Here you can find information regarding the assembly of the Chevy Corvette 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 Corvette Tie Rod Change/Removal
To install a new tie rod on a Chevy Corvette 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 70 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 33 ft-lbs. Be sure to install new
cotter pins to ensure that vehicle safety is maintained. The middle jam nut that prevents the tie rod from screwing in or out can be
tightened down to 44 ft-lbs.
Chevy Corvette Outer Tie Rod End Torque Spec : 33 ft-lbs
Chevy Corvette Inner Tie Rod End Torque Spec : 70 ft-lbs
Chevy Corvette Tie Rod Jam Nut Torque Spec : 44 ft-lbs
Front Wheel Hub Installation
The front wheel hub on the Chevy Corvette uses a wheel bearing assembly that does not have a center axle nut.
To install a new wheel bearing on the Corvette 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 either remove the 3 bolts from the rear of the steering knuckle and remove the wheel hub. Or
we can remove the entire steering knuckle assembly to make it easier to access the 3 bolts. If you happen to remove the entire assembly be sure to
check each componenets section on this webpage for their corresponding torque specs and procedures. Once you have managed to remove the 3 torx bolts
that hold the wheel hub in the hub should be easily removed from the knuckle. From here we can install the new hub and hand tighten the 3 bolts.
The wheel hub bolts tighten down to 96 ft-lbs. Now you can reassemble the front suspension and reinstall the wheel.
The Chevy Corvette 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. To remove the lower ball jiont on this vehicle you will need to either press it out of the lower
control arm or change the entire control arm along with it. To remove the control arm please refer to the contol arm seciton of this webpage.
To press out the ball joint you will need to a special ball joint pressing tool which looks like a large c clamp with various different
sized plates. Find the right sized plate and hook up the tool and press out the old joint. The new joint simply gets pressed into the control arm in
reverse order. From here you can reinstall the lower control arm to the vehicle and torque the frame bolts to 125 ft-lbs. The ball joint nut that connects
the lower control arm to the steering knuckle can be torque down to 52 ft-lbs. The upper ball joint on this vehicle is apart of the steering knuckle itself
and bolts down onto the upper control arm. To remove the upper ball joint you will need to press it out of the steering knuckle much the same as the lower
ball joint. Once replaced you can install the steering knuckle back into the vehicle and torque down the upper ball joint nut to 41 ft-lbs.
On the Chevy Corvette there are two control arms being the upper and lower control arms. Each of the control arms have frame bolts and a ball joint nut
which helps to connect the control arms to the steering knuckle. The upper control arm is propbabnly the easiest to change as the 4 frame bolts are pointing
towards the outside of the vehicle and the upper ball joint is attached to the steering knuckle and simply bolts to the control arm using a single nut.
To install the new upper control arm simply torque down the upper control arm frame bolts to 48 ft-lbs and then tighten up the upper ball joint nut to 41 ft-lbs.
The lower control arm is a little different from the upper control arm in that it has the lower ball joint connected directly to it. Nevertheless it still only
has 2 frame connections and then the single nut that connects it to the steering knuckle. The lower control arm frame bolts can be torqued down to 125 ft-lbs.
The lower ball joint nut can be torqued down to 52 ft-lbs. Be sure to install a cotter pin anywhere a castle nut is used. This is commonly done on the ball joints
and the tie rod ends.
To replace the front shocks on the Chevy Corvette 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
21 ft-lbs and then the upper bolts and nuts to 19 ft-lbs. Be sure to tighten the fasteners when the shock is at ride height.
The front swaybar on the Chevy Corvette 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 53 ft-lbs and then torque the bracket bolts to 43 ft-lbs as well.
Chevy Corvette Front Swaybar Bracket Torque Spec : 43 ft-lbs
Chevy Corvette Front Swaybar Endlinks Torque Spec : 53 ft-lbs
