Lower Control Arm questions

[lovnthe70]

Hey guys i have a few questions
1. when installing the lower control arm through rod end caps i have about a 1/4 gap on one side and almost no gap on the other. I was able to get the upper control arm through rod ends completely flush. Is this a safety hazard? or is it normal to have a slight gap?

2. if you look the one picture my control arm actually appears to be bent. Its flush at the top and the bottom has threads exposed and is bent aft. Is this a safety hazard? I know it has all the inboard threads engaged and not sure if this is a major concern that would warrant a new control arm or not?

3. i can not get the little boot to sit over the ball joint! Anyone got any tricks to get this thing on, it is tight as hell and i cant begin to get it on!

Thanks for the help.

[68shortfleet]

Those caps will be flush(top and bottom) when installed correctly.

You also need to make sure that the shaft inside them is centered between the caps.

I am guessing that you are attempting to tighten these while the shaft is mounted to the frame? I would bet that the cap that seems tight is actually tight on the inner shaft threads, meaning the inner shaft is not centered as it is supposed to be. It can be a bit tricky to get the inner shaft centered between the caps, not sure how to explain that over the internet.

And yes, that control arm looks bent, OR the caps were installed incorrectly and caused the bend. However it might straighten easier than you think it would.

[lovnthe70]

thanks! yeah i thought something didn't seem right, i took a closer look today and i could see the indention from where somebody must have hit something and bent the arm. Wish i would have noticed it before i spent all the time sandblasting and powdercoating the thing