Front control arm bushings
 

I'm trying to figure out what to do with my front suspension. The rear pillow ball bushing in the LCAs are cracked on both sides. Do most people replace the entire arm or just the bushings? The ball joints seem fine but I'm not sure if they wear at different rates than the bushings. These control arms have been in use for 90k miles. Should i replace the UCAs at the same time? They seem fine.

I have no complaints with the OEM bushings on the street, track or autocross -- I've yet to see a convincing reason to use Poly or other aftermarket bushings but I'm open to suggestions.

I'm just trying to keep my car's handling on point and safe while not needlessly wasting time or money. Thanks!

Rear pillow ball mounts? And yes most replace the entire arms. The S2 arms are supposed to be improved, but Teamrx8 posted comparisons of those and the differences were negligible.

Ugg, didn't sleep enough last night. fixed...

I didn't even think of S2 arms. I'll look for that comparo from team. I'm curious now.

Ok, i'm just going to replace both LCAs and UCAs. It's a lot more money than i thought this fix was going to take but whatever.. onward.

I don't know that you need to replace the UCA... ever. The bushings on the UCAs are easy to replace, and they don't bear nearly as much force as the LCA.

I would replace the bushings. I am replacing mine with whiteline. The whiteline bushings seem to be engineered well not rubbing on the ends of the pivoting features.


I am actually doing the entire suspension front and rear for every bushing with whiteline. The bottom bushings were all cracked in the front, and every bushing in the rear is cracked. This initially started with the rear end being loose over bumps, which made me think all the bushings were bad. The shocks still work well so I putting on some swift sport springs, not much spring rate increase and a little drop, all that is needed.


since I am tracking this car I need to ensure everything is functioning properly, especially with the suspension.

Good luck with that, let me know how it goes. I watched a buddy waste two weeks of his life doing that, :lol:

I already ripped apart the entire suspension. took less than 1 day.


My buddy has a press and I could do that in a couple of hours at most for all the bushings. It actually has gone fairly smooth. I purchased a CA car and nothing is rusted.


I am also doing a new solenoid and coils/plugs, and going to a remedy water pump. this car is super easy to work on, very similar to my rx7. I am also installing some swift lowering springs. doing all the fluids as well. and even the differential bushings. New brake hose lines, and need to install some a catch can and new lines there.