i spun out the other day trying to avoid hitting a deer and my front lower arm got damaged in the process. The only thing i notice is the BOLT (not nut) that holds the two pieces of the arm snapped off. I took it to a local mechanic and he said u can't just replace the bolt, u need to replace the whole thing. Today i was looking at it, and everything seems fine and i think i could replace the bolt. What do u guys think? Sould i replace the arm, or should i fix it?? Thanks

 

anybody????

 

Assuming that the control arm itself is perfect, you should be able to buy a bolt from the dealership.

 

yo nearly same thing happened to me... 1 mechanic said the lower arm got bent back an inch. i want to replace the arm with a used one i think i can find @ this junkyard, it's off an LS. BUT what else could be damaged?? if the arms bent a whole inch i fear other components must be affected... ?? i'm fearing a real mess

i wonder if the arm's difficult to replace myself

 

I bent my LCA a while back too in the snow when I hit a curb. I could tell the piece was bent a little, but I had no idea how bad it was until I took it all apart and compared the new piece to the old one. Not only did the arm bend, the bushing housing was now ovular. I basically crushed the thing.

The whole assembly is two pieces - I replaced on of them becasue the other didn't look damaged and I found out that it was so I ended up taking the whole thing apart again and fixing it.

It's not overly difficult to do yourself, but it's going to require some knowledge, and tools that you may or may not have. I wouldn't attempt this on a jack stand - find a lift. You have to remove the rim, rotor, ABS sensor, etc. Before you even get to the LCA. Then you need to get an alignment.

One warning - there is a welded nut inside of the subframe that the LCA bolts to. Do not knock this off becasue it's damn near impossible to get that nut back on.

If I hadn't done it myself, it would have been $1,000+ not counting fixing the scratched rim.

Hope this helps a little - if you need anything else, let me know.

 

It's not overly difficult to do yourself, but it's going to require some knowledge, and tools that you may or may not have. I wouldn't attempt this on a jack stand - find a lift. You have to remove the rim, rotor, ABS sensor, etc. Before you even get to the LCA. Then you need to get an alignment


No way man, for the lower control arm all u have to take off is the fork, unscrew 2 other screws-on of which sits beneath the hub on a ball joint thats all. I did replace it myself the other day, but my wheel was still tilting but no so bad. I measured both sides and compared them, and I found out my kuckle was damaged. And then I didn't feel like taking that apart, because i didn't want to mess anything up. I took it to the dealer and they charged me $565 dollars for the kunckle, bearing, alignment, and labor. They said 2 wheels that were bent "big time" were in the back.
And I did it under the spare car jack, yes i don't have one and too poor to buy one.

 

yea i've heard from some others it wont be too tough.. i'm gonna have to use the spare jack, and basicly wing this operation the best i can.
HEY how do u get accurate measurements? tape ruler wheel to body? i have a pretty good set of basic hand tools, will they suffice? i got the lower control arm just yesterday@ this wrecking place only 50bux. looks like its in awesome shape too.... man i love junkyards

 

I just compared mearurements from side to side. U are gona need tools with leverage so u can get the bolts off. I realized that after I finished measuring both sides my knuckle was off from the left side, and I took it to the dealer because it seemed to difficult to replace myself. They also told me my wheels were bent but other mechanics looked at em and said they were fine. good luck, let me know if u have anymore questions.

 

cool, thanx for the input