Lower front wishbone removal

[Joesson]

Recently I replaced the 4 shocks, and rear calipers and renovated the fronts.
Next on my list are the lower wishbone bushes, the subject of much discussion but not including the necessary removal of the wishbones to do this.
I had thought/ hoped that the front lower wishbones can be removed with the shocks in place.
Having removed the drop link, loosened the rear Bush bolt as far as the thread will allow. Loosened the front bush bolt and got the bolt part out.
Removed the OE split pin ( what a creation) from  ball joint and II believe the taper is now loose after some weighty persuasion.
I now cannot  achieve the last movement of the fixing bolts through the bushes.
It may be possible to drive the front one out, but I am thinking that the shock assembly is pressurising the fixings and thus need to remove the shock assembly. I'd rather not but have done it previously but not something I want to do unnecessarily.
Advice from those that have removed/ replaced / rebushed their wishbones would be gratefully received.

[Iain]

I'm truly sorry, Iain, I accidentally deleted your post, thinking I was correcting mine! Doh.  But yes, you can do it without removing the strut, as you say.

[Carolyn]

Lots of winding backwards and forwards with loads of plus gas on the bolt shanks helps.  I've had to cut a-arms off before as they can seize inside the bushes.  As you've got them moving, I reckon you'll prevail.  I also knocked the a-arm back up the shank of the vertical bolt, loosened a bit more, knocked it up again and so on until the bolt is out., This keeps the bolt vertical and makes it easier to extract.  The horizontal bolt can also be worked back and forth with loads of plus-gas until it comes out.

[Joesson]

@Iain and @Carolyn
Apologies for the belated thank you but I stopped for lunch and then went to a local park to see some old VW Beetles and vans and called in to see friends and we were given coffee and cake. Always important to prioritise!
On our return ROC server was not working, but it is now and I thank you for your reassurance.
Perseverance, when I know there is a positive outcome likely I can cope with so will persevere in the morning.
Thank you.

[Joesson]

Carolyn , following your advice the  front/ horizontal bolt is out.
The rear/ vertical bolt is almost out, the thread is free but the shank does not want to come out.
The photos below to illustrate.
I wonder now if the horizontal brace/ bracket, the vertical bush bolt passes through and partially secured this, need to be removed?




The partially removed bolt and the horizontal brace/ bracket that I am thinking needs to be removed?



It looks like it could be in the way when I get to replace the arm.


 
The reason, an advisory on the last MOT, next one is due now, and I didn't want a continuing advisory on record.

[Joesson]

PS to my above post.
The ball joint is holding rather tighter on the taper than I thought.
The ABS sensor is in close proximity to the top of the joint, so far I have backed off the nut, put the face of a club hammer on the nut and hit the other face of the club hammer with a 2 lb hammer.
Is the a case of more penetrant, perseverance and patience or do I need a removal  tool, is so will the fork type fit better than the screw type?
From what I have read elsewhere the ABS sensor is bst left alone, is that the case?

[Carolyn]

I wonder now if the horizontal brace/ bracket, the vertical bush bolt passes through and partially secured this, need to be removed?


The partially removed bolt and the horizontal brace/ bracket that I am thinking needs to be removed?

I use a screw type splitter.  Get it as much under tension as you can then give it a whack.

Yes I do drop that bracket.

PS to my above post.
The ball joint is holding rather tighter on the taper than I thought.
The ABS sensor is in close proximity to the top of the joint, so far I have backed off the nut, put the face of a club hammer on the nut and hit the other face of the club hammer with a 2 lb hammer.
Is the a case of more penetrant, perseverance and patience or do I need a removal  tool, is so will the fork type fit better than the screw type?
From what I have read elsewhere the ABS sensor is bst left alone, is that the case?

[Joesson]

@Carolyn
It would seem I'm half right in the case of the ball joint in that I have whacked it, but the ball splitter must give it that extra something, thank you.

I was right about moving the bracket, but thank you again for the reassurance that it is necessary.

[Joesson]

Well, thanks to the advice on here  horizontal and vertical fixing bolts and the brace/ bracket removed in the process, just the ball joints to split to get the control arms off the car for refurbishing.
Elsewhere on here I have read about corroded items being more prevalent on one side of the car than the other.
On the right/ drivers side of the car the more difficult to remove fixing was the rear/ vertical one. When I finally got it out of the bush I found the shank to be quite pitted and corroded.
However, on the left/ passenger side of the car it was the front/ horizontal fixing that was the more difficult to remove and that was again pitted and corroded.
Some say Nowt queer as folk, maybe that should be Nowt queer as cars!

[Iain]

The ball joints can be a right pig to get free. I didnt have a fork or proper splitter so used the 'whack it' approach. Took a few very heavy hits to get it free.

I have since bought a fork sat waiting to be used for the next time.

[Joesson]

The ball joints can be a right pig to get free. I didnt have a fork or proper splitter so used the 'whack it' approach. Took a few very heavy hits to get it free.

I have since bought a fork sat waiting to be used for the next time.

Tonight I found that our son in law has a lever/ screw type splitter that is now in the back of my daily, together with my trolley jack that he borrowed to work on his '66 Fiat 500.
Did you fit replacement arms c/w bushes and ball joint or did you fit new bushes and ball joint to your original arms?

[Iain]

Tonight I found that our son in law has a lever/ screw type splitter that is now in the back of my daily, together with my trolley jack that he borrowed to work on his '66 Fiat 500.
Did you fit replacement arms c/w bushes and ball joint or did you fit new bushes and ball joint to your original arms?

