Rear upper control arm body mounting bolt just spins

[Dale Robertson]

OK,
So I'm attempting to replace the rear uca on my 04 4wd manual sport.
Driver side body bolt came out fine.
passenger side seemed to be breaking loose like the other one. but went a turn or so and now spins freely.
I suspect that the nut up in the body has broken loose from whatever keeps it from spinning (caged nut? spot welded nut?
I've tried finding the back side of this thing to no avail. I slit the carpet under the rear seat to try to find it but can only feel a 'hump' where I think it should be.
Does anyone know How I can get to the nut or failing that, how I might proceed?
Thanks in advance
Dale

 

[Shane Giggie]

OK,
So I'm attempting to replace the rear uca on my 04 4wd manual sport.
Driver side body bolt came out fine.
passenger side seemed to be breaking loose like the other one. but went a turn or so and now spins freely.
I suspect that the nut up in the body has broken loose from whatever keeps it from spinning (caged nut? spot welded nut?
I've tried finding the back side of this thing to no avail. I slit the carpet under the rear seat to try to find it but can only feel a 'hump' where I think it should be.
Does anyone know How I can get to the nut or failing that, how I might proceed?
Thanks in advance
Dale

Just had the rear UCA done on my 06, going to talk to my mechanic tmr and see what kind of job it was. Doesn't look like it would be a fun job. What a difference though, rides and handles so much better and it even feels like it has more clearance.

 

[tommudd]

OK,
So I'm attempting to replace the rear uca on my 04 4wd manual sport.
Driver side body bolt came out fine.
passenger side seemed to be breaking loose like the other one. but went a turn or so and now spins freely.
I suspect that the nut up in the body has broken loose from whatever keeps it from spinning (caged nut? spot welded nut?
I've tried finding the back side of this thing to no avail. I slit the carpet under the rear seat to try to find it but can only feel a 'hump' where I think it should be.
Does anyone know How I can get to the nut or failing that, how I might proceed?
Thanks in advance
Dale

You should be able to have someone with a portable welder come and spot weld it back where it should be, of course they all move somewhat to get into the right location until tight so you would have to have that planned out

 

[tommudd]

Just had the rear UCA done on my 06, going to talk to my mechanic tmr and see what kind of job it was. Doesn't look like it would be a fun job. What a difference though, rides and handles so much better and it even feels like it has more clearance.

Easy job, at least the way I do it they are
Most of the ball joints are now rusted into the bracket on the rear diff so Ipull that bracket off, 2 front bolts are always pretty easy one minte per side
take the whole thing down, beat old ball joint out of bracket, install new tri-link, bolt in and go.
They are not hard but I still hate to swap them, so happy I'm running the bolt ons from JBA on all of mine now, finally got the 05 one a while back as well

 

[Shane Giggie]

Easy job, at least the way I do it they are
Most of the ball joints are now rusted into the bracket on the rear diff so Ipull that bracket off, 2 front bolts are always pretty easy one minte per side
take the whole thing down, beat old ball joint out of bracket, install new tri-link, bolt in and go.
They are not hard but I still hate to swap them, so happy I'm running the bolt ons from JBA on all of mine now, finally got the 05 one a while back as well

Yeah I got mine at Napa, 4 year warranty. It made a big difference I know that, and the mechanic said it wasn't too bad.

 

[tommudd]

Yeah I got mine at Napa, 4 year warranty. It made a big difference I know that, and the mechanic said it wasn't too bad.

I must run all of mine too hard, those cheaper ones last me 3-4 months max, MOPAR lasts the longest 1.5-2 years
Tried many brands, the Lietime Warranty to me is a joke. I still have my time changing them outand my time is not cheap LOL
That is why I was sorry to see JBA stop making the adjustable bolt ons , have one with about 85-90,000 miles on it now and still good ( it was the first test model I was sent )

 

[kejobe]

That is why I was sorry to see JBA stop making the adjustable bolt ons , have one with about 85-90,000 miles on it now and still good ( it was the first test model I was sent )

You've built bumpers and such, pull some measurements from yours and build them. Make 1 or 2 to get everything situated and build per order. Be another product in Mudd's Motorsports.

