Front control arms and ball joints

[Dragcity]

Well, it is definitely time for me to replace all the ball joints up front. 15 years and 90,000 miles, gotta get done. I am wondering what the consensus is on the forum. To replace the upper and lower control arms with new loaded ones, or to press out and press in new joints? If replacement is better than repair, what are upgrades or equal to OEM recommendations? I have a new pair of Nitto Motivos coming to replace the wiped out front tires, and an alignment on my schedule.

[gdmjoe]

Last year with 126,000 miles on the clock and slight play, opted to replace the lower control arm assemblies (uppers were good) ...

*NAPA - 260-5262 (RH) / 260-5261 (LH)

• life-time warranty.
• forged aluminium with a structure change for additional durability.
• additional corrosion resistant surface treatment on ball joint prevents the build up of rust for longer service life.
• neoprene boots and bushings.
• 90° grease fittings.

.

[bryce_am]

I just replaced my upper control arms and front sway bar links last week, used the stamped steel moog "problem solver" arms from rockauto.com

My factory arms were still acceptable, but a control arm assembly cost $50 vs a ball joint cost $30 , so i just spent the extra bucks to freshen up the front end, I'd advise you to do the same if you can

as far as "upgrades" (I'm not exactly sure on this but), from the factory our cars have forged aluminum arms, the police package panthers came with stronger stamped steel upper arms, lower arms are the same on all cars I believe..

some photos from the job;

[Dragcity]

Thanks guys. Going into my shop on Tuesday. I'll see what's going on up there.

[justbob]

Press the bushings into the so called stronger stamped steel arms and watch them move and change shape way too easily. No thanks, cast for me.


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[Dragcity]

Left upper was bad. New MOOG going in. Looks just like the OEM, with an added grease fitting.

[decipha]

I bought the replacement setup from rockauto as well and when I received it in the mail the lower ball joint had busted through the box and the nut was missing. I assumed it was no big deal since the threads were fine and figured I would just reuse my original nut. Well after doing the first side and all going well when I moved to the passenger side and was just about done and went to put the lower ball joint nut on I quickly realized that the original nut is not the same thread as the new one. I searched for a new nut and could not locate one. I sent rockauto an email and they needed the whole assembly back to replace that nut. Since I was in a bind and needed the vehicle mobile I just purchased a new lower control arm for that side from autozone and tossed the bolt on there. When rockauto sent back the new replacement control arm I took the nut off and put it back on the autozone one and returned it.

Was a bit of an ordeal but in the process I learned that its best to just deal with your local parts store much easier if there is a problem.

[V8Notch]

Press the bushings into the so called stronger stamped steel arms and watch them move and change shape way too easily. No thanks, cast for me.


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What brands do you recommend? My lower ball joints need replacing and I figured the bushings must be getting tired so why not do the whole control arm. Moog only offers the lower control arms in their "R" line which is their cheaper parts. AC Delco professional? Napa? Tasca Ford sell each side for $290...is it worth it?


Thanks!

[gdmjoe]

V8Notch - What brands do you recommend? ...

*.post#2

... $290...is it worth it?

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low co$t is forgotten.
.

[SteelQualityMan]

As an engineer with years of experience in the steel forging and foundry industries, I can tell you that an unreinforced stamping can never be as strong as a forging. That is why replacing the stamped steel rear suspension arms with machined billet or forged parts makes such a dramatic improvement in handling. Stamped steel parts have one advantage for the car manufacturer, which is that they are cheap to make. Just sayin'.

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