Upper Control Arm

[bob_pfister]

We just had new tires put on our Towpig. The truck is a 96 C3500 CC/LWB 454 with 129K.

It drives nicely and I do not hear any rattles or unusual suspension noises. I told the guys at Les Schwab to do an alignment also just as a preventative item. The truck drives pretty true and you don't have to herd it down the road. They just called and want to replace the following before doing the alignment -- Pitman Arm, Idler Arm, Upper Control Arms, and Control arm bushings. Total cost is $900. This seems a little out of whack to me considering how the truck drives loaded and unloaded.

I am going to lift up the truck tonight and check for slop in the front end -- any advice on what else to look for before I start ordering parts? Thanks guys!!

 

[goobs]

idk why they'd wanna replace the whole control arm when u can get the bj's and bushings for them, unless its bent.

sounds a lil fishy to me though.

 

[JollyGreen]

As stated, unless they're bent, no need to replace the whole arm.

I'd also look at ball joints, stabilizer links, stabilizer bushings and maybe center link (the tapered holes in mine were worn out). FYI - I just replaced everything in the front end. Cost was $850, and I did everything myself.


Control arm bushings are a *****!

 

[TUCSONDUDE]

grease everything while you are down there... if your upper control arms are really that toast then so are your lowers. rock auto has raybestos upper control arms for ~150, not sure what your time is worth.

 

[jp97K1500]

I have a 1997 chevy k-1500 with 294k and just recently replaced my upper control arm bushings. They can be a pain, I used an air hammer to drive them out and press to press them back in. The reason the might want to replace the upper arms is that if you pay to have it done it might cost more to replace just the bushings than the arms (more labor). I work at a dealership and I see this done a lot even when only upper ball joints are out. For a lot of the newer truck you can't even get upper bushings/ball joints separate from control arm, you have to get aftermarket. But if you do it yourself you can probably pick up the bushings for about $40. Mine is a 4wd but they should sell them for your 2wd. But as long as the bushings are not broken through or split they don't really affect your alignment. My uppers finally split and started making noise. My lowers have some dry cracks but not split yet. But depending on where you live deterioration will vary. As far as checking your front end i have found that lifting the one tire off the ground at a time by placing the jack under the lower control arm so to keep your suspension compressed is better. Because if you let your suspension droop down it maybe harder to detected a bad ball joint since it puts downward tension on them. You can then shake tire up,down to check ball joints and side to side to check for steering play. Also its not a bad idea to use a pry bar under the tire and pull upwards to check lower ball joint. If you feel any slack you can then get some one to help you see where its a coming from. To check sway bar links you can visual inspect them and bounce the truck and listen for popping sound. Hope this helps