RE: Bad moog parts
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Where did you buy them? I'm in the market for lower control arms, and I figure I might as well do the strut rod bushings too. I've got a ton of front-end problems and have put this off for too long.I was looking at rockauto.com, but I'm totally confused as to what parts I need or how many to order. Do the arms come with bushings or do you buy them separately? They do sell the bushings by themselves.As for the strut rod bushings, do you order one of each and get a pair, or do you have to order two of each?Didn't mean to hijack the thread, but I figured this was as good a place as any to ask since you just got a set.In any case I'll be sure to check the lengths of the inner sleeves (I assume that's what you're talking about) before I have them installed.Thanks.
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No problem at all. I've rebuilt the entire front end on these cars twice, so I'm getting good at it.
I did buy them from rockauto. And the lower control arms come with both bushings and lower ball joint already installed. It's an excellent item.
As for order quantities, it is a bit confusing. The control arms are sold as "left" or "right", so you know you have to order one of each. As for the bushings, (and tie rods and end links should you ever need them) you actually have to order 2 sets of each - strut rod to frame and strut rod to strut. Otherwise, you end up short, like I did - twice.
Depending on how many miles you've got on your car, you may want to go ahead and do the complete rebuild. At 100K, everthing is pretty much worn out - especially if you've done a lot of driving on bumpy roads. All of the following parts can be had for about $700 from rockauto:
Upper left control arm
Upper right control arm
Lower left control arm
Lower right control arm
(2) end link kits
(2) inner tie rods
(2) outer tie rods
(2) rod-frame bushing kits
(2) rod-strut bushing kits
The work is technically easy, but very laborious. It took me about 6 hours, and I was sore for a couple days.
There is one technically challenging part: removal and installation of the lower ball joint to the wheel knuckle/hub. The bolt comes off easily enough, however the shaft will be stubborn. Being that you will have new ball joints, you can put a monkey wrench on the threads and turn it loose. Installing it will be harder. I did it by using a clamp to drive the conical shaft into the hole, thus preventing it from turning. The lock nut makes it difficult though.