2003 - 2008 Toyota matrix 1.8L Torque Specs

2003 Toyota matrix Front End Torque Specs

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Toyota Matrix 1.8L Repair Information

Toyota Matrix 1.8L Engine Repair Information

Here you can find information regarding the assembly of the Toyota Matrix 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.

Toyota Matrix Tie Rod Change/Removal

Toyota Matrix Tie rod
To install a new tie rod on a Toyota Matrix 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. The inner part of the tie rod uses an nut that will need to be removed, this nut may spin depending on how rusty it is. I suggest using a pair of vice grips to hold the portion of the bolt to prevent it from spinning. You may also use a wire brush to clean off the threads prior to removal and or use penatrating oil to aid in the removal. Once removed you can now tap out the tie rod from the spindle and start to remove it completely. If you want to replace just the outer portion of the tie rod you can use a wrench to hold the inner tie rod and spin off the outer tie rod. I usually count how many turns it takes to come off so that I can then use the same number when installing the new part. This helps to avoid alignment costs and hassles, although you may still want to get your vehicle realigned. Once the outer tie rod is off you can now screw on the new part and reinstall it the same way it had been removed. Once you get the nut back in place you can torque it to 36 ft-lbs. Be sure to tighten back up the nut on the middle of the tie rod to ensure it does not move your alignment. If you happen to be installing the inner tie rod as well you will need a special tool to loosen and tighten the inner part. The torque specs for the inner tie rod are 65 ft-lbs.

Toyota Matrix Outer Tie Rod Torque Spec : 36 ft-lbs

Toyota Matrix Inner Tie Rod Torque Spec : 65 ft-lbs

 

Front Wheel Hub Installation

Toyota Matrix wheel hub
To install the new wheel hub you must first remove the old hub from the vehicle. To do this you must first remove the center axle nut from the vehicle. This is best done while the tire is still on the ground to prevent the entire assembly from moving during removal. Next you will need to 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 both the upper and lower connections to the steering knuckle. These include the lower ball joint and the lower strut bolts. A tip is to also remove the tie rod end so that you can remove the steering knuckle entirely from the vehicle. With the knuckle out of the car you can then press out the old bearing using a hydraulic press or a bearing pressing kit. With the old one removed you can press in the new bearing and then begin to reassembly the steering knuckle back into its place on the car. Starting with the lower ball joint you will need to tighten the nut to 90 ft-lbs. The lower ball joint 2 bolts and single nut that connect it to the lower control arm should be tightened down to 106 ft-lbs. The lower strut bolts are next and get tightened to 203 ft-lbs. The last part for the knuckle is the tie rod end which tightens to 36 ft-lbs. The last stages are to put the braking system back on and then tighten the tire back up to the vehicle and install and tighten the center axle nut. The center axle nut gets tightened to 217 ft-lbs and finally the lugnuts go to 100 ft-lbs.

Toyota Matrix Front Axle Nut Torque Spec : 159 ft-lbs

Toyota Matrix Front Lower Arm to Ball Torque Spec : 106 ft-lbs

Toyota Matrix Front Strut Lower Bolts Torque Spec : 203 ft-lbs

 

Front Ball Joints Installation

Toyota Matrix Front Ball Joints
The Toyota Matrix has one front ball joint being the lower ball joint. To start with you need to remove the nut which hold the ball joint to the knuckle itself. Once the nut has been removed you can then remove the 3 fasteners that hold the ball joint onto the lower control arm. With all of the fasteners loosened or removed you can use a pickle fork to remove the joint part from the steering knuckle. From here you can begin to install the new ball joint doing the reverse of the removal. Starting with the 3 bolts install them and tighten them down to 66 ft-lbs. I recommend using some red or blue loctite when installing these bolts to ensure they do not loosen up and cause an accident. Next we will move to the ball joint nut that holds the lower arm to the knuckle. This nut can be tightened down to 76 ft-lbs and then a cotter pin can be installed.
Toyota Matrix Front Lower Joint to Arm Torque Spec : 66 ft-lbs

