Genuine Acura MDX Trailing Arm

Acura MDX Trailing Arm Parts Questions & Experts Answers

• Rear Right Trailing Arm
  52371-STX-A02
  Q:

  How to remove and install rear Steering Knuckle and Trailing Arm on an Acura MDX?

  Posted by Gilbert F.

  A:

  Wheel lug nuts on back wheels, lift up vehicle, set it down on jack stands, block the front wheels to stay in place. Loosen the backup wheel nuts first, then get rid of the wheel. Also loosen the front of the rear hub, but don't totally let it go. A special tool takes out the upper arm Ball Joint from the rear Steering Knuckle, while you place a floor jack underneath the coil spring pocket to hold the lower arm B in position. To disconnect the ball joint stud, take out the lock pin from the castle nut at the joint, back off the nut until it makes a space, and insert a ball joint separating tool carefully not to break the seal. Cover the tool with grease first. Then, after releasing the ball joint stud, take off the castle nut to separate the arm from the knuckle. Pull out the upper arm holding bolt and take off the arm itself. Install the ball joint stud castle nut by undoing removal steps backwards, and tighten it slowly to the smaller torque value before putting in a fresh lock pin. Gently push the lower arm back up to stand in its regular ride height. Next, fasten both the arm-to-sub frame bolt and wheel lug nut well. Pull up the lowered lower arm B, remove its frame mount bolt, nut securing it to the knuckle, and on 2007 MDX Acura models unfasten the front trailing arm screws before taking out the lower arm. When putting everything back together, first place the washer properly before lifting the rear suspension just to the average riding height. Then put on the fasteners and wheel nuts by hand. Take off the harness that provides ABS wheel speed readings from the side of B, detach the bolt holding the arm to the knuckle, then let go of the arm. Start by lowering your floor jack. As the coil spring stretches, remove it. Keep track of how the toe adjuster cam connects to the sub frame before you remove the pivot bolt and nut. Before tightening any nuts, make sure you line up the sub frame and toe adjuster cam marks you made previously, then lift lower arm B's outer end, and secure everything. Check the rear wheel alignment afterwards. Let go of the parking brake shoe, take off the brackets for brake lines and hoses from the trailing arm, then hold the neck of the lower arm B again. Take out the nuts that hold the trailing arm in place both on the axle and to the frame before you can pull the trailing arm. Before installing, make sure you tighten all bolts to their recommended torques, and rebalance the rear wheels if needed. Separate the parking brake shoe, loosen the drive axle/hub nut on 4WD vehicles, and remove the axle shaft on 2WD models from the hub. Separate the brake hose bracket from the trailing arm, and the brake line bracket from the knuckle. Also take off the ABS wheel speed sensor and its wire bundle. Take off the lower arm B, leave the upper arm, lower arm A, trailing arm, and lower arm B hanging from their fixture point on the knuckle. To take the knuckle off on 4WD systems, gently press the drive axle when removing the part while using a puller when needed. Undo and replace the ball joint stud castle nut, install both brand-new hub/axle nut and arm lock pin, lift the lower arm into place, and apply torque to all the workered parts while seating each wheel nut.

  Answered by Acura Parts Specialist Miles / Jan 08, 2024