Ride height increased after new lower control arm

[AnarchyX]

So I replaced both sides lower control arm, bracket, and ball joints for the first time ever on my '02 Envoy with 190,000 miles on her.

I was surprised not only at how well she now handles the road - it's like it's hugging the road and swallowing bumps in the road with ease - but also I'm pleasantly surprised at the ride height being increased to where I have seen other, younger vehicles are at.

Is it normal for ride height to increase after installing these parts, or was it the alignment that I did afterwards that had an affect on the improved/increased vehicle height?

 

[Merkava_4]

Did you remember to tighten the lower control arm bolts AFTER you connect the ball joint back up to the spindle?

Some service manuals even want you to tighten the control arm bolts AFTER the vehicle is lowered back down and the full weight of the vehicle is on the control arm. On my Buick, I don't have access to the lower control arm bolts with the car on the ground, so I just tightened the bolts after I bolted the ball joint back up to the spindle (steering knuckle).

 

[byez]

Ditto, sounds like you are pre-loading the suspension.

Tighten the bolts after the wheels are on the ground.

 

[Papa Bear]

How can the ride height change by replacing the lower control arm and ball joints ???

 

[mechtech2]

The height should not be changed, if the parts were stock .
and an alignment won't change them.
After old springs were relaxed, they may sit higher for a while.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
How can the ride height change by replacing the lower control arm and ball joints ???


Because if the control arms were tightened before being hooked back up to the spindle, they wouldn't have had a chance to swing to their normal resting position. Some cars are even suppose to be down off the jacks and sitting on their tires before tightening the control arm bolts.

 

[yonyon]

When control arm bushings are tightened in the wrong position results in increased ride height (some won't do this) they're acting as a very stiff booster spring. It'll feel nice and all, but the bushings are likely to fail prematurely. I've seen Chevy pickups rip bushings apart in 6 months this way. The clanking noise is a dead giveaway.

 

[Merkava_4]

Yeah the control arms on my Buick have a torsion load on them when the bolts a re tightened. When pulling the CV axles, I've found that it's easier to just loosen the control arm bolts and let the control arm swing down rather than prying the control arm down with a pry bar.

 

[AnarchyX]

Well I didn't do the work myself, and thinking back the height happened a day later when I took my truck to get the tires rotated and balanced. They found nothing wrong with the parts I added, which were all Moog brand.

 

[Trav]

There is probably nothing wrong with the parts, like yonyon said the bushings are probably acting like little booster springs.
Put the truck on ramps, loose and retighten the lower control arm bolts and that should take care it.

 

[Bgallagher]

I am not sure how that would happen. Do envoys have torsion bars? If that was tightened in the process that is the only thing I can think of that would increase ride height but a control arm would do no such thing...