Thanks to everyone who has contributed to these forums. My
2008 Nissan Versa SL Hatchback with 125K miles just failed a Massachusetts safety inspection and these forums were essential in making the needed repairs.
I ended up replacing the inner and outer tie rods (both sides), both stabilizer connecting rods, and both lower control arms (transverse links) with ball joints. I thought I would help others by posting a few tips, along with the information I spent a long time looking for...
Nissan Versa 2008
-- Factory Repair Manual - Front Suspension:
Download (The relevant steps are posted above, but the diagram and other details are helpful.
-- Full Manual for 2008 Nissan Versa:
Download
-- As mentioned above, I can confirm that the CVT Versa does NOT have the known issue with removing the control arm bolt on the driver's side. This makes the work a thousand percent easier.
Torque Specs (from service manual) for Control Arm:
--Lugs - 83 ft/lb
--Control arm left bolt (one with horizontal orientation) - 88 ft/lb
--Control arm right bolt (one with vertical orientation) - 102 ft/lb
--Lower ball joint pinch bolt: 41 ft/lb
Other Torque Specs for Pressing in New Ball joint with Control Arm attached, replacing tie rods, or stabalizer connecting rods:
--Inner Tie Rod - 63 ft/lb
--Outer tie rod lock nut - 31 ft/lb
--Outer tie rod castle nut - 25 ft/lb
--Axle nut - 83 ft/lb
--Caliper pin bolt: 20 ft/lb
--Stabalizer connecting rod bolts (upper and lower) - 27 ft/lb
--Strut to knuckle bolts: 129 ft/lb
--Abs/wheel sensor 7 ft/lb
Notes on the steps for replacing control arms:
--I followed the general steps provided in the service manual and posted earlier in this thread.
--The control arms come off after three bolts are removed: (1) Ball joint pinch bolt in knuckle, (2) left bolt that goes horiztonally through bushing, and (3) right bolt that goes veriitically through bushing. In regard to
#2 and
#3 , when facing either the passenger or driver side control arm, bolt
#2 is on the left, toward the front of the car. It goes through its bushing horizontally. And, bolt 3 is on the right, toward the rear of the car. It goes through its bushing vertically.
--After soaking each bolt w/ penetrating oil, I removed the pinch bolt first, using a punch to get it out. Careful here since you'll be re-using all these bolts.
--I then placed the spare tire jack with one of these
jack pads on top beneath the rotor. I raised the jack just a bit to provide support so that I could more effectively hammer out the ball joint stem from the knuckle. Ball joint came out without hammering on the ball or prying open the knuckle as some videos suggest.
--I then removed the left and right bolts. It helped to turn the steering wheel to get some clearance for removing the control arm, which came out without much trouble.
--For me, reinstalling the new arms was more difficult than getting them out
--I started by inserting the vertical bushing and bolt (right side, bolt 3). I loosely threaded the nut. This helped keep the vertical bushing oriented correctly while the horizontal bushing was aligned
--Then, I rotated the arm on bolt 2 until the horiztonal bushing was aligned and I could insert bolt 2. Again, turning the wheel helped with clearance here.
--Finally, I shifted the ball joint stem with closed wrench until it was aligned with knuckle. I got it loosely set into knuckle but couldn't get it to pop fully into place. This is where the spare tire jack and jack pad came in handy again. I set the jack pad tilted (~30 degrees toward ball joint) with one side against the lower control arm (which is not level with the ground) and the other side pinched between the slot in the stock nissan jack. I raised the jack slowly and the ball joint slid easily into the knuckle. Look down at top of knuckle as you are doign this so that you can stop raising jack when stem is flush with top of the knuckle.
--Torqued everything to spec and then went to get the alignment checked. Bolt 1 required a 6 inch extension and a universal joint was helpful to clear the back of caliper.
--Also, if you are replacing the stabalizer connecting rods at the same time, the lower bolts are hard to access with a torque wrench. For reference, I used the 1/2 inch drive Tekton 24335 which is 18 3/8" long. I barely managed to get this wrench to fit with a shallow impact socket and an impact universal adapter.
Hope this helps!
