Hey guys, so I just received a comment about an upper control arm install I did on my 2001 B3000 4x4 and the guy said I should have tightened the control arm body bolts (where the control arm bushings attach to the body) when the car was on the ground otherwise they will wear out fast.
I followed the haynes manual which said 2wd you tighten on the ground and 4x4 it just said to tighten them (nothing about putting the car on the ground).

I dont want the video to be wrong and my bushings to wear out fast so some input would be great.

Here is the video for reference:

 

I've always been told when tightening suspension components such as control arms and leafs springs to do them on the ground with the weight of the vehicle on them. As if you tighten them while in the air it can cause the bushings to bind when you put it on the ground and cause them to tear.

 

Thanks for your reply. So i guess I should lift the car back up, loosen the bolts, and then drop the car on the ground and torque them on the ground, or would it have been adjusted/moved into place by now?

 

That's probably why they invented torque spects. I can't see why they would be any different reguardless of if the weight was on the bolts or off, aside from the fact that the bolt is passing through a rubber bushing.

 

One thing I do is coat the bolts with grease or anti-size, so if water gets in , it doesn't rust the bolt to the metal sleeve inside the rubber bushing, that will destroy the bushing.

 

That is what I thought and the manual doesnt say the car has to be dropped to tighten but I am going to re-do it so I am extra safe.

 

It's not the bolts that the weight is on, it's the bushings. When you tighten the bolts down it's squeezes the brackets for the control arms onto the bushings and applies pressure to the bushing. When the vehicle is in the air and the control arm bolts are tightened it tightens the bushing in that position, then when you lower the vehicle back onto the ground it causes the bushing to twist and bind at all times. Now if you tighten the control arm bolts with the vehicle on the ground it will tighten the bushing in that position and will only twist/bind when going over bumps and such.