Easy 2010 to 2013 Kia Soul Control Arm Replacement

Follow up video,I was having terrible tire wear and handling. After some research, I found out that the ball joints were bad. In the #2010kiasoul the assembly for the control arm has the ball joints pre pressed! Due to this the repair was simple and easy to do. #mechanic #explore

[@racerx2084]

Doing a control arm and tie rod end on our babysitters 2013 soul. When I unboxed the control arm and saw the ball joint I was like WTF? I clicked on your video to see that I wasn’t seeing things. First time seeing a ball joint without a castle nut but with a clamping surface like a pitman arm.

[@asphalt_boxer]

I must agree that the design is a little weird. I wouldn’t have designed it that way speaking from my mechanical background however, I guess Kia was trying to simplify things and avoid producing more threaded components.

[@racerx2084]

I just finished up doing the drivers side arm. Took me about 2hrs and there was some WTFs, lol. All the bolts came out fine especially being there for 10 years. Definitely spraying them down helps. I replaced the Oem arm with one from Moog on Rock Auto. Everything looked good but the new arm did not want to get aligned very easily. With the new rubber that’s not compressed it’s a very tight fit and very hard to get the bolts to align back up. To make it easier, I’d probably remove the strut next time bc every time I jacked it up to make room for the arm bc it was hitting the sway bar the shock would make the knuckle kick out and pull the axle out. Luckily it would go right back in but it was a pain getting the sweet spot for it to not kick out so I could adjust the new arm more to get the bolts in.

[@linuxmintman]

Tools you need 19mm (short or long) 17mm short and long. 15 wrench 14mm short, brass hammer and a drift to align the bolt holes

[@mark-antonymosley3697]

Ayyeeee got the same headlights for my 2011

[@asphalt_boxer]

Best lights tbh

[@phoenixx_rising]

Greatly appreciate your video my man! Spot on.

[@irisbaez1972]

Folks, never think this is easy. I did both front and are not a piece of cake.

[@asphalt_boxer]

Sorry you had a bad experience, hope my video helped at least

[@tombellamy7167]

Thanks for sharing this. I have a 2012, going to replace control arms and the shocks/struts while I'm at it.

[@Alex-sq5zr]

How’d it go for you? I just did one side struts, control arm, stabilizer link, and brakes yesterday. Harder than expected so I gotta go back and finish the other side today 😫

[@tombellamy7167]

@Alex-sq5zr I ended up replacing just the tie rods thinking that would take care of it, but it didn't. The tie rods were really worn out, though, and did need to be replaced. I'm thinking about replacing the control arms on both sides.

[@927Mferguson]

Very helpful and informative. I just wish you would have showed the removal of that back bolt because I'm having nothing but trouble getting it out. I removed the top nut but the bolt won't budge!

[@asphalt_boxer]

Yes unfortunately my camera died when recording, for that bolt, try using rust penetrant like WD-40 or Liquid wrench, sometimes corrosion builds up between the boot and Screw causing resistance. A few good taps on the bolt with a hammer may help too!

[@927Mferguson]

Oh I used lots of PB blaster trust me lol. But i couldnt get a hammer above it to tap on it. I just got it out. I had to replace the whole sub frame piece anyway so I disconnected the ball joint and pulled the whole assembly out and beat it off out where i could get to it. Turns out that ball joint was bad too on that control arm so it's getting replaced as well. Thanks for the response though. I don't know what I would have done if the subframe wasn't coming out anyway

[@asphalt_boxer]

@927Mferguson Anytime! Good luck with the repair sounds like jts going Good for you!

[@927Mferguson]

@asphalt_boxer it's definitely going but I don't know about good lol. It's a struggle every step of the way. Thanks again. Great video!

[@brandonspence2189]

Thank you for the short, consise video. Cheers

[@asphalt_boxer]

Thx for watching!

[@iahang6153]

Helpful thank you

[@ferndog1461]

My GF got a 2010-2013 Soul , too. She wants a more comfortable ride. So doing Monroe Quick Struts . May do LCAs now that I saw your video. Thank you.

[@asphalt_boxer]

Thank you for watching the video, let me know if the ride quality increases after you do the struts and LCA’s!

[@irisbaez1972]

@@asphalt_boxer So, never came back. I hate that.

[@asphalt_boxer]

@@irisbaez1972 no worries life gets busy, did it fix the problem?

[@multisimple]

fantastic, if that part oem? if so how much did you pay for it?

[@asphalt_boxer]

This part in particular, it was not OEM but they did come from a reputable aftermarket parts distributor. The OEM part I believe sells for 180 at Kia.

[@fernandofgg]

I cant remove my control arm, seems like the ball joing are soldered

[@asphalt_boxer]

Is it rusted together? try using a heavier hammer and maybe using some rust penetrant to help. Sorry this job is tough for you. Hopefully the video helped!

[@fernandofgg]

@@asphalt_boxer not too rusted, yes i tried tu use a big hammer and nothing happened and i use rust penetrant too, i will try again today

[@asphalt_boxer]

@fernandofgg also, some of the ball joints and control arms are one piece, in this situation, you probably should replace the whole assembly

[@bloocifer]

my control arm for my 11 soul is gonna be delivered to my work tomorrow and im gonna try to put it on. hope that fixes the issue. the passenger side failed and was replaced . still makes some noise and i feel like it does the hoppping thing a bit too when im steering slightly. its hard to tell idk. guess well find out tmrw when i put it on.

[@asphalt_boxer]

Tbh its always a good starting point. I will say that if your getting a-lot of hopping to check the strut tower as well. But the control arm shouldn’t be too hard to do.