Finally put in passenger side A-Arm

Saturday I decided that I would finally finish the project I started 2 weeks ago.  I didn't call for help this time - I figured several of the issues I ran into last time will not be a big deal on the passenger side.

I started by putting the front of the car on jack stands.  I removed the passenger front wheel, and then just dug in.  I removed the brake caliper and hung it on a bolt.  Removed the ABS sensor, the outer tie rod, and the sway bar.  From there I put the jack under the old A-arm, so it would be holding the spring in place and then removed the two bolts that connected the spindle to the strut.  I slowly lowered the jack and allowed the spring to just basically fall out once it got low enough.

From there, probably the 2nd toughest thing to do on my own for this job, I removed the spindle from the A-arm (unscrew the nut from the lower ball joint).  It was tough because the spindle wanted to freely spin.  I finally did manage to get it done though.

 I had to loosen the rack and pinion and remove one of the subframe bolts - this allowed the two bolts holding the lower A-arm to come out and the old A-arm could be removed.

I remove the Sway bar end link from the old A-arm and installed it on the new one.

Here is what it all looked like when it was out:

The new A-arm took a little persuasion to get in place, but managed to get the 2 bolts back in.  Then added the subframe bolt back in to the 75 ft/Lbs torque.  Put the rack and pinion back in at 51 ft/Lbs.

Added the spindle to the new lower ball joint and tightened it down.  From there, I came to the most challenging step, I had to get the spring back in.  This was all kinds of tough.  I finally did get it cradled into the A-Arm, and had to call on assistance to get someone to jack up the A-arm from under the spring as I ensure the sway bar end link was connecting correctly into the sway bar.

Once that link was established, I added the 2 bolts that connect the spindle to the strut.  From there the worst is over - the jack can be removed from under the A-Arm and the strut will now hold it in place.

I double checked to ensure the spring was properly cradled in the Lower A-arm and once satisfied and continued on to add the outer tie rod, ABS sensor and brake caliper.  Once all that was installed, I lifted the car by the A-arm and tightened down the A-arm bolts.   Put the tire back on and dropped the car back to the ground.  It looked good.

After that had to clean up the tools I took out and put everything back in their place.

I know I'm not the speediest of people, but i did manage to get it all done in about 4 hours.

Took the car out for a shake down drive, and it drives like crap.  It really needs an alignment. I think I actually have positive camber on the front wheels right now.