I fitted new polybushes (mine is a track car) and ball joints to my original arms. You do need a hydraulic press for the ball joints if going down this route though, luckily im good friends with the local garage 😃.

[Joesson]

@Iain
Thanks for that.
I was going to fit Superpro bushes because I believed the advertising but, they are relatively costly, so decided on rubber as the OE and a new ball joint, although outward signs of wear only on the rear / large bush.
A neighbour is a Manager in a machine shop and did offer to get them pressed out and new in.
I will have a go at getting the bushes out, much has been said on here about methods and give the arm a coat of paint before the bushes and ball joint are pressed in. I think the front ( horizontal) bush will benefit from some silicone grease.
Did you find a particular sequence of installing the refurbed arm back into the car- front/ rear bush and then ball joint or ball joint, front/ rear bush?

[Joesson]

I asked Autodoc as to the country of manufacture for aftermarket wishbones they were offering.
They replied that their arm was not suitable and I should only "use an original one" and referenced the OEM part number!
Also that the manufacturing country was not listed in the description.
I have, on the way to me , from them, aftermarket  bushes and ball joints.

[Carolyn]

I asked Autodoc as to the country of manufacture for aftermarket wishbones they were offering.
They replied that their arm was not suitable and I should only "use an original one" and referenced the OEM part number!
Also that the manufacturing country was not listed in the description.
I have, on the way to me , from them, aftermarket  bushes and ball joints.

If you're only using the car for road use, why not just replace the a-arms?  Much easier and, so long as you get the correct Yaris ones, (with the 12mm bolt hole) and not the cheapest (old stock) they'll be just excellent.

This, for instance:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363949495062?fits=Cars+Year%3A2002&_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20220310133107%26meid%3D2a1c90652d1046fa9280a415f402e364%26pid%3D101196%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D354160647604%26itm%3D363949495062%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv9PairwiseWithPLXWebFitmentFilterConfirmFitSignal%26brand%3DJapanparts&_trksid=p2047675.c101196.m2219&amdata=cksum%3A3639494950622a1c90652d1046fa9280a415f402e364%7Cenc%3AAQAHAAABIAzdIKOcP6rVYsexH8mCu6YYN0SdXxqICy66h220Th%252FC6c6aZpFIEmATXPImB6gOXUa%252FXvip3BRuztnBr5L4o8z%252BkKsBRRNd2V%252BnqZ%252B3SYtgqosP1cT4HaNPdx%252Fs9NCYDkEewkzF2Q6bpjoO00OXdbgnz9QkRjyI21fIVhsO40itCja3LUpE9r3pHIlEKD%252FyWtJHWMJfNGu2C0Gh7cbb8eW8yE2FmC4A7WqVdUka4hQ2n%252B8%252B76pBFMziXo3%252B54dx1jbF6lpkXhpeoAlWul%252Bk%252Bm%252BqZ9mW3A9oOqs4n8HBOScjeB4A2itdo0lEK0pPoLU%252B2COb5LJtYqHTCTvssW8liOtyV2nFK1fvsP56rUff5hNppaAste%252F6rYNu2Iq0k1wTKQ%253D%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2047675&epid=17022094273

[Carolyn]

or (even better:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251410514301?hash=item3a893c017d:g:s20AAOxyNo9SufgJ&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAsCDK7Z%2FsgzzXsLP5AhjJY%2Fhfao3HbXfSMYbuO7jHW6VGJm2wENhZ7IQwP%2F6keWVy8G4MN27I2NVzyB68B%2BIsvsILgIDj%2FU4GUANvTKubWuCqhkcAkBY3mdx6qbNcsPAIyq%2Fath2GuIp22i3I2cSpS6DWegQhlvonrvY%2BjPjEKxvtId44BnPN0mn9IoB1KVjQ27JX7UcXnPCw1BfItCjXBsNBeoRXtV50vG1uoQHabfJT%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-6K9ervYA

[Joesson]

@Carolyn
Thank you for that. I have considered doing just that but in my way of  overthinking as @ Petrus current thread, I was put off by some experiences noted on here and that when I enter my car in My Garage on EBay it advise as not suitable for my car. Also, the second offer you flagged above includes drop links, but the photo shows incorrect type for the front!
With that doubt in my mind I finally ordered replacement rubber bushes, replacement ball joints, replacement drop links and replacement front ARB bushes all for <£100 delivered from Autodoc. For £3 extra, included in my price is the facility to return items FOC within 200 days.
I am unlikely to ever race the car and endeavour to keep it as OE as possible and frankly as cheaply as possible.
I have bought from them previously and although the delivery is not quick by UK internet standards they do have a lot of choice of items.

[Joesson]

The Draper lever / screw type ball joint separator, around 30 years young, did the job.
But, I found access to the ball joint only possible with the right wheel turning to the right and the left wheel turning to the left. The steering link arm got in the way of the separator if I tried the opposite lock.
I also found it necessary to cut away the ball joint rubber cover to get the fork separator into place. It may be possible to separate the joint without destroying the cover but I couldn't persuade the fork to enter otherwise.
The ball joints are, of course, in excellent condition or were!
The next job I will attempt is to remove the rubber bushes.
As mentioned above, I have embarked on this renovation approach, rather than replacement of the complete arms, but I do have the option to return the bushes if I find it becomes too much of a chore.
Fortunately I can fit this time and labour intensive procedure into my busy schedule!
PS
I think I should cut off the shank of the ball joints to facilitate pressing them out.