Rear Suspension Help - Bolts mounting upper control arm into frame loose

dmenn · 10-23-02, 08:09 PM

If you were to pull off your rear drivers side wheel and look behind the rotor assembly, you would see the upper control arm which mounts on the frame of the car. It is mounted by a small bar which runs through a bushing, and there are 2 bolts that go into the frame to secure it there.

This is my problem - Both of those bolts that go into the bar are loose, and I can't remove the bolt or tighten it up. It must be stripped. I noticed this a short while ago when I heard a noise coming from the rear drivers side suspension going over small quick bumps, and I have narrowed it down to this.

Does anyone have suggestions on what I could do? Has anyone ever had to replace the section of frame where these two bolts screw into? If anyone has done this before or had it done, could you please comment on what you did, how hard it was, how much $$ it cost, etc, etc.

Thanks for all the help.

- Dave

my91legend · 10-23-02, 11:07 PM

Can't say that I'm having the same problem but similar. I can't get the bolts out to get back 2 wheels aligned. Went to acura dealer to get 2 new bolts just in case shop broke originals trying to get off and they run $14/each just for the bolt. Hope this helps some???

Train · 10-24-02, 02:17 PM

Wow, that's really weird! I discovered the exact same problem when I was adjusting the rear camber on my car. I was able to pull the 2 bolts on the passenger side and 1 of the bolts on the driver side out. But the last bolt just wouldn't budge. It didn't loosen or tighten either and just spun in place. The part of the frame that they are secured to is called the rear cross member/beam. After I removed the other bolts, I did notice that the threading in the beam was slightly stripped and when I put them back on, they wouldn't tighten securely either. This led me to believe that the guys who installed my struts/springs a while back really f'ed up my car. I couldn't be sure that this was the case but that would've been the only time that someone would've messed around with my suspension like that.

I really had no desire to drive around like this so I ended up taking the car to my mechanic (independent Acura shop) who put it on his lift and said that he didn't even want to mess around with it. The beam would cost ~$450 from the dealership and on top of that, it was somewhat labor intensive to replace it. He would've done it but thought I could save a lot of money doing it elsewhere. He recommended a Honda repair shop/wrecking yard which I ended up going to. They were able to pull the beam from another Legend and put it on my car. The used part was $200 and they charged me another $200 for labor.

Now that I think about it, the scary part was the fact that I was driving around like this for a good 6 months with my control arm loose like this before I discovered it. I also remember talking to ChrisK about this and he had mentioned that while he didn't encounter this problem with his car, he did run across the stripped bolt/beam issue on his friend's car.

Hope this helps.

dmenn · 10-24-02, 07:04 PM

Thank you very much for that info Train! I have contacted an Acura mechanic on this forum to get some advice from him as well. I will look around my area in the yellowpages and see if I can find something similar (Honda wrecking yard) to what you described in your message.

I definatley don't mind doing the work myself, the problem is the manual that I have doesn't cover how to remove the rear cross member, so I'm going to have to look into that as well. Thanks again for the helpful information!

Train · 10-24-02, 07:47 PM

Good luck. I have the Helm's for a 94 coupe. I think it shows how to remove the cross member in there. I'm not sure what year/model you have but I imagine that removal of the beam wouldn't be too different between models. If you need, I can probably scan the pages for you. Just let me know.

10-23-02, 08:09 PM	#1 (permalink)
dmenn Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Collegeville, PA Posts: 282 Car 1: 1993 Black 6-Speed Coupe Car 2: 00 Porsche Boxster S iTrader: (0)	Rear Suspension Help - Bolts mounting upper control arm into frame loose If you were to pull off your rear drivers side wheel and look behind the rotor assembly, you would see the upper control arm which mounts on the frame of the car. It is mounted by a small bar which runs through a bushing, and there are 2 bolts that go into the frame to secure it there. This is my problem - Both of those bolts that go into the bar are loose, and I can't remove the bolt or tighten it up. It must be stripped. I noticed this a short while ago when I heard a noise coming from the rear drivers side suspension going over small quick bumps, and I have narrowed it down to this. Does anyone have suggestions on what I could do? Has anyone ever had to replace the section of frame where these two bolts screw into? If anyone has done this before or had it done, could you please comment on what you did, how hard it was, how much $$ it cost, etc, etc. Thanks for all the help. - Dave

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10-23-02, 11:07 PM	#2 (permalink)
my91legend Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: kennesaw, ga Posts: 106 Car 1: 91 white sedan iTrader: (0)	Can't say that I'm having the same problem but similar. I can't get the bolts out to get back 2 wheels aligned. Went to acura dealer to get 2 new bolts just in case shop broke originals trying to get off and they run $14/each just for the bolt. Hope this helps some???

10-24-02, 02:17 PM	#3 (permalink)
Train L4K3R5 F4N Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: SoCal Posts: 1,225 Car 1: 91 auto LS sedan, 94 6 spd LS coupe iTrader: (0)	Wow, that's really weird! I discovered the exact same problem when I was adjusting the rear camber on my car. I was able to pull the 2 bolts on the passenger side and 1 of the bolts on the driver side out. But the last bolt just wouldn't budge. It didn't loosen or tighten either and just spun in place. The part of the frame that they are secured to is called the rear cross member/beam. After I removed the other bolts, I did notice that the threading in the beam was slightly stripped and when I put them back on, they wouldn't tighten securely either. This led me to believe that the guys who installed my struts/springs a while back really f'ed up my car. I couldn't be sure that this was the case but that would've been the only time that someone would've messed around with my suspension like that. I really had no desire to drive around like this so I ended up taking the car to my mechanic (independent Acura shop) who put it on his lift and said that he didn't even want to mess around with it. The beam would cost ~$450 from the dealership and on top of that, it was somewhat labor intensive to replace it. He would've done it but thought I could save a lot of money doing it elsewhere. He recommended a Honda repair shop/wrecking yard which I ended up going to. They were able to pull the beam from another Legend and put it on my car. The used part was $200 and they charged me another $200 for labor. Now that I think about it, the scary part was the fact that I was driving around like this for a good 6 months with my control arm loose like this before I discovered it. I also remember talking to ChrisK about this and he had mentioned that while he didn't encounter this problem with his car, he did run across the stripped bolt/beam issue on his friend's car. Hope this helps.

10-24-02, 07:04 PM	#4 (permalink)
dmenn Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Collegeville, PA Posts: 282 Car 1: 1993 Black 6-Speed Coupe Car 2: 00 Porsche Boxster S iTrader: (0)	Thank you very much for that info Train! I have contacted an Acura mechanic on this forum to get some advice from him as well. I will look around my area in the yellowpages and see if I can find something similar (Honda wrecking yard) to what you described in your message. I definatley don't mind doing the work myself, the problem is the manual that I have doesn't cover how to remove the rear cross member, so I'm going to have to look into that as well. Thanks again for the helpful information!

10-24-02, 07:47 PM	#5 (permalink)
Train L4K3R5 F4N Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: SoCal Posts: 1,225 Car 1: 91 auto LS sedan, 94 6 spd LS coupe iTrader: (0)	Good luck. I have the Helm's for a 94 coupe. I think it shows how to remove the cross member in there. I'm not sure what year/model you have but I imagine that removal of the beam wouldn't be too different between models. If you need, I can probably scan the pages for you. Just let me know.

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