Control Arm: Service and Repair

Fig. 1 Front suspension exploded view:

Fig. 4 Front suspension. Ram 50 4 X 2:

1. Remove front wheel, brake caliper assembly and front hub assembly.
2. Remove dust covers from anchor arm assemblies.
3. Place alignment mark on torsion bar with mark on anchor arm B.
4. Remove anchor arm assembly, then remove torsion bar from anchor arm assembly B.
5. Remove stabilizer bar from lower arm, then remove shock absorber.
6. Remove cotter pins and nuts from upper and lower ball joint studs at tie rod end.
7. Disconnect tie rod from knuckle using tool C3894-A.
8. Separate upper ball joint from knuckle using tool No. MB990635.
9. Separate upper ball joint from knuckle using tool No. C3894-A.
10. Remove bolts connecting upper arm shaft to arm post of side frame, then remove upper arm assembly.
11. Remove two bolts attaching lower arm then remove lower arm.
12. Reverse procedure to install, noting the following:
a. Refer to torque specifications.
b. Torque shock absorber lower mounting bolts to 6 to 8 ft. lbs. On 1984 models, tighten shock absorber upper mounting nut until protrusion of stud above bottom of nut is 0.8 inch. On 1985-88 models, tighten shock absorber upper mounting nut until protrusion of stud above top of nut is 0.5 inch for 1985 models or 0.27-0.31 inch for 1986 Ram 50 and 1987-88 Ram Raider. On 1987-88 Ram 50, tighten nut to end of threads. On all models, install jam nut and torque to 9-13 ft. lbs.

Fig. 2 Torsion bar anchor bolt installation. Ram 50 4 X 4, Ram Raider similar:

c. Refer to image and check dimension A when torsion bar and anchor arm are assembled. Standard value is 5.6-5.8 inch for left side and 5.4-5.6 inch for right side on Ram 50, or 5.32-5.64 inches for left side and 4.9-5.2 inches for right side on Ram Raider.

Fig. 3 Torsion bar anchor bolt specifications. Ram Raider:

d. Torque anchor bolt until protrusion is to specification shown for Ram 50 or for Ram Raider.
e. On 1984 models, tighten stabilizer bar to lower arm nut until protrusion of stud above bottom of nut is 0.63-0.71 inch. On 1985-88 models, tighten stabilizer bar to lower arm nut until protrusion of stud above top of nut is 0.24-0.31 inch.

Fig. 4 Dimension between bump stop and bump stop bracket:

f. With installation procedure complete and vehicle lowered to ground, torque lower arm to bracket of side frame to 102-115 ft. lbs. Measure distance A. Measured distance should be 2.8 inch. If measurement is out of specification, turn adjusting nut of torsion bar anchor bolt until measurement comes into specification.