Control arm tool

[stlnoble]

I used a piece of black iron pipe 2 feet long. one racket strap and some tie wire so I would have enough leverage to push the control arm down so I could place the strut back on.one pic on how I did it and one from Volvo with the tool they use. If you click on the pic it will open up for a bigger pic

[Antherzoll]

necessity is the mother of invention, good stuff.

[guymon]

Just the ratchet strap method, list on this forum elsewhere, worked well for me.

[stlnoble]

"ratchet strap method, list on this forum elsewhere, worked well for me."
I looked on this forum for how to do this and didn't see anything was I not looking in the right place

[Antherzoll]

You need a heavy duty ratchet strap, secure it close to the ends of both control arms just before the ball joint(or the opposite wheel if only working on one side) and crank it until there is enough tension to pull the arms down. Works great if you're working by yourself as you now have both hands free. This method is also listed in VIDA.

[BillAileo]

Note the words "heavy duty" ratchet strap. I've used this technique & it worked fine but it would not work with a typical simple ratchet strap.