I need to replace the bushings for my control arms in the front in order to pass inspection. I've read a lot of threads with people having serious trouble with replacing the bushings, etc.

It looks like a new control arm can be had for roughly $75 bucks:
http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/199...ntrol_arm.html

Am I missing something or would it be just as easy to replace the entire part as it would to replace the bushings? And replacing the part I wouldn't need any presses for the bushings either. What am I missing here?

 

Honestly, yes. Without a press our specialty tools, replace those bushings can be quite a PITA. You have to remove the arm to do either, so you will actually have more labor in replacing the bushings than the whole arms. It just comes down to justifying your time versus the cost difference in the bushings and complete arms. Keep in mind too, if you replace the whole arm, you will be getting new ball joints as well

 

Thinking of also buying the entire control arm assemblies when i replace my shocks..anyone know if the bushings and balljoints on these aftermarket arms are any good?

 

I would compare the price of just a top quality ball joint from Moog, then compare that price to the price of the "entire control arm assembly" you mention. I'm pretty sure there's a reason for this.....

 

I just recently replaced my front lower control arms with the pre-assembled ones from O'Reilly's. I am very happy with them. I also replaced the uppers with Moog at the same time. The car drives like a new car now.

 

Did you get the Dorman's or the PRE?

 

I know they are not Dorman. They came in a yellow & blue box, I think they were "Precision...something". They are painted gloss black. They survived one day at the track (i.e. VIR) so far, lol. The car drives well.

 

I got mevotech uppers and lowers. They ball joints, bushings and boots are higher quality than anything Autozone carries. Like $230 for the whole deal.

 

I had read here that the mevotech's have a problem with the ball joints in that the boot doesn't make a good seal resulting in ball joint failure in about a year or two.

 

As I've mentioned, 2-3 times, in this forum, you get what you pay for......

 

That, and I can't understand the logic behind tossing an OEM control arm, that's completely in spec, for chinese crap with questionable ball joints at the fear of a little work to replace your own ball joints and bushings with quality parts.

 

It's the cheap route. I'm going through my front suspension and have elected to buy all new MOOG bushing and ball joints. I considered the pre assembled ones, but there is nothing wrong with my factory a arms and I didn't trust the pre-assembled arms from AZ or O'Reilly.

 

ummmmmmm yup!
Good OEM parts are getting hard to find.

 

True, but many cars still have the major components in place, so it's just a matter of replacing the "wear items".

 

I did the front suspension myself but I had to pay to have a shop press out my bushings and ball joints in my lower arms and to install the new ball joints as well. The new bushing went it easy for me using the standard bushing removal/installation kit from your local auto store. Pay to have a shop remove and/or press in new bushing and ball joints if you have to. I have been happy with all the Moog bushings and ball joints so far.

 

I just did the lowers my self with poly bushings. It was not hard at all. Just needed to use the press. No special tools were required. Got both done in an hour, not including removal from car.

 

I recently ordered a set of mevotech uppers and lowers for my 2002 Z28. They were so bad I returned them and bought a new set of made in America bushings that I'll Just replace myself. I was hoping to just throw the mevotech on there and keep the stockers for spares. I have a press and all the other tools required to replace the bushings myself I'm just lazy.

It was also lazy of me to buy a cheap imported parts and I will never do it again.

Apparently the people at mevotech are very lazy too because the lower control arms were complete garbage. I searched a little bit and I found that others that have bought these arms have mentioned something like the arm having a weaker construction. I wish I had found that thread before I ordered the arms. I confirmed that the mevotech control arms where not serviceable myself as soon as I pulled one of the lowers out of the box.

There is nothing inside the hollow front lower control arm to keep it from smashing together when you tighten down the front shock bolts.

Obviously I did not put the arms on because I drive the car like a sports car should be driven and I just knew looking at them that they would not survive autocross duty. I wouldn't even trust these arms to survive one St Louis style pothole without falling apart.

Have others experienced this and contacted mevotech directly? Obviously I explained to the retailer I bought the arms from why I was returning them as nicely as I could but I have not reached out to mevotech because honestly I don't know how I could be nice on the phone as I think they are a horrible horrible company. Obviously there is no quality control or real world testing being done on these parts as they would surely fail. The metal looks and feels so weak and others have confirmed this, that the arms will begin to crush before you even get to the factory torque spec for the lower shock bolts. WTF !!!

It's 2022 why in the hell is this s*** happening all the time everywhere to everyone that is trying to work on their car themselves, there is a multi-million dollar industry approved by our own idiotic grandeurous, competitive, and hopelessly capitalist marketing ideology in this country that has been allowed to flood the replacement car parts market with imported poor quality replacement parts that barely last a few weeks or months if they even work at all. This hurts everyone involved except those who profit from selling this s***.

Everyday the people that can afford to waste their money the least are getting hurt the most by this b*******. Having to waste their time and money doing the same job twice and having to pay Even more for parts that are made in their own continent or even right down the street because the people making those are just as horny for money and have just as little regard for their fellow man as everyone else f****** god damn it. If capitalism and our economy based on endless growth are so great then why do we punish ourselves for using stuff that we make here in our own backyard instead of across the pond?

These imported parts do not meet OEM spec even though they say they do, they are just designed to f*** people and turn the highest profit.

If it's OEM type part that I need to fix my car and not made in Canada or Mexico or the USA I don't want it on my car but we can't always blow our whole paycheck on minor repairs.

I don't care about aftermarket parts or mods they can be made anywhere they want It's you guys and me that are voting with our money but we don't always have a lot of it and we need to spend it wisely. It shouldn't cost more to fix a car that was made in Canada with parts made in Canada or Mexico or the US It shouldn't cost more for local parts OEM quality parts than It costs us to buy parts that are made overseas. If we are buying parts made overseas they should be better made than what we have here because all kinds of other resources have to be involved and used to get them over here. Why doesn't that make any sense to anyone !?

I am so sick and tired of returning garbage and having nothing ever being done about it. We need to start some kind of an index on here of common stock replacement parts people often replace on these cars and categorize their quality based on user input.

This way other enthusiasts can save from voting with their money on trash pedaled by White collar criminals with no concern for anyone's safety or well-being.