Lets talk control arms

[CheeseHelmet]

I recently picked up a set of Beck/Arnley control arms from rockauto and am going to return them.

Here are the reasons why:

• The small bushing (the one closer to the front of the car) on one was pressed in way too far. So much that I'm sure it would make installing it a b****, and it would certainly screw up my alignment.
• Two very different ball joints are used, one is larger and has a very hard-to-move stud and the other is normal size but with a very loose stud. The larger one is also badly scraped up at the bottom; I don't know if that's from shipping or from clumsy pressing.
• The welds are very messy and paint it already flaking off one of them revealing some rust.

Rockauto also has Raybestos and Mevotech control arms. I remember slavrenz said his Mevotech ones went bad after a short period of time, so I'm going to stay away from those. Can anyone comment on Raybestos control arms? Will they be the same as the bad Beck/Arnley parts I got?

If so, where can I get good control arms for a reasonable price (Mazda wants $200+ each)?

 

[Th3_Gr33k]

I just did mine and I am VERY please with them. The lower control arms that I used were genuine OEM Mazda ones. I know they are pricey, but look at what you got when you got the cheap ones. I was very tempted to spend around 90 to 100 on the Advanced Auto Parts, but I was debating for that exact reason. I didn't know what to expect and I was like "For 90, i'm sure there must be something wrong with it". I know this may sound very cliche but, "you get what you pay for." I would say go with the mazda. They should be able to give you 20% off the price.

Let me ask you this, how long did the ones on you car last you before they went. Mine lasted me 7yeas and 140,000 miles. Mind you that I am not very bushing friendly driver either. Hell, I even jumped the thing once, which was pretty freakin scary. (whip) So I hope you reconsider on your decision.

Oh yea, for the record, I do NOT have any stock in Mazda, nor am I affiliated with them in any way.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

I just did mine and I am VERY please with them. The lower control arms that I used were genuine OEM Mazda ones. I know they are pricey, but look at what you got when you got the cheap ones. I was very tempted to spend around 90 to 100 on the Advanced Auto Parts, but I was debating for that exact reason. I didn't know what to expect and I was like "For 90, i'm sure there must be something wrong with it". I know this may sound very cliche but, "you get what you pay for." I would say go with the mazda. They should be able to give you 20% off the price.

Let me ask you this, how long did the ones on you car last you before they went. Mine lasted me 7yeas and 140,000 miles. Mind you that I am not very bushing friendly driver either. Hell, I even jumped the thing once, which was pretty freakin scary. (whip) So I hope you reconsider on your decision.

Oh yea, for the record, I do NOT have any stock in Mazda, nor am I affiliated with them in any way.

Heh, I'm sure the Mazda ones are great, I wanted to save some money. I emailed rockauto and asked them if the Raybestos ones were of better quality, so far no response.

Mine are still good, I think. The ball joints are good, I was more concerned about the bushings, they look old and worn. I figured I'd treat the car to some new suspension parts. Plus I'm going to be screwing up the alignment when I change my tie rod ends so I thought it would be the perfect time to change the control arms that way I only pay for one alignment.

What went wrong with yours?

 

[Th3_Gr33k]

Surprisingly enough, not too much. The one circular bushing that is towards the back of the LCA was torn from one.

My ball-joints were in pretty good condition surprisingly enough. They weren't all to loosy-goosy, the rubber seals was corroded and torn so I just said to my self, "Just get it over with and change both of em." Now I won't have to worry about them again in 7years again. And yes, I am the original owner of this car. I plan on keeping it for another 5 years until I finish my schooling. Bought this bad boy with only 8 miles on it (yippy)

Actually I still have them. I want to experiment with them. Was going to try and see if I could press out the old bushings and try to take measurements of them, maybe make some type of urethane bushing? (scratch) My friend works at a hydrogen fuel cell company and they have some pretty cool polymers that they work with + they have a CNC machine there too. Gonna see if I can fabricate some type of bushing replacement. (dance) I also took measurements of the lower and upper spring-perch bushings for the front and rear of the car and try and make some for the springs... But I digress.

As far as your tie-rods are concerned, are you replacing them with OEM or aftermarket? If OEM, you might not even need to get an alignment after you are done, depending on how your alignment is right NOW. I got OEM ones and I used some whiteout, not the pen-style but the brush-style, to mark where the locking nut is and simply unscrewed the old outer and re-screwed the new one on, and didn't need an alignment. You can also use a measuring device, micrometer or tape measure, to confirm. In fact at a 140k I have yet to get a wheel alignment (eyeballs). Lol, I will post a pic of my tires and show you what my alignment is like. My tires are literally BALD at the moment, lol, waiting for new tires to come in. But they are surprisingly evenly worn.

Good luck.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

Wow, thanks for all the info

I'm replacing the inner and outer tie rod ends with Deeza brand parts, their outer tie rods are really beefy compared to the stock ones and they're greaseable (and cheaper). I don't think my alignment is perfect to begin with so I'd like to get it looked at, I'm the 3rd owner so I'm not sure what's been done to it...

I'm still waiting for a response from rockauto, I'll give them a call tonight if they don't get back to me during the day.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

Got a response from Rockauto this morning, they're taking them back and paying for all the shipping. They really do customer service right

I asked via email weather or not the Raybestos control arms are any better than the Beck/Arnley stuff and they said that both brands are good, and I clearly received defective parts. They also said that there weren't many returns of the Raybestos parts, and if it makes a difference, they're listed as "Professional Grade" (whatever that means).

I really wish someone who used aftermarket control arms would comment, they can't all be horrible!

 

[Th3_Gr33k]

Hah, "Professional Grade" nothin'! Sorry to hear about your dilemma.

As far as those grasable outer tie rods are concerned make sure you maintence them. Always check/regrease them when you change your oil. If not, you will encounter premature failure. Also I am not sure, you may have to use either a molybdenum-disulphidelithim or just lithium based grease. Check with the manufacturer first. I would assume that a multipurpose grease would do just fine as well, but like I said check first so you can get the best life out of them.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

Hah, "Professional Grade" nothin'! Sorry to hear about your dilemma.

As far as those grasable outer tie rods are concerned make sure you maintence them. Always check/regrease them when you change your oil. If not, you will encounter premature failure. Also I am not sure, you may have to use either a molybdenum-disulphidelithim or just lithium based grease. Check with the manufacturer first. I would assume that a multipurpose grease would do just fine as well, but like I said check first so you can get the best life out of them.

I'll send Deeza an email about that, they too have awesome customer service as well.

It'll give me a chance to use my old grease gun

 

[jdwk]

Glad I saw this thread. My bushings are toast. So I ordered pedders urethane bushings, but then got to thinking that if I am taking the control arm off anyway I might as well put one with a new ball joint on. Only 70k miles on my MSP though. So I ordered the Raybestos, but rockauto called me today and said they were on back order. I was just going to get the mevotech or b/a, but I decided to search all protege forums first. I don't think the ball joint ever really goes bad unless the dust boot fails and crap gets in the joint, so I just decided to cancel the order and put the pedder's in my original control arms.