Stock UCA Bushing Replacement. Do I need to spot weld??

Hey Guys -

I did a search, but couldn't find anything on this topic. If I remember correctly, in addition to being press fit, the outer sleeves for the bushings on the UCAs are spot (edit: tack is more correct) welded in place.

I'm planning on pressing in new stock bushings, which include the outer sleeves, but I don't have a welder.

Is tack welding them in place absolutely necessary?

Did Chevy tack weld the sleeves for safety reasons (e.g., keep the bushings from rotating)? Or was this done to force people to go out and buy a whole new UCA assembly?

To answer your question, no, they should just be press fit.

The problem is though that if the control arms have had bushings pressed in and out more than a few times, the hole they fit in will have probably changed shape and size. The previous owner of my truck did a terrible job of it and tack welded them on (judging by the welds, they didn't know how to weld lol). Instantly broke and every time I accelerated or hit the brakes, my truck would steer one way or another, not to mention the horrendous clunks. The sheet metal control arms are too easy to warp especially when trying to press out a stubborn bushing.

If your budget allows, just get whole new control arms from Rockauto. Brand new, comes with new ball joints too, and give you ease of mind for as low as like $45/ea. plus tax and shipping.

Whenever I quote work like this, I always suggest replacing parts as a unit as opposed to parts of the unit. Although the parts may cost less, by the time you add my labor to replace all four bushings, it would have more than paid for a new set of control arms installed and everything.

Hope that helps!

Your route sounds like a good plan. I was going to pull some arms off a junker, and have them sandblasted and powder coated, but by the time it's all said and done, I'll probably have spent just as much money as I would've for a new set. Not to mention my time and effort.

Thanks for your feedback!