a-arm control arm shaft question

[68bowtie]

i'm wondering how one knows it's time to replace these. do they wear out or are they just replaced due to rust? or just the rubber seals failing? they seem to be just steel tubes. i'm planning my front suspension rebuild and i figure i'll replace them while i replace everything else "just because". UNLESS someone recommends inspecting, cleaning them up, and reinstalling them??

i want to fix everything that needs fixing, but it just seems like a simple part that wouldn't wear out. they are not too expensive, but they're not cheap either. any help is appreciated.

[TexasLS1]

I ended up replacing mine "just because" while I was doing my drop and rebuilding the front end, and I'm glad I did. One of the originals looked fine, and I suspect I could have reused it, but the other had worn funny inside the bushings. I could not tell it from visually inspecting while assembled, but the shaft had worn funny inside the lower control arm bushings. The Arm wasn't bent, so I'm not sure why it had worn off-axis like it did. I figured I'd just put all new shafts in it while I had it all apart to replace bushings and seals anyway.

I replaced the upper shafts because I could not buy the upper control arm bushing set without buying the shafts as well. I think in most people's case, you could reuse the shafts? I'm not sure how much wear actually occurs on the threaded portion inside the bushings - it did not appear like much as long as they stayed greased.

Hope this is some help, or maybe someone else can chime in....

[68bowtie]

this is helpful thanks. for now i think i'll plan on waiting to buy them until i get them off and see how they look. but i bet i end up doing the same. still curious to hear if others have thoughts too.

[Gonepostal]

Well after a u-bolt broke on the lower control arm I just pulled it all and did both upper and lower shafts and bushings along with up grading to 1/2 u-bolts. Shafts were not worn and bushings looked ok but seals were gone.

[63frankintruck]

Originally Posted by 68bowtie

this is helpful thanks. for now i think i'll plan on waiting to buy them until i get them off and see how they look. but i bet i end up doing the same. still curious to hear if others have thoughts too.

Is there a trick to installing these bushings and new shafts that screw in? I'm getting ready to install mine soon and have only installed the press in bushings in the past.

[TexasLS1]

Here's a good write-up that Sharps40 did. It was pretty helpful to me. Be sure to pack the bushings a bit with some grease before reassembly, and thread/tighten the bushings onto the shaft equally so the shaft gets centered in the control arm. I just wish I had put 90-degree grease fittings on the lower rear bushings - it's hard to get the grease gun on the straight ones bc of my headers

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ry+lee&page=23