The time has come to do some work on my front end. The steering is sloppy and loose so I have decided to take care of it. I just don't know what to do about control arms. I am going to go with the proforged steering kit and going to do shocks/springs as well but as far as control arms go I am still unclear. Is it wise to do control arm bushings and ball joints alone or just order new loaded arms so I don't have to mess with bushings which I figure will save a lot of time. The other thing is that I want it all to look fresh as well so its either order all new arms or just paint the current ones I have. I found new loaded arms on rockauto for anywhere from $60-$80 a piece which I would be glad to spend if it saves some headache. I would love to get some tubular arms but the budget just doesn't allow for those.
I kept the arms and just got new ball joints and bushings. Wasn't that big of a pain in the @$$ but the saying "the right tool for the job" is certainly true.
If the ball joints are original I'm 99% sure they are riveted in and have to be drilled out. (The new ball joints from proforged came with bolts)
Even after replacing all of the front end suspension parts my steering is still all over the place. I'm currently replacing the steering box and hopes that it was the cause.
Youll have to let me know if your steering box was the cause after replacing all the front parts. Yeah I know it would be a little cheaper to replace bushings and ball joints but I am thinking I would rather just get new loaded arms to save some time and work.
The control arms don't really wear out but can get bent or damaged. However, due to the press fit of the lower ball joint, you can replace them too many times and the opening becomes slightly enlarged to where a stock replacement will no longer fit. Moog and others sell a slightly oversized ball joint for exactly this reason.
But other than that, it really comes down to cost and how much work you want to do yourself. I prefer to save the parts/money and fix them up before going new. But then you need to look at your time costs involved to do this along with your skill set/tools for such a job. I also prefer Poly Bushings over the rubber bushing which the replacement are will surely have.
I replaced all my front end parts on a gbody I had previously and it wasn't that bad of a swap. But I am glad the previous owner of the impala changed everything prior to me purchasing it... That was a big selling point... LoL
I have done it both ways. Replacing the whole arm is much easier but the last time I did it I just got the parts and then had my local machine shop swapp the parts over. In the end I had about the same amount of money in the job but better parts on my car so I feel it was worth the extra effort.
I thinking about replacing mines but I think I'm going to just get em prefer coated black and new bushings and ball joints...I also have the proforged kit with all hotchkis spring shocks and sway bars....thinking of getting a new powersteering gear box as well from streettrends has anyone purchssed one from them for a 96 Impala
Amazon sells Moog front upper control arms for under $80 each shipped, with a problem solver ball joint, a cross shaft and new rubber bushings already pressed on. It's a brand new arm for less than what most shops charge for one hour of labor.
I have a replacement box in about the same condition as yours. I was going to rebuild it but after about two cans of PB Blast I've damn near taken off all the metal on the lock ring trying to get it off with my punch.
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