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Smaky

GUIDE - 147, 156, GT upper wishbone replacement

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A guide to replacing the upper wishbones on the 147, 156 or GT, the 166 is similar but has subtle variations.

 

 

1, Loosen the front wheel bolts (17 or 19mm bolts and may require locking wheel nut key), jack up the front end and supporton axle stands, remove the front wheels.

 

 

1.jpg

 

2, Disconnect both drop links (normally 17mm nut and 5mm allen (even if you are only doing one arm),

 

2.jpg

 

3, loosen and remove the shock fork to lower arm nut (19mm bolt and nut) leaving the bolt in position,

 

3.jpg

 

4, Remove the upper wishbone ball joint nut (17mm nut),

 

4.jpg

 

5, Split the upper ball joint ,

 

5.jpg

 

6.jpg

 

6, Remove the shock fork to lower wishbone bolt,

 

7.jpg

 

7, Remove the 4 nuts and washers from the top mount and shock top (17mm), the shock studs may have o-ring seals around the top of them which will need to be removed before the next step,

 

8.jpg

 

8, Lower the shock assembly down and lift off the top arm and support bracket,

 

9.jpg

 

9, With the mounts and arms removed, remove the bolt that holds them together, slip on the new arm and tighten the bolt again,

 

10.jpg

 

11.jpg

 

10, Now simply work backwards from step 8 to rebuild.

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Personally, no, as the only thing that can be adjusted on the front is toe-in/out, as the arm primarally controls castor and camber then it's pointless.

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nice guide smaky... few questions..

 

1) when installing a new arm - do you first remove the metal sleeve and grease it up? or is an oem arm ok in this regard?

 

2) tightening torque values?

 

3) is it worth semi-dismantling the lower arm bushings while removing the top arms to regrease or is this not practical? does regreasing the lower bushings require lower arm removal?

 

cheers

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nice guide smaky... few questions..

 

1) when installing a new arm - do you first remove the metal sleeve and grease it up? or is an oem arm ok in this regard?

 

2) tightening torque values?

 

3) is it worth semi-dismantling the lower arm bushings while removing the top arms to regrease or is this not practical? does regreasing the lower bushings require lower arm removal?

 

cheers

 

1, depending on the make of the Arms then you may want to grease them, I use TRW or Lemforders (Both are OEM brands) and neither need greasing as they now come lubricated.

 

2, All 17mm nuts are 40Nm and the 19mm Nut is 50Nm.

 

3, Lower bushes are not lubricated, they are solid bonded rubber, the balljoint though may be worth greasing but you will find it awkward.

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legend. thanks for that mate!! my arms are also trw... it didn't look easy to press out the metal sleeve as it is flanked by solid metal washers either side that seem part of the insert now, so it looks like they don't want u to disassemble them...

 

thanks, i'm good to go now... (i used to have access to eLearn CD but it wont run on win7) :(

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what are the symptoms of a worn upper wishbone?

 

A knocking noise at knee hieght, wear on the inside edge of the tyres and wandering steering center

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Not that then, it makes a grating sqeeky noise when cold, sounds to me like the dampers are dry

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Not that then, it makes a grating sqeeky noise when cold, sounds to me like the dampers are dry

 

That would be dry bushes in the upper wishbone.

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OK, this subject seems to be a contentious one for me... I know its hard to diagnose based on a description, but here goes..

 

I have a really bad deep squeak / creak (sounds like a squeaky bed in a cheap hotel, except without the knocking) coming from the front of the car, it sounds like the passenger side but I cant be sure... In the cold, the noise goes away, as the weather warms up, or if I'm in traffic, it comes with a vengeance. Also if it's wet, the noise goes away.. no surprise there.

 

Its very loud and you can feel the vibration through the car.

 

So, My mechanic (Alfa Specialist) reckons it's the ARB bushes.. and apparently the drop links need replacing too, I'm waiting on them to arrive and I'll do them myself.

 

Every thing I read in the forums points to upper wishbones... could it be either? both, or more one over the other? I'm hoping its the wishbones as they're cheaper to replace..

 

Any advice would be great :)

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You say you have the squeak but no knocking, so that eliminates the ARB, the sqeak can only come from dry upper wishbone bushes and when the bushes wear you then in serious cases start to suffer from speed wobble, so I'd say that the problem you have is the upper wishbones and NOT the ARB.

 

But as the cars age the ARBs do wear out too, but don't replace the bushes alone, that's a waste of time and money as it's the bar itself which is damaged and chewing up the bushes, a new ARB and drop links in the UK cost £100 + fitting so don't be led into work that is not required or a watse of time.

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The ARB was diagnosed just after a new motor was fitted.. so the car had been on a hoist and the suspension unloaded for quite a while. There was a knock, which is why I'm replacing the drop links, however that's now settled down and now there's no knock at all.. Just the squeak. Although the car has had the squeak for a year or so..

 

Thanks Smaky, I'm inclined to agree with you ( not that I should know one or other!) I'll replace the wishbones first and see how that goes.

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Whats going on with that exhaust flex there Smaky, looks a bit broken to me!

 

Makes me feel a little better, I noticed some damage on mine today, but compared to that, I've got nothing to worry about.

Edited by Alfa156Melb

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I can't see the bit where, because its one of my cars, you get out the BFH and persuade the upper ball joint to split. :LOL:

 

Seriously though my car is loads better since you changed the worn upper wishbone. :thumbs:

 

I still have the occasional low speed grumbling coming from the rear, usually at 20ish mph when coasting. ?????

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Well, I just ordered a pair, mines well overdue.. can hardly wait to fit them ... :ganja:

Edited by Alfa156Melb

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1, depending on the make of the Arms then you may want to grease them, I use TRW or Lemforders (Both are OEM brands) and neither need greasing as they now come lubricated.

 

2, All 17mm nuts are 40Nm and the 19mm Nut is 50Nm.

 

3, Lower bushes are not lubricated, they are solid bonded rubber, the balljoint though may be worth greasing but you will find it awkward.

 

I know what you said is self explanatory, but are those torque settings for the 17mm nuts applicable to the strut tower nuts too?

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Is it worth mentioning that the lower fork bolt should be tightened with the wheel on the ground? Because it's a bonded bushing,like the rear lower hub bush, right? (correct me if I'm wrong)

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