rear wheel wobble? how to diagnosis and replace a bad lateral control arm

i noticed a problem when i was driving down the highway and the backend felt loose. i also noticed a clunking noise every so often when driving and braking.



i will post a video shortly of the movement, but its noticable when the rear wheels are off the ground and a wheel is grabbed at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions has some movement. i ordered a replacement part (there are 4 different lateral control arms - 2 fixed length front and 2 adjustable rear) from rockauto.com (adjustable right rear was $70 with shipping). its really not challenging to replace as its held in place by 2 nuts, but i just wanted to take some photos in case anyone was wondering.





view from behind the car looking up.







after chiseling some rust off and dousing with PB blaster (nuts are either 19mm or 3/4" (mine were so rusty, after hammering each on i couldnt tell which was a better fit)). i had to use 2 24" breaker bars to break the nuts loose from the bolts. the nut holding the left side arm had to be removed in order to move the brace out of the way to remove the right arm.







pic of lateral arm removed







pic of the old next to the new. i used a transfer punch to line up the busings to adjust the new arm to the correct length.







when installing, the arm isnt perfectly straight but rather slightly offset. i tried taking a photo holding the camera perpendicular to the bushings to show the offset of the two ends. the arm can be installed backwards if not paying attention (i did this, it can fit just not fit well).







finally the photo of the new arm installed. its always recommended to get an alignment after any suspension work, but im cheap and wont unless i notice issues driving or increased tire wear.





hope this helps!

Reply 1 : rear wheel wobble? how to diagnosis and replace a bad lateral control arm

thanks for another nice DIY.

Reply 2 : rear wheel wobble? how to diagnosis and replace a bad lateral control arm

In line for the DIY update.

Reply 3 : rear wheel wobble? how to diagnosis and replace a bad lateral control arm

Nice post! This'll be a nice DIY to refer people to, as this prob seems to come up fairly often. I did this on my Camry a while ago, and set the new arm's length to match the old in a way similar to what you did. I used a steel ruler to measure the old and set the new one to the same length. I figure that would get it close enough to drive to the alignment shop without tearing the heck out of my new-ish tires. When they checked the alignment, the toe was out of spec, but just barely. So I'd say chances are good you got it pretty close.