 

[Shane Giggie]

I must run all of mine too hard, those cheaper ones last me 3-4 months max, MOPAR lasts the longest 1.5-2 years
Tried many brands, the Lietime Warranty to me is a joke. I still have my time changing them outand my time is not cheap LOL
That is why I was sorry to see JBA stop making the adjustable bolt ons , have one with about 85-90,000 miles on it now and still good ( it was the first test model I was sent )

I must run all of mine too hard, those cheaper ones last me 3-4 months max, MOPAR lasts the longest 1.5-2 years
Tried many brands, the Lietime Warranty to me is a joke. I still have my time changing them outand my time is not cheap LOL
That is why I was sorry to see JBA stop making the adjustable bolt ons , have one with about 85-90,000 miles on it now and still good ( it was the first test model I was sent )

Yeah I don't know how long the replacement will last, if it wears I'll get a new one. Not really any wonder parts wear considering the roads we drive on are complete crap. At least here in Canada I don't know about where you live.

 

[randymorris]

Easy job, at least the way I do it they are
Most of the ball joints are now rusted into the bracket on the rear diff so Ipull that bracket off, 2 front bolts are always pretty easy one minte per side
take the whole thing down, beat old ball joint out of bracket, install new tri-link, bolt in and go.
They are not hard but I still hate to swap them, so happy I'm running the bolt ons from JBA on all of mine now, finally got the 05 one a while back as well

Are there particular parts you use for the new tri-link? My rear UCA needs changing, and I was gonna work toward building one. It seems pretty straight forward.

 

[Dale Robertson]

You should be able to have someone with a portable welder come and spot weld it back where it should be, of course they all move somewhat to get into the right location until tight so you would have to have that planned out

Yes, That's the end game certainly. The issue is that there is no access to the nut.
The best I can determine, the nut is welded with a reinforcing plate to the layer of sheet metal UNDERNEATH the floor pan. all that you can see or feel under the rear seat carpet at the location where the nut should be is a rounded bump in the floor pan. It looks to me that access to that nut is going to require removal of the rear seat, then cutting a hole in the floor pan to get at the nut.
I was hoping to find someone who had dealt with this problem to tell me I'm wrong and describe some simpler solution.

 

[Dale Robertson]

You should be able to have someone with a portable welder come and spot weld it back where it should be, of course they all move somewhat to get into the right location until tight so you would have to have that planned out

Yes, That's the end game certainly. The issue is that there is no access to the nut.
The best I can determine, the nut is welded with a reinforcing plate to the layer of sheet metal UNDERNEATH the floor pan. all that you can see or feel under the rear seat carpet at the location where the nut would be is a rounded lump in the floor pan. It looks to me that access to that nut is going to require removal of the rear seat, then cutting a hole in the floor pan to get at the nut.
I was hoping to find someone who had dealt with this problem to tell me different

 

[randymorris]

Yes, That's the end game certainly. The issue is that there is no access to the nut.
The best I can determine, the nut is welded with a reinforcing plate to the layer of sheet metal UNDERNEATH the floor pan. all that you can see or feel under the rear seat carpet at the location where the nut would be is a rounded lump in the floor pan. It looks to me that access to that nut is going to require removal of the rear seat, then cutting a hole in the floor pan to get at the nut.
I was hoping to find someone who had dealt with this problem to tell me different

Did you find a better solution? I’ve got the same problem as you.

 

[Jaybird91]

Did you find a better solution? I’ve got the same problem as you.

Same problem i had when I tightened one side up. It span once i tightened it to the max. I left it like that . I would try to tighten the nut as much as you can by hand and then lower the vehicle back down and tighten the rest with the weight of the vehicle and see if that works .

 

[daves06lrenegade]

You guys are lucky... Yesterday i removed the lower control arm on my daughter's 08 KIA Spectra. One out of three also rotated... The nut that broke loose is inside the hollow engine cradle and is not accessible ... I was hoping that by cutting off the head of the bolt that I could push the remainder into the cavity and drill through the cradle ... No such luck... Something behind the nut restricts it to the hole... D#$M... Other than replacing the whole engine cradle on a 12 yr old car the next thing I will try is grinding around the remaining stud...welding the stud to the cradle and then welding the lower control arm to the stud... There is another bolt holding this flex bar within 3" to the cradle so welding will be a permanent "fix"... Hopefully the car dies before needing another replacement...I would have loved cutting a hole in a floor pan to weld the nut back in place so count your blessings!
The control arm is NOT going anywhere in the near future...
Well back to the KIA...
Dave