2012 - 2020 Chevy Sonic 1.8L Torque Specs

2012 Chevy Sonic Rear End Torque Specs

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Chevy Sonic 1.8L Repair Information

Chevy Sonic 1.8L Rear End Repair Information

Here you can find information regarding repairs to the Chevy Sonic rear end system. These repairs include the rear control arms installation, the rear swaybar information and bolt torque specs, the rear diff fluid change procedures, and the rear end watts system installation. All of these repairs and procedures include in depth details on how to perform the replacement and or repair. They also contain all the detailed torque specs needed for each bolt involved in the repair.

Rear Wheel Hub Installation

Chevy Sonic wheel hub
To install the new wheel hub you must first remove the old hub from the vehicle. To do this you must first jack the vehicle up and remove the lugnuts and tire from the car. Once the tire is off you will need to remove the bolts from the brake bracket on the steering knuckle. These bolts will be rather tight so you may want to use an impact or find some leverage. Once removed you can move the brake assembly out of the way and move the brake rotor from the vehicle. Next you will have to remove the 4 bolts which hold the wheel hub onto the steering knuckle. These bolts can be accessed from the rear of the knuckle and are best done by moving the steering wheel to aleviate more room. Once the 4 bolts have been removed you can then remove the old wheel hub from the vehicle and place the new onto into the same location. Now hand tighten up the 4 bolts before torqueing them down to 43 ft-lbs. After all 4 bolts have been torqued down we can then reassemble the braking system and install the wheel before going on a test drive.

Chevy Sonic Rear Wheel Hub Bolts Torque Spec : 43 ft-lbs

 

Rear Shock Installation

Chevy Sonic Rear Shock
The rear suspension of the Chevy Sonic consists of shock suspension that has a single shock per side and then a series of control arms that hold the rear wheel knuckle to the vehicle. To remove the rear shock you must first jack up the vehicle and remove the tire. From here we can remove the lower bolt which holds the bottom of the shock to the knuckle. With that removed we can then remove the upper bolts which hold the top of the shock to the vehicle frame. With both set of fasteners remove the shock can then be removed from the vehicle and replaced by the new part. From here we can hand tighten up both the upper and lower bolts and then torque down the upper bolts to 43 ft-lbs and then the single lower bolt to 74 ft-lbs and then an additional 90 degree turn. From here we can then reinstall the tire and go for a test drive.

Chevy Sonic Rear Shock Upper Bolts Torque Spec : 43 ft-lbs

Chevy Sonic Rear Shock Lower Bolt Torque Spec : 74 ft-lbs + 90°

Chevy Sonic Rear Stabilizer Link Torque Spec : 33 ft-lbs

 

Rear Control Arms Torque Specs

Chevy Sonic Rear Arms
On the Chevy Sonic rear suspension there is a series of control arms which help support the rear hub to the vehicle. The rear control arms have 2 fastener locations being the frame of the vehicle and the knuckle itself. At both of the locations the bolts with nuts need to be tightened down to 135 ft-lbs. I recommend using some blue or red loctite to ensure these bolts do not loosen up and cause problems.

Chevy Sonic Rear Control Arms Torque Specs : 135 ft-lbs

 

Rear Swaybar Installation

Chevy Sonic Rear Swaybar
The rear swaybar on the Chevy Sonic consists of endlinks that connect the rear shock to the rear stabilizer bar. The endlinks have 2 joints which connect through the use of nuts. These nuts need to be tightened down to 33 ft-lbs.

Chevy Sonic Rear Swaybar Endlinks Torque Specs : 33 ft-lbs

 


Rear Suspension Torque Specs
Rear Wheel Hub Bolts Torque Spec 43 ft-lbs
Rear Control Arms Torque Spec 135 ft-lbs
Rear Swaybar Endlinks Torque Spec 33 ft-lbs
Rear Shock Torque Specs
Rear Shock Upper Bolts Torque Spec 43 ft-lbs
Rear Shock Lower Bolt Torque Spec 74 ft-lbs + 90°