I'm working on a friend's '96 Ram 1500 2WD standard cab truck and having a devil of a time re-installing the lower control arms (LCAs) on the truck after cleaning them up and installing new poly bushings. The fit back into the underside perches seems extremely tight when trying to re-install them. Any tips or thoughts on putting these back on the truck? Unfortunately, I'm not working on a lift and I'm doing this job on my back with a creeper with the truck supported on jack stands under the frame on concrete in this wonderfully hot weather..

 

Are the bushings pressed all the way in? Worst case, bend the ears of the mounts out a little bit, to get them to fit easier. Torquing the bolts down will squeeze 'em back.

 

Initially, the one of the passenger side rear LCA bushings weren't all the way in, but I used some 5/8" threaded rod, large washers and a couple of nuts to fix that issue. It's still a really tight fit to get those LCAs back into the perches. I seem to recall having to pry them out with a pry bar during removal. I'll try bending the outer openings of the perches to see if I can get enough clearance to install the LCAs.

 

Just as feedback, bending the each outer perch mounts a bit with a BFH made it a lot easier with installing the rebuilt LCAs with Energy Suspension poly bushings. Still had to use a large screwdriver to pry the rear part of the LCA into it's perch, along with a small bottle jack and installed the two LCA bolts and nuts. Thanks again for the tip to help me get these rebuilt LCAs re-installed.

I'll hopefully finish installing the other side tomorrow.