Toyota Matrix Front Lower Ball Joint Nut Torque Spec : 76 ft-lbs

 

Front Control Arm Installation

Lower Control Arm
Toyota Matrix Front Control arms

On the Toyota Matrix there is only one control arm being the lower control arm. It has 3 fasteners that hold the part onto the vehicle. There are 2 bolts with nuts that hold the control arm to the vehicle frame. There is also a ball joint which fastens the control arm to the steering knuckle. On the lower control arm the frame bolts get tightened down to 101 ft-lbs. The lower ball joint nut gets tightened down to 76 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. On the lower control arm there is also a connection between the arm and the ball joint. There are 2 nuts and one bolt which allow the ball joint to be removed from the arm. These should all be tightened down to 66 ft-lbs.

Toyota Matrix Lower Arm Ball Joint to Knuckle Torque Spec : 76 ft-lbs

Toyota Matrix Lower Arm Frame Bolts Torque Spec : 101 ft-lbs

Toyota Matrix Lower Arm to Ball Joint Torque Spec : 66 ft-lbs

 

Front Strut Installation

Toyota Matrix Front shocks
To replace the front struts on the Toyota Matrix you will need to lift the vehicle up into the air and start by removing the tire on the side you want to replace. Once the tire is off the first thing to do is remove the ABS sensor bolts so that you don't put stress on the bolts or ABS sensor cord. Next you can remove the sway bar link bolt from the side of the strut. With the sway bar removed you can start to remove the lower strut bolts. There should be 2 larger bolts which are used to clamp the bottom of the strut to the steering knuckle. You may need to use a hammer to pound these bolts out once loosened. I always put the nut on a few threads before tapping it to protect the threads from damage. With the lower 2 bolts removed the last fasteners to take off are located at the top of the strut and can be accessed from under the hood. You may need to take some of the wiper area trim off of the car to allow better access to the bolts which hold the top of the strut in. There are typically 4 or 3 of them. Once removed the strut should come out from the car. The new strut can be installed in reverse order of the removal. Starting with sliding the new strut into the strut tower and tightening the upper nuts to 29 ft-lbs. Then you can install the lower strut bolts and tighten them to 166 ft-lbs. The stabilizer nut can be tightened down to 55 ft-lbs.

Toyota Matrix Front Strut Upper Nuts Torque Spec : 29 ft-lbs

Toyota Matrix Front Strut Lower Bolts Torque Spec : 166 ft-lbs

Toyota Matrix Front Stabilizer Endlink Torque Spec : 55 ft-lbs

 

Front Swaybar Installation

Toyota Matrix swaybar
The front swaybar on the Toyota Matrix 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 55 ft-lbs and then torque the bracket bolts to 25 ft-lbs as well.

Toyota Matrix Front Swaybar Bracket Torque Spec : 25 ft-lbs

Toyota Matrix Front Swaybar Endlinks Torque Spec : 55 ft-lbs

 


Front Steering Torque Specs
Outer Tie Rod Torque Spec 36 ft-lbs
Inner Tie Rod Torque Spec 65 ft-lbs
Front Wheel Hub / Knuckle
Brake Caliper Bracket Torque Spec 67 ft-lbs
Lower Control Arm to Ball Joint Torque Spec 66 ft-lbs
Lower Strut Bolts Torque Spec 166 ft-lbs
Wheel Axle Nut Torque Spec 159 ft-lbs
Control Arms Torque Specs
Front Lower Ball Joint to Arm Torque Spec 66 ft-lbs
Front Lower Arm Frame Bolts 101 ft-lbs
Front Lower Ball Joint to Knuckle Nut 76 ft-lbs
Front Strut and Extra Knuckle Torques
Upper Strut Nuts Torque Spec 29 ft-lbs
Lower Strut Bolts Torque Spec 166 ft-lbs
Stabilizer Frame Bolt Torque Spec 25 ft-lbs
Stabilizer Link Torque Spec 55 ft-lbs