Here you can find information regarding the assembly of the Chevy Camaro front end. In this guide we will cover the
essential repairs for the front end of this vehicle. Included within these repairs
is the inner and outer tie rod removal and change, the front wheel hubs installation, ball joint removal and
installation, the upper and lower control arms, and the front shock installation. Along
with the repair procedures we also include the corresponding bolt torque specs for each fastener involved. These
guides are intended to assist in each procedure to help diyers with the job.
Chevy Camaro Tie Rod Change/Removal
To install a new tie rod on a Chevy Camaro you must first remove the old one from the vehicle. This can be
done by raising the vehicle up by either the use of a floor jack or a vehicle hoist.
Once the vehicle is in the air you can remove the corresponding tire for the side that you want to change the
tie rod on. Once the tire is off you can now access the old tie rod and remove it for replacement. On this vehicle the
tie rod is apart of an entire rod system which controls the steering of the vehicle. If any of the steering rods are loose
be sure to replace them appropiately. The outer tie rod itself connects with another inner portion of the rod through the use
of an inner tie rod. This inner tie rod screws into the power steering rack and can be torqued down to 50 ft-lbs.
Be sure to inspect and measure your old tie rods so that the new ones can be installed
correctly. Whenever steering components are changed I recommend having an alignment done after the job to ensure the vehicle is in good
functional condition. When putting the tie rod onto the vehicle the tie rod end nuts get tightened down to 42 ft-lbs. Be sure to install new
cotter pins to ensure that vehicle safety is maintained.
Chevy Camaro Outer Tie Rod End Torque Spec : 42 ft-lbs
Chevy Camaro Inner Tie Rod End Torque Spec : 50 ft-lbs
Front Wheel Hub Installation
The front wheel hub on the Chevy Camaro uses a wheel bearing assembly that does not have a center axle nut.
To install a new wheel bearing on the Camaro you will want to start with jacking up your vehicle and removing the tire on the side you
wish to replace. From here we can remove the brake caliper so that the rotor can then be taken off of the vehicle.
With the braking system out of the way we can then begin to remove the 4 bolts which hold the wheel bearing hub assembly onto the steering
knuckle. Once all bolts have been taken out the hub should be removable from the vehicle
you may need to use a prybar and a hammer to achieve this. Once the old hub is out the new hub goes into its place and can be tighten to 63 ft-lbs.
The Chevy Camaro has two sets of front ball joints being the upper and lower ball joints. The most common one
for replacement is the lower ball joint. On this vehicle you simply just need to remove the lower ball joint nut and the 3 bolts which hold
the ball joint to the lower control arm. When reinstalling the ball joint be sure to tighten up the 3 bolts to 22 ft-lbs and the lower ball joint nut to
81 ft-lbs. The upper ball joint is also bolted down to the upper control arm and can be removed simply by removing the bolts and then installing a new part
and torqueing the upper ball joint bolts to 22 ft-lbs and the upper ball joint nut to 39 ft-lbs. Sometimes Chevy used rivets to install the upper and lower ball joint.
If this is your case then you will need to cut or drill these rivets out in order to remove the old part.
Chevy Camaro Upper Ball Joint to Arm Torque Spec : 22 ft-lbs
Front Control arms Installation
Lower Control Arm
On the Chevy Camaro there are two control arms being the upper and lower control arms. Both of which have 3 fasteners that
hold the part onto the vehicle. There are 2 bolts with nuts that hold the control arms to the vehicle frame. There is also a ball joint which
fastens the control arms to the steering knuckle. On the upper control arm the frame bolts need to be tightened up to 72 ft-lbs. The ball joint nut
gets tightened down to 39 ft-lbs. On the lower control arm the frame bolts get tightened down to 85 ft-lbs. The lower ball joint nut gets tightened down
to 81 ft-lbs. When tightening up the lower control arm fasteners be sure to set the wheel height to a level that it would be at during riding or when on the
ground. This is best done with a bottle jack under the suspension.
To replace the front shocks on the Chevy Camaro you will need to lift the vehicle up into the air and start by removing the tire on the side you want to replace.
With that removed we can now remove the bolts and nuts
that hold the shock to the vehicle frame and lower control arm. Starting with the lower bolts we simply remove the nut from one side and then
lightly guide the bolt through the hole on the control arm. Be sure not to ruin any of the bolts threads if you end up using a hammer to
tap it out. With the bottom bolt removed we can move to the upper attachments which hold the shock to the frame. These can be accessed with either a
wrench or socket depending on how much room you have. As these are removed the shock will separate from the vehicle and
can be moved out of the way. To install the new shock simply line up the upper and lower holes for the fasteners and begin tightening them. Once
hand tightened you can line up the bottom bolt hole and install the bolt and hand tighten its nut. From here you can tighten up the lower bolts to
48 ft-lbs and then the upper bolts and nuts to 35 ft-lbs. Be sure to tighten the fasteners when the shock is at ride height.
Chevy Camaro Front Shock Upper Mount Torque Spec : 35 ft-lbs
Front Swaybar Installation
The front swaybar on the Chevy Camaro consists of a series of brackets that hold it to the frame of the
vehicle and a couple of endlink nuts that fasten it the the outer side of the car. To remove
the swaybar you will need to jack up the front of the vehicle and remove both the endlink nuts as well as the
brackets. To install the new swaybar you will need to move it back into the place as the old one
and torque the endlink nuts to 17 ft-lbs and then torque the bracket bolts to 41 ft-lbs as well.
Chevy Camaro Front Swaybar Bracket Torque Spec : 41 ft-lbs
Chevy Camaro Front Swaybar Endlinks Torque Spec : 17 ft-lbs
