has about 43,400 mi...is this a common issue?
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I bought the car( like six months ago) there has always been a loud humming noise from the fuel pump ( I'm pretty sure it is the fuel pump anyways) not the normal whirring noise the fuel pump makes but a hum you can hear about ten feet away. Had no issues till just lately when the afternoons are well into a hundred degrees. That is when my car starts giving me issues. After one of these hot days on my ride home from work, I had just come off the highway and stopped at a stop light when I felt the engine bogging out, the engine stalled and I had to push it to the side of the road.
Its worth mentioning that this humming noise is much louder in the heat than the cool morning then when I turned the key to hear the fuel pump(auto fuel inject) it was louder than it has ever been, and would keep stalling on the way home, I had at the most a quarter tank of gas (gas boy is busted/stuck I think) the fuel pump is bad? Could it be the sock? I thought I read somewhere that my girl pump uses gas to cool down, and that having the tank any less than a quarter could lead to the fuel pump overheating????
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On a level-of-difficulty-scale from 1 to 10. 10 being the most difficult. How difficult is it to change the upper control arm and the lower ball joint?
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