rear knuckle suspension question

[geordi]

I'm working on replacing the rear wheel bearings, and thought that I needed to disconnect the carrier from the control arm to be able to rotate it and get access to the bolts for the bearing since the axle is in the way.

Turns out, that isn't the case and there WAS enough room to get the 18mm socket past the axle boot and onto the bolts. But now I have a minor issue - the bottom bolt holes of the knuckle are not aligned with the control arm, and I am at a loss of how to reduce the pressure (outward from the body of the car) to allow the thing to shift back into position. Thoughts?

I've tried lifting the knuckle, and it seems that the 14 other connection points to the arm all just make it travel at the same rate. I'm thinking of maybe trying to attach a strap to the other wheel and apply some tension under the car to pull the knuckle back toward the arm, but wondering if there is a better option. What an overcomplicated design.

 

[geordi]

Rather than leaving the question unanswered for the next person who might find this, here's what ended up working.

The bushing on the lower control arm connection point had gotten out of alignment with the knuckle, and one side had jammed against the overlapping ear of the knuckle. I had to pry the knuckle outward at the bottom and hold it in position briefly so I could use a small grinding disc to slightly bevel the edge of the bushing and the knuckle. When pulled back toward the car with a cable puller anchored on the opposite wheel (soft strap looped around the wheel) this was enough to line up the knuckle with the bushing in the control arm. It STILL wasn't completely lined up, but using the grinder to make a cone-shaped "pilot point" of the non-threaded end of the bolt, solved that problem after some "persuasion" of the dead-blow hammer variety.

So note to self on the rear bearings: Use short 3/8 18mm socket and an extension to get around the axle CV boot and leave the control arm alone!