Radius rod making me want to cry

[yoitsdaedalus]

Hey guys

'85 SEi owner here. I did end up replacing the suspension. All four struts, front control arms, and inner/outer tie rods. The only problem is I can't seem to get the radius rod bolted back in to the passenger side control arm. I've taken it completely apart probably 6 times trying to figure out how to get this thing bolt together. I need some help.

Is there an order to connecting the suspension components that will help me get this thing in? I completely disconnected the control arm, bolted in the radius rod, bolted the radius rod to the control arm, and then I could not get the control arm up into the clevice it bolts into. Is it possible the frame is bent and I'm just stupid for unbolting thing? Do I just need to get some muscle to help me push things into place?

I thought about just taking it in to get an alignment and see what they say.. but I also don't want to drive it with the alignment all out of whack. There is about an 1/8" difference between the tread on the front of the tire and the tread on the back of the tire. The other thing is the 6 places I called didn't know what a radius rod is.. so that's pretty terrifying - its pretty basic stuff.

Any advice you guys have would be great. I'm not sure drilling the holes is out is the answer here.

[Dr_Snooz]

Oh please don't do any drilling! That part is pretty difficult to install under the best of circumstances. If you have new bushings and ball joints making everything nice and tight, it will be even more difficult. You probably have the car up on jackstands with the wheel fully extended downward. This puts the suspension right at, and possibly even outside, the extreme edge of its design spec. In everyday driving, you would (hopefully) never encounter this situation. It's a good sign that you're having trouble. If you weren't, something would be wrong.

Here's how to put it together. Install the front part of the rod in the crossmember and loosely install the retaining nut. Then put a jack under the brake rotor and gently lift it. As you lift, one of the LCA bolt holes will line up. When it does, thread the bolt in and finger tighten it. From there, raise or lower the rotor until the other bolt lines up and install it. Be watchful as you raise and lower the wheel because at some point, you will begin lifting the entire car off the jackstands, which you don't want. It's likely that the bolts won't line up perfectly and that's okay. Just get them as close as you can, and then use a pry bar to line things up enough to get your bolt in. Once you have all the nuts and bolts in and finger tight, then you can tighten to torque spec.

When you are replacing suspension bushings, it's a very good idea to have the car at ride height before torquing them down. Otherwise, you risk early bushing failure.

[mdauriemma]

I second the above. In the future, you will want to invest in a good set of ramp stands. Having 2 jacks on hand is also a good idea. Most suspension components are intended to be tightened with the wheels on the ground.