how many hours does it take to put in a front control arm??

[dw215]

Just when u think everything is going good, something goes wrong
i bent my front passenger side control arm, i just ordered one $40.00, not bad
but so i dont get screwed, how many hours does it take for a mechanic to put one in usually?

[Techno Duck]

Less than 2 hours. You have to factor in a wheel alignment though.

[dw215]

thanks

[Dark Skies]

You can do it yourself within an hour. If you scribe around the mounting point of the old fitment before you remove it and replace the new one according to the scribe lines then you'll probably find you'll get the same alignment as the old one. Worth getting an alignment check afterwards.

[TNT25169]

The only part that needs to be scribed is for the caster on the caster block and if you're careful enough and do it properly you can remove he caster block bolt from the control arm side and leave it in the same position on the caster block. I took one of mine off and rebuilt the ball joint monday night and had it all done in less than 3 hours. You won't need an alignment if you didn't screw it up when you bent the control arm but chances are you did. I wouldn't take it to a mechanic if you don't have to. It's really only 5 bolts, 2 for the caster block, one through the engine mount, one for the sway bar and one pinch bolt at the end for the ball joint.

[flash968]

no chance of scribing and getting it the same - a few thousandths of an inch makes for a half degree in alignment change - you may not feel it in the car, depending on how and where you drive, but your tires will know the difference, as will the handling at the edge

further, as both of the bushings are rubber, they have compressed to a static position over time - this will change with the new bushings (since you are never supposed to re-use rubber bushings) - if your bushings are more than 5 years old, they needed changing anyway

due to the design of the suspension, an alignment should be done once a year anyway - if you haven't done one in that long, you are due - you would be amazed at how these cars change in alignment geometry, even without hitting anything

[Icey1174]

$40 for a control arm for an 87???? Are you sure you are getting the correct MY? Maybe someone is being VERY nice to sell a used one for $40. I would double check. Who knows, maybe that's the going rate and I just don't know any better.

[nynor]

its for a 924S, not the '87 944.

[Techno Duck]

Originally Posted by Icey1174

$40 for a control arm for an 87???? Are you sure you are getting the correct MY? Maybe someone is being VERY nice to sell a used one for $40. I would double check. Who knows, maybe that's the going rate and I just don't know any better.

The 924S used the stamped steel control arms.

[Icey1174]

sorry

[onZedge]

When I replaced the control arm bushings and ball joints, I bought new stamped steel arms because they were so cheap and I really didn't feel like cussing/beating/pressing/drilling/sandblasting/priming/sanding/painting off all the old parts and paint.

[Jsilverman]

I just did the control arms on my 924S. It took about an hour to do the first one, and then about 30 min to do the second and I was taking my time. Its a very easy DIY if you have any type of mechanical aptitude. I would imagine a shop would charge an hour labor for the control arm, then another hour for a front end alignment.

[mattdavis11]

Get a new ball joint, and some nuts and bolts while you are at it. If your ball joints have not been replaced, you will have to drill the rivets out of the old contol arm to get them off if you intend to re-use it. Simple job, shouldn't take long.

[toolboy62]

I think the stamped steel ones are the same as a VW Wabbit, yes? make sure you get new bushings as well, I don't think they come with them. The new ball joints usually come with bolts but if they don't I believe they are 7mm. you should probably use that size so they don't move around in the holes.

nate

[Jsilverman]

The steel arms are rabbit control arms. When I got mine from paragon, they had 2 choices. You could get them with the front bushing pressed in. I got them without the front bushing since Im using Delrin. Both balljoints I bought had the bolts and lock washers too.

[mattdavis11]

I'll be, they didn't send me any bolts and washers, but they did send 3 ball joints instead of 2.