I did a brief search and couldn't come up with anything, and frankly, I'm not in the mood to spend hours searching either right now. So the bf wants to know how to check for play in the lower control arm mounts on my car. He's not sure if there might be a concern about it or not, I don't exactly know what he's talking about, so I can't offer any more information if there's something wrong with them or not. He just wants to know how to go about checking them. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

 

A lot of local mechanics (at least around here) offer free alignment checks... I don't think you (or your BF) want to mess with these unless you've got the equipment and know-how to perform your own alignment, or someone really close by who can do it without having to drive too far...

What's your car doing that makes him suspect a problem with the control arm mounts?

 

Is he referring to the lower ball joint? Jack one side up to get the tire off the ground enough to be able to slide a 1"~1.5" dia. pipe between the tire and ground (a length of 2x4 will work too). Then lift up & lower the pipe/board while someone else looks at the ball joint. If it's worn, you'll see up & down movement at the joint.

 

I'm pretty sure the ball joint is separate. The control arm helps determine which way your wheels face, so you'll need to get an alignment done after replacing one. Like I said, if there's anyone who does a free alignment inspection in your area, they'll check these as part of that check.

 

Do what Camaro 69 said first then with the car still jacked up the same way slip a pry bar between the frame and the back part of the control arm. Pry forward and check for movement. It should not move, If it moves more then .01" it will effect the way the car handles. The first sign of this control are issue should be the car will start to "Follow the Road" and it will tend to wander tracking straight one minute them a light pull left or right the next. I am guessing he saw some dry rot while he was putting the headers on. The bushing can last awhile after they start to dry rot, assuming your not road racing.

If they are dry rotted most alignment shops will tell you they need replaced. What they will leave out is you could go a year before your car starts to show any handling issues. If the car still handles nice I would put this on a list for the next time I did something to the front suspension or atleast till the weather changed, But I drive mine daily.

 

The ball joint is not separate. The control arm is what ties the steering knuckle to the frame. The attachment/pivot point at the knuckle is the ball joint, and they do wear.

 

Thanks guys, I'll let him know and get back to ya if he needs to know anything else. I appreciate it. I'm not sure if there's anything wrong or not, I asked him to check over my car good before inspection so I can get everything replaced or fixed so I don't get a huge surprise shop bill. I think that was just something he wasn't sure how to check on a 4th gen.

 

from casey: gorn knew what i was talking about. i know how to check the ball joints for play, but i wasnt sure about the rear control arm mount as it looks like a ball joint. there are no handling issues with the car, i just wanted to check everything over.