So I had my car up on a lift today and I really do need to change my frost left control arms. My question is can I just change the bushing at the wheel end of the control arm or is that part of the arm itself? Here is a pic:

The right side of this thing:



This end:




Can that be changed or is it the entire control arm?

Thanks.

 

That cannot be replaced by itself, the whole arm needs to be done... Thats what makes the CA job more expensive than most cars.

 

I'm going to assume it's the entire thing. Looks like it'd be more difficult removing that bushing than just the arm itself. Do all four corners!

 

Yeah I'm pretty sure the entire arm is going to have to go :'( Nick I would love to do all 4 corners but I don't have the cashflow right now, school is a bitch

Are control arms hard to do on your own? Doesnt look very complicated.

 

"That thing" is a ball joint. The bushing is at the other end. No, it can't be changed separately on these control arms - at least not without custom work to the control arm that would not really be worth it. They can on many cars.

 

Ball joint, thanks for informing us!

Ah yes, all four corners would get a bit pricey if you don't NEED to replace them. The job, from what I've seen, is quite simple.

 

I had the same ball joint go bad, myself. The entire arm needs replacement. Got it cheap from BLAUparts. I do remember the upper retaining pin was a bitch to pull out. Be careful not to over-torque the bolt at the strut.

 

The whole front kit is under $300 and not a bad job at all.

 

If some are bad now, either the rest are bad and you just cant visually see it yet, or they will fail soon. Its really cheaper to get a full kit in the long run, wish I would have done that. And its generally harder than you might think, the pinch bolt for the uppers is a huge PITA usually (search pinch bolt), and sometimes the lowers dont like to pop out of the knuckle or will spin when you try to take the nut off. Pneumatic tools, a breaker bar, and patience are all nice to have.