View Full Version : Rear control arms are shot...
tylerdurden2816
06-23-2014, 11:19 AM
Ok, so from what I've been told by mechanically minded friends, the rear control arms are in dire need of replacement. My driver side rear wheel apparently wiggles when in motion like the lug nuts are loose. I'm currently broke, so I'm debating buying cheap new rear control arms for now, or waiting till I have money to buy good ones, but IDK how long from now that will be. So, my first question is how long can I drive like this before total failure, or is this the most symptoms that ever come from bad control arms? What would total failure entail?
Mr. Man
06-23-2014, 11:48 AM
Can't really help with the "how long til they go" question but many members here buy upgraded CA's and Watt's links from vender here Sparta Performance. Metco is another brand that is popular. Many threads on the benefits of each. Can't really go wrong with either. Not sure if Heinous still makes bars for the MM but that could be another choice.
fastblackmerc
06-23-2014, 12:22 PM
Ok, so from what I've been told by mechanically minded friends, the rear control arms are in dire need of replacement. My driver side rear wheel apparently wiggles when in motion like the lug nuts are loose. I'm currently broke, so I'm debating buying cheap new rear control arms for now, or waiting till I have money to buy good ones, but IDK how long from now that will be. So, my first question is how long can I drive like this before total failure, or is this the most symptoms that ever come from bad control arms? What would total failure entail?
It could last 1 mile, 100 miles or 1000 miles.... how lucky do you feel?
Total failure would entail the back end of your Marauder going all over the road possibly causing you to lose control and cause serious damage to you or someone else.
Save up some $$$'s and get good control arms.
jwibbity
06-23-2014, 12:44 PM
Wouldn't a wheel "wiggling" point towards an axle problem?!?
tylerdurden2816
06-23-2014, 12:55 PM
It could last 1 mile, 100 miles or 1000 miles.... how lucky do you feel?
Total failure would entail the back end of your Marauder going all over the road possibly causing you to lose control and cause serious damage to you or someone else.
Save up some $$$'s and get good control arms.
I'm generally not a very lucky person... Does this type of failure slowly worsen or is it more of an All At Once You're Outta Control type of thing?
fastblackmerc
06-23-2014, 01:26 PM
I'm generally not a very lucky person... Does this type of failure slowly worsen or is it more of an All At Once You're Outta Control type of thing?
Could be either.
tylerdurden2816
06-23-2014, 01:45 PM
Could be either.
Well crap. Then I'm going to need to go cheap, soon. I occasionally have my 13 month old in the car. So who's cheapest? I can (hopefully) always buy better ones when these bargain ones go.
RF Overlord
06-23-2014, 01:55 PM
I've never heard of a control arm going bad to where the wheel is wiggling like it has missing lug nuts. Like Jim said above, do ya feel lucky, punk? :)
A set of Heinous or Metco control arms are a worthwhile mod, but if you have no money, I would find a low-mile CV or GM in a junkyard and snag the control arms from it until you can upgrade. Better to be safe than have the axle come adrift on the highway.
I've never heard of a control arm going bad to where the wheel is wiggling like it has missing lug nuts. Like Jim said above, do ya feel lucky, punk? :)
A set of Heinous or Metco control arms are a worthwhile mod, but if you have no money, I would find a low-mile CV or GM in a junkyard and snag the control arms from it until you can upgrade. Better to be safe than have the axle come adrift on the highway.
I have because it happened to me. I crossed the center line 4 times in a row at Cecil county dragway. The 1 2 shift sent me all over the track. Replaced the Metco control arms and QA-1 shocks, problem solved.
RF Overlord
06-23-2014, 02:37 PM
I suppose I should have said I'd never heard of a control arm going that bad on a street-driven car.
Krytin
06-23-2014, 04:44 PM
If the wheel looks like it has loose lug nuts when the car is going down the road, I would be looking real hard at a possible bent rim before I thought I had bad control arms IMHO.
justbob
06-23-2014, 04:59 PM
Perhaps let a mechanic take a look. No offense to your friends but I have seen way too many people given a false diagnosis, even right on here, and it cost them dearly with zero changes to the original problem.
Self proclaimed Builder Of Badassery.
Buy it, Break it, Build it BETTER.
"Since 2004"
crownvic05
06-24-2014, 05:27 AM
As of right now my control arms/bushings are bad. Rear is shifted slightly to the right and im getting lots of hard clunks on the rear. Just received my Heinous control arms and they are beefy. Cant wait to get them on.
tylerdurden2816
06-24-2014, 02:22 PM
I occasionally hear a clunking sound too. My dad and I are gonna crawl under Thursday and see whats up. Anything we should especially be looking for/at?
fastblackmerc
06-24-2014, 02:38 PM
I'm not going to go out on a limb here but........ I'd check the rear control arm bushings.....
tylerdurden2816
06-24-2014, 06:00 PM
LOL anything else? For example, what if the bushings are good? What to look for next? And next? etc.etc.etc:help:
RubberCtyRauder
06-25-2014, 05:18 AM
Bent/broken watts link or watts link stud (on top of differential), Jack up rear and check wheels for bearing play, bad u joints, bad shock (check for oil leaking on outside of it)
Any number of things can a cause a clunk.
tylerdurden2816
06-25-2014, 09:30 AM
I thought so. I've had the car for about 30k miles without touching the suspension except the air-ride, and 100K miles were already on it. Who knows, maybe the whole suspension is still factory original? All I know is the creaking and clunking and wheel movement has to stop, especially since I know it can't be good for my new thousand dollar set of tires!
tylerdurden2816
06-27-2014, 07:17 AM
Didn't get to look yesterday, so the mystery remains till Saturday at the earliest, Monday at (hopefully) the latest.
lifespeed
06-28-2014, 08:42 PM
Slop in the ring and pinion can cause a clunk when you load/unload the driveline.
But let's just go straight to the tough love. How old is your car? How many miles? Darn right the suspension is all original. Do you think the previous owner rebuilt it for you? :rofl:
If you want it to drive like new you need new parts. There is no $20 anti-clunk bracket that can be easily replaced in 5 minutes. Rebuild the suspension, enjoy the results. It wears out.
tylerdurden2816
06-30-2014, 07:39 AM
Slop in the ring and pinion can cause a clunk when you load/unload the driveline.
But let's just go straight to the tough love. How old is your car? How many miles? Darn right the suspension is all original. Do you think the previous owner rebuilt it for you? :rofl:
Damn right they didn't repair/replace anything! They bought her, beat her and traded her in at about 103K. I'm at 137K miles now, slowly being forced to replaced every part on her. Didn't get the chance to look at the car Saturday, so I hope to today, though I don't have a garage and it's lookin' pretty crappy out right now, maybe it'll clear up by the time I'm outta work though..
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.