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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Brakes, Frame, Steering & Suspension => Topic started by: 87swb on January 29, 2009, 04:14:06 pm

Title: lower control arm
Post by: 87swb on January 29, 2009, 04:14:06 pm

hey it's been awhile but my local gateway said i would have to have a new lower control arm for the left side today when i went to get my front end aligned. they showed me and the whole bottom part of the ball joint is loose in that hole on the lower arm. how much longer can i drive it like this? couldn't i weld it to the control arm so it's not loose anymore and won't go anywhere?

Title: Re: lower control arm
Post by: rockable on January 29, 2009, 04:44:19 pm

I wouldn't do either.  You should be able to find yourself a used one pretty reasonably. 

If it lets go, your wheel will just pop straight out at the bottom and you will lose control of your vehicle.  If you lose control, you might do a lot more expensive damage than just replacing the LCA.  That's my $.02 worth, anyway.

Title: Re: lower control arm
Post by: 87swb on January 29, 2009, 04:53:37 pm

i dont' understand how it's wore out. the ball joints are pressed in and don't swivel or move in that hole. i had the ball joints replaced april of 07 and the guy didn't say anything about the hole bein wollered out.

Title: Re: lower control arm
Post by: VileZambonie on January 29, 2009, 05:54:04 pm

Maybe he didn't press the balljoint in all the way and it started moving around. You could weld it to get ya home but I would just replace it.

Title: Re: lower control arm
Post by: 87swb on January 29, 2009, 06:35:54 pm

i wanna weld it so i want have to spend no more money on it. it nickeling and diming me to death and i'm wanting a newer truck. and the more i spend on it the less i have for a newer truck and when i do spend money on gettin stuff fixed i feel stupid for wanting to park it because it has all that new stuff on it. it's driving me crazy. how much does a lower control arm cost?

Title: Re: lower control arm
Post by: VileZambonie on January 29, 2009, 06:50:21 pm

Looks like $25 bucks.

http://www.car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?userSearch=int&userPID=1000&userLocation=Tennessee&userIMS=&userInterchange=DCEY&userSide=&userDate=1987&userDate2=1987&dbModel=15.28.73.73&userModel=Chevy%20Truck-10%20Series%20(1987%20Down)&dbPart=512.1&userPart=Control%20Arm%2C%20Front%20Lower&sessionID=428347155&userPreference=price&userUID=0&userBroker=&iKey=&userPage=2

Title: Re: lower control arm
Post by: 87swb on January 29, 2009, 07:19:45 pm

that ain't bad. how much would it cost to be put on at Gateway i wonder.

Title: Re: lower control arm
Post by: VileZambonie on January 29, 2009, 07:25:18 pm

What's Gateway?

Title: Re: lower control arm
Post by: 87swb on January 29, 2009, 07:37:54 pm

it's just a place around here that sells tires, does oil changes, alignments stuff like that. it's like a co-op mr. tire, or a wal mart that has the service bays to do tires and oil changes