CONTROL ARM factory vs aftermarket

[jasonmp3]

Hello all,

Well my left ball joint is done! As most of you know that means you have to buy a whole new control arm. I have seen a crontrol arm on rockauto.com for $86.00, it is made by Mevotech. Has anyone had a bad experience with this manufacturer? Or, should I bite the bullet and cough up $200.00 + for a OEM control arm? My guess is aftermarket as the arm has to be demensionally the same, and also has to meet or exceed all factory parts in it's quality. Basically, Mevotech, YES OR NO?

 

[CulRidr]

Why would you have to replace the whole control arm, just replace the ball joint.

 

[JoeManNorth]

He had asked the question before to see if he could replace simply the ball joint and not the hole control arm. Everyone seemed to agree that you had to replace the hole thing (i also found it odd but I dont know). If you know of a way I`m sure he`ll be more then happy to know.

see the thread about ball joints (hahah i dont remember the correct thread name.. hahaha me, not remember)

 

[jasonmp3]

Actually, this is only my third post here ever! I have never asked this question before. I know you have to replace the whole arm because the ball joint is a press fit type, not a bolt in hence the fact that you need the whole arm. Also, go ahead and look, try to buy just the ball joint for an 01 Protege!
Anyhow, I was just curious if anyone else has used the Mevotech aftermarket arm, and if they were satisfied with it.

Any GOOD feedback would be great! Thanks

 

[CulRidr]

So have the new ball joint pressed in? That's what we do if we change the bushings...I don't understand why couldn't just have it pressed in. I was looking at the service manual and it shows how to take it out, although I didn't find anything about putting one in for some odd reason.

 

[jasonmp3]

It is not possible to press one in as the factory arm is distorted by a mechanised clamp during the manufacturing process, it was never intended to be a replaceable part, the ball joint that is. Try to order one from Jason at Montgomery Mazda, he'll tell ya the same. Not trying to be a wise guy or anything, but I have been employed as a mechanic for 23 years now and am pretty confident in this. All I really need to know is if the MEVOTECH part is any good as it is only $68.00 as opposed to $220.00 from OEM. Thanks

 

[CulRidr]

OK well I guess you learn something new everyday...
Best of luck with this (I know nothing about that brand...might want to post in the regular proteg section seeing as the control arms are the exact same, and there is a lot more traffic over there).

 

[probin94]

i think theres a thread around about a replacement control arm from hardrace. dont remember if its for the protege or not though.

 

[CulRidr]

There is one, but he's trying to go cheaper, not necessarily upgrade

 

[Keno1542]

i havent heard anything bad about the mevotech control arms if that helps at all

 

[Maxx Mazda]

The hardrace and AWR arms are both pretty stiff for a street car.

 

[TXMazdaSpeeder]

AWR doesnt reccomend their lca's for a street car, and they also told me they never wre perfectly happy with the way it turned out, they advised me to go oem on my msp but due to budget reasons im going to give the hardrace a try.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

The hardrace arms I've heard are good. there's a thread on the other forum.

 

[Tzar177]

does this help? http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123736437&highlight=cv+joint

 

[TXMazdaSpeeder]

Its a solution but with the additional spirited driving that most mp3/msp owners do i wouldnt be comfortable pressing in a ball joint for a different car. Number one, when you press the old ball joint out of the lca you are going to slightly warp the hole the ball joint goes in, pressing it back in you're going to warp it some more, it may work or it may put undue stress on the lca and cause it to fail under load where it may not otherwise. I may be pulling this out of my ass and be completely wrong but thats just what comes to mind.

 

[Tom03es]

I believe the Hardrace control arm is just a stock control arm with stiffer bushings.

And I don't think the lower ball joint is replaceable on its own. It doesn't have a seperate part number in the parts catalog- it's just apart of the arm itself.

 

[terbow]

you cant order the ball joint, you have to order the whole arm with it installd from mazda. thats why u cant replace them as said above.

I remember this conversation from an engine swap i did a while ago. My friend got some from ebay for cheap (aftermarket) and they worked fine. might be something to look into.

 

[jasonmp3]

Thank you all for your suggestions! One more Q though, has anyone in this forum used the hardrace arms? I was curious only because I read on another thread that they are $200.00 for the set. To me set means 2! That would mean 2 for the price of 1 OEM. Now that sounds like a deal, but knowing my luck the price has rison to say $480.00! LOL

 

[Maxx Mazda]

There's a guy on the other forum who posted up his impressions of the hardrace arms...

 

[slavrenz]

I have replaced both of my control arms myself with the Mevotech arms, and have had no issues whatsoever in 1000+ miles. They fit perfectly, and IMHO, the dust boot on the Mevotech arms looks more durable than the one on the OEM arm, and I haven't really noticed any change in ride stiffness. As for the Hardrace arms, I haven't a clue