Control arm vs just bushing replacement

[DrDusty86]

My control arm bushings are a little worn. I get a knock by my feet when I go over bumps any faster than a crawl. I'm wondering how hard the bushings are to replace on the old control arm vs just buying a new control arm and bolting it in??
Is it a hard job to do either way?
Car 99' Escort ZX2 212k miles.
Dusty

 

[jorton]

I have that knock in my 99 Merc Tracer wagon. 214k miles. Mine doesn't knock at highway speeds.

 

[LeakySeals]

I can't speak to your car, but going through that right now on a Camry. I cant press a bearing in so the whole thing has to go. Considering that and the fact the arm has to come off anyways may as well replace the whole thing. Considering the ball joint connects to the arm, may as well replace that too. The the complete arm and new ball joint using Deeza recommended by a master mechanic on here costs $80. Now comes the fun part. Are you sure you can get it off? You sure you can get access to the removal hardware? I have to lift my engine out of the way to remove the stupid arm at a huge labor cost.

 

[MarkM66]

If you don't have the right tools, replacing bushings car be a real pain! Heck, even with the right tools it can be frustrating.

Have you truly diagnosed the control arm bushings as the problem?

 

[Scott_Tucker]

Originally Posted By: MarkM66
If you don't have the right tools, replacing bushings car be a real pain! Heck, even with the right tools it can be frustrating.

Have you truly diagnosed the control arm bushings as the problem?


Yeah, this sounds more likely to be a sway bar end link. I would remove both end links, tie them up out of the way, and drive it and see if it's gone. That way you don't spend money on parts you don't need.

 

[DrDusty86]

On my car I've been told 20 minutes to do the ball joints and another 30 for the control arms.

 

[Nyquist]

What ever you choose to do, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results. I just swapped the bushings out on my wife's 2008 Cobalt. You could feel a nice difference in the wheel.

I opted to leave the old control arms in since a few of the cheaper ones don't seem to be made very well from what I've been told by some mechanics I know pretty well.

 

[DrDusty86]

I plan on moog greasable ball joints and O-rielys Masterpro control arms? Any problems with these particular brands?

 

[mechtech2]

Changing a control arm is a piece of cake with a ZX2.
Sure - get a new one - both sides, if you can afford it.
AFter 50- 100 miles, get a good alignment, or at least set the toe to zero or a hair toe out.
Greaseable ball joints sound good, but in reality are dated and unnecessary.

 

[DrDusty86]

Mech, Thanks bud,
Are the MasterPro good control arms? My roomate works at Autozone so a Duralast?

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: Nyquist
I opted to leave the old control arms in since a few of the cheaper ones don't seem to be made very well from what I've been told by some mechanics I know pretty well.


This is my concern as well. AS long as the existing control arm is not bent, than I'm not replacing it.

 

[brelandt]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
I can't speak to your car, but going through that right now on a Camry. I cant press a bearing in so the whole thing has to go. Considering that and the fact the arm has to come off anyways may as well replace the whole thing. Considering the ball joint connects to the arm, may as well replace that too. The the complete arm and new ball joint using Deeza recommended by a master mechanic on here costs $80. Now comes the fun part. Are you sure you can get it off? You sure you can get access to the removal hardware? I have to lift my engine out of the way to remove the stupid arm at a huge labor cost.


Dude we can do that job easier and faster. computer quotes a huge hourly rate but all we need to do is loosen the motor mounts and support the engine. Did a few not to long ago. Not a huge deal really.

 

[mechtech2]

Texas cars have a huge advantage over northern winter salt cars.
Parts don't rust as much at all.
So it may be OK to keep the old A arms, and pay a shop a few $ to press the joints in/out.

BTW... Good time to get new sway bar end links.
You'll save time by hacksawing or cut off tooling the old ones off, instead of trying to save them. And you get new bushings!