[Steering & Suspension] Wishbone Lower Control Arms Questions

[axxeman]

Hello guys, my 62 plate Hdi 75 Enterprise B9 needs the wishbones replacing, plus the drop links too.  Now my van is of the type whereby the lower ball joint is screwed into the knuckle and then hangs down through the control arm aperture.  I have watched several YT videos and yet they are all different in some way.  Allow me to explain;

Most undo the bottom ball joint and then, using a pry bar, spring the control arm apart from the BBJ.  Fine so far.  Next thing that happens if that most  of these guys split the drive shaft from the hub apart from one chap who split the track control arm joint in order to get enough clearance to get at the top of the main LCA bolts.  To confuse me even further, the ones that had undone the drive shaft ALL then separated the knuckle from the strut prior to reassembly, leaving them juggling all these moving parts like plates on sticks.  Why, if it came apart without removing the knuckle, can it not be reassembled in the same fashion?  If anyone has a link to a pertinent how-to, I'd be very grateful.

Also, everybody seems to be using different torque settings during reassembly, which boils my piss.  It's either right or it's not, surely?  Autodoc only shows LCA that have the BBJ as part of the assembly, so no good really.  As far as I can tell, the torques should be;

Two main LCA to chassis bolts - 110nm
BBJ - 50nm
Drive shaft - 300nm
TCA - 47nm
Drop links - 47nm
Wheel nuts - 90nm

If anyone could say yes or no to those settings please?

What sort of time would a pro mechanic take, per side to do the LCA job?  My local garage, that I have spent £000s in over the years, suddenly won't fit customer supplied parts anymore - instead, the owner likes to double the price and gouge us to death.  Quite noticeable recently when I was charged £104 for the DPF 2-part Liqui-Moly chemicals that cost £53 delivered from World of Lubricants and £40 from fleaBay.  I hate being ripped off so currently going to negotiate with a couple of local independents to get my bits fitted at a fair price.  Failing that, a 70 year old partially disabled guy is going to be rolling around in the driveway again.

Kindest regards,
Greg

[evdama]

The entire motor industry is rotten
I cant help other than to say one of the videos will be right for your van which would become apparent once you get started.
Just be very careful with the driveshafts.
What mileage has it done?

[axxeman]

The entire motor industry is rotten
I cant help other than to say one of the videos will be right for your van which would become apparent once you get started.
Just be very careful with the driveshafts.
What mileage has it done?

About 131 000.  My main confusion is that nobody seems to do it the same way AND that quoted torques are all different too.  The last thing I want is to over or under tighten important bolts or to undo stuff that doesn't actually need to be disturbed. I always found the info easily on the net when I had the Ford but Citroen ... <sigh>

Thanks for the reply.

[evdama]

Haynes?

[shtu]

Why, if it came apart without removing the knuckle, can it not be reassembled in the same fashion? 

Because in finest Citroen fashion, the lower arm and strut are both under tension even with the suspension at full droop, so it's almost impossible to get them back together without splitting the lot. It looks like more work but it's not.

If you do it yourself, a LONG crowbar or length of scaffold tube is recomended to push the lower arm down.