i just have a quick question cuz i can't find the answer anywhere...so i slid into a curb a few weeks ago and it totally disaligned my car, so at "Wheel Align It" they told me in order to do the alignment i had to replace all the fron ball joints. So i ebayed everything, i just got in my control arms and the driver side arm is in general bigger than the passenger side. Why is that? i understand that the length of "suspension" modifications is diff in the back but why are they diff from left and right? thanks guys
control arms
- Thread starter superdupersupramk3
- Start date
I did the same thing in the rain once.
You need to take off the wheels and look at every suspension part. Look at the frame, the control arms and the tie rods and everything.
Look for stress marks. Just because its not totally bent doesn't mean that it's bad and out of shape. You know the lower ball joints are bad if you can push up on the tire and it moves. Even if it moves a little its bad.
I'm willing to bet that you need more than new ball joints if you slid into a curb. Has anyone else looked at your car to see the damage? Post pics for us and we can help!
You need to take off the wheels and look at every suspension part. Look at the frame, the control arms and the tie rods and everything.
Look for stress marks. Just because its not totally bent doesn't mean that it's bad and out of shape. You know the lower ball joints are bad if you can push up on the tire and it moves. Even if it moves a little its bad.
I'm willing to bet that you need more than new ball joints if you slid into a curb. Has anyone else looked at your car to see the damage? Post pics for us and we can help!
ya at first i thought i bent my frame. i took it to the align shop and we gave it a thorough look, everything seems to be fine...no signs of stress, bends, or anything dangerous. the tech there did play w/ the lower ball joints and there was very little play and he told me the same thing as you guys, even the smallest play was critical. he told me everything i needed and through them w/ labor i was looking at 1700 bucks. so i ebayed what i needed (upper control arms w/ ball joints and lower ball joints) he said that a press would be needed for the lower ball joints but i found some joints that will already just mount onto the lower control arm.
besides the tech at the shop my tuner buddy looked at it also. he also thought that it was odd having diff sizes from left to right but that everything looks riight.
i will post up pics of the right and left control arms on my car and then the ones i ordered later today or tomorrow. the weird thing is on my car they match the ones i bought, but i will def post these asap...and if it doesn't work out i would like to take you up on your friends parts, thanks guys
besides the tech at the shop my tuner buddy looked at it also. he also thought that it was odd having diff sizes from left to right but that everything looks riight.
i will post up pics of the right and left control arms on my car and then the ones i ordered later today or tomorrow. the weird thing is on my car they match the ones i bought, but i will def post these asap...and if it doesn't work out i would like to take you up on your friends parts, thanks guys
whats TSRM? and i took everything apart and the left control arm is the wrong one. so the weird thing is that the right control arm (correct part) the tag on it reads 1988 MA71 but fits perfectly. the left control arm tag reads 1987 MA70 (my car) and is too narrow and just slightly longer in length but shorter between actual arms than the stock one...weird huh, i contacted the seller to see what i can do but if there is anyone out there that can help get the part that i need w/ a good ball joint i would greatly appreciate it, thanks
TSRM= Toyota Service Repair Manual
Good luck on finding the right control arm! When you get it, try using the TSRM to do the job yourself
. You'll save TONS of money over the 1700.00 (lol) that was quoted to you. A little warning, changing the control arms out can be a real PITA.
Good luck on finding the right control arm! When you get it, try using the TSRM to do the job yourself
. You'll save TONS of money over the 1700.00 (lol) that was quoted to you. A little warning, changing the control arms out can be a real PITA.lol ok, sorry im not to familiar w/ the acronyms but i wanted to do everything myself after i found out the price, cuz labor itself w/ the parts i bought is around 700 bucks...but today when i started i just couldn't get anything loose, not even w/ a breaker bar and a torque wrench, but im glad i didn't cuz it would have been pointless at this point. just getting started has been a PITA
The control arms are a massive PITA. I don't look forward to doing anything with them again. You need to jack up the wheel to relieve some of the stress on the bolts to get them loose.
Lower ball joints replacement is basic hand tools and ~$100 in parts. The control arms very likely are different sizes left to right. However it should not be much. Mass production processes are not perfect but they should DEFINITLY be less than say a 1/4" difference in length.