sothpaw2

Hi Everyone,

I've seen some pics on here of control arm bushings and it seems that some folks say they should be replaced, others say they look near stock(new).

I understand the bushings will affect the alignment settings a bit, but if that's ok, when do they really have to go?

I have the car in shop now for check-out, but I'm not sure if he really knows the answer to this one.

Thanks

Andy

el es tu

usually theyll push out from the control arm. another indicator can be noise - over bumps or just during hard turns that put a lot of load on the upper bushings

sothpaw2

So essentially when you have metal-on-metal, that control arm will be a little loose and the suspension will just have too much play?

el es tu

not metal on metal - the rubber will still be there, but it will be shifted/off center. there are pictures buried somewhere on the site, but Im having a hard time finding them.

CHJ In Virginia

I have never heard of anyone wearing out a set of A Arm bushings in normal driving, even high milage cars. Tracking or autoX ing a car will tend to push the bushings out of the arm on the top. Each side of the bushing has a "lip" that sits on the outside of the A Arm. If that lip is pulled into the arm and the other side is pushed away, it's time to replace.