How important is "Lower arm control" - Car Talk Community

Lower control arms are only important if you want to be able to maintain control of your vehicle.

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Seriously, however, because this is a potential safety problem, it cries out for a second opinion, preferably from a mechanic who is not affiliated with a chain operation. That means avoiding…Meineke, Monro, Midas, Sears, Pep Boys, Firestone, AAMCO, and others of that ilk.

I strongly suggest that you take your vehicle to an independent mechanic, and ask him to inspect your front end. If he comes up with a lower control arm issue, then you need to have these components replaced a.s.a.p., before you wind up in a serious MV accident.

I can’t speak to whether you need this repair or not. But if you do, it is needed for your own safety.

Think about it this way. Cars are sort of like bobble head dolls. The wheels aren’t bolted to the body, but instead are connected mostly by wiggly springs. That makes for a better ride. But if it was only springs, the wheels wouldn’t stay in the correct orientation, pointing just in the direction you wanted to go. Instead they’d be wobbling around, pointing every which way. So the car designers came up with some other gadgets to hold the wheels in the correct orientation. They decided the springs were only necessary for up and down movement of the wheel w/respect to the body. For going over bumps. For the other potential wheel-movements, to control the wheels they’d use long arm-shaped metal gadgets called “control arms”. The control arm bolts on one side to the body, and the other side to the wheel suspension parts. There’s plastic or rubber bushings on each side usually too, to allow for a limited amount of movement. So that’s what the control arms are for, and if they aren’t working, you won’t have the required control of the direction your wheels are pointing. Driving on the freeway at 75 mpg, this wouldn’t be a good thing.

What everyone else said.
Get a second opinion from an independently owned and operated shop. And if you do need lower arms and/or bushings, let the independent do them. If the independent cannot verify the need, never go to that Meinike shop again.

Actually, I don’t like chain shops anyway. Many of them have business models that promote dishonesty. Like paying their mechanics commissions on all the work they can “drum up” beyond their quota.

Meinekee and chains/dealers does not stay in business with $19.99-$30 oil changes. They stay there by recommending items that others may seem acceptable and charge considerably for repair.

Ask around for trusty mechanic, they exist however may not have best waiting facility or keep your vehicle longer.

That being said you may need the repair but best to ask for 2nd opinion if repair is expensive and no established relationship.

I typically ask to be shown and find the item is not torn or clunky and say next time…

There is a continued and probably eternal debate about control arms (aka "a-arms") and how long they should be for any given application. The upper control arm is one of the things that determines wheel travel, suspension durability, and wheel alignment.

If you're making any sort of suspension modification at all, replacing the upper control arms should be considered.

Why Replace A Control Arm?

The most common reason to replace a control arm is to improve wheel travel as part of a suspension lift. However, a new control arm can offer more than just increased ride height (lift) and additional wheel travel:

• Increased durability in the arm itself

• A wider range of uniball/ball joint options

• More compatibility with replacement coilovers

Many quality suspension kits for off-road vehicles include a control arm that hits all of these notes - more ride height, more travel, more durability, and better quality ball joints.

Goto Zegao Machinery to know more.

Additionally, wheel alignment is better compared to vehicles that use some sort of spacer to achieve lift.

Control Arm Replacement - The Pros

Most aftermarket control arms offer the following pros:

• Stronger than stock - While some vehicles have better quality OEM control arms than others, very few offroad vehicles come with an OEM control arm that's as strong as a quality aftermarket unit. Strength is important whether you want to go fast or crawl over obstacles.

• Upgraded ball joint - A uniball that's ready for off-road is not usually compatible with a factory control arm. Generally, a factory ball joint is all that will work with a factory control arm. That's very limiting.

• Improved ride quality (depending on shocks) - There's absolutely no reason that an upgraded control arm has to reduce vehicle ride quality. In fact, most coilover kits for off-road use offer a smother, better ride than factory during regular day-to-day driving. Aftermarket control arms often weigh less than OEM control arms, reducing unsprung suspension weight and improving ride quality. Aftermarket control arms can also accommodate replacement shocks that offer better all-around performance than OEM shocks.

• Increased suspension travel - Almost all control arms allow for a larger coilover kit to be installed in place of the OEM kit. This can make for several inches of increased travel.

• Increased ride height (if that's what you're looking for) - Last but not least, a new control arm almost always gives the vehicle owner the option of increasing ride height.

Frankly, a new control arm is almost always an upgrade.

This Jeep has more travel and more ride height, without sacrificing any performance on or off the road.

Control Arm Replacement - The Cons

If there's a reason to avoid replacing your factory control arms, it's cost. Aftermarket control arms cost several hundred dollars, and for some vehicle owners, that sort of expense just isn't in the budget.

Having said this, the cost of a replacement control arm must be compared to the cost of installing some sort of spacer lift kit. While spacer lift kits have their place, most of them do not offer much in the way of performance improvements. Typically, a spacer lift is just about ride height.

If you were to opt for a very inexpensive spacer lift kit, you can have problems. Specifically:

• Spacer lifts can reduce ride quality

• Spacer lifts can increase wear on factory ball joints

• Spacer lifts can cause serious suspension damage (leading to major vehicle damage) if fully compressed while off-road

Over the long-term - and depending on your typical use - a "cheap" spacer lift kit might cost more than a quality control arm replacement.

Or, maybe not. It depends a lot on how often you go off-road, and what type of off-road driving you do.

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