Hey all i was getting ready to rebuild my front ends suspension just gathering the last parts. And i was thinking about going to the junkyard and grabbing a pair of front control arms off another third gen so that i can press the new bushings/ball joints in before hand that way when i drop the front suspension i can just swap the control arms out and get the job done. What do you guys think?

Are all stock front control arms the same on third gen fbodies?

 

Yes they are

 

There are a couple differences, early cars have something different with bushing sizes and then there are the steering stop differences.
Just make sure you get the correct year parts for the correct year Aarms.

 

They are the same as far as fitment. The same ones also came on some other kind(s) of vehicles. Not sure what, but whatever it was, there was BILLIONS of em. Might be S trucks, G bodies, B bodies, or something else, I just don't know exactly what. It was something that had front shocks for sure though, since there's provisions for those in our cars even though our cars don't have em. Whatever it is, it's so common that every time I've wanted a set, the junkyard has about a hundred sets already sitting on the shelf waiting and they're CHEEEEEEEP, even when there's no F bodies on the yard.

However there were 2 different sizes of bushings used in them over the years. Again, not sure what years or any of that; just, there's 2 sizes.

AFAIK there's no particular benefit to either size, other than, you have to make sure to buy the right ones that fit whatever arms you end up with.

 

The steering stops are somewhat important if you run 16" wheels and meaty 245/50 tires. You'll want arms from a car that had 16" wheels unless you feel like changing the stops. They're somewhat permanent, riveted to the arms.

 

I dug into this a little more just out of curiosity... By the book, the circa 1990 GM parts catalog... There are three sets of arms listed. 82-92 without 16" wheels all show the same service part number. 85-92 with 16" wheels and 245/50 tires are another number. The last number applies to 16" wheel cars with narrow 16" tires. The steering stops are the same number on all 16" wheel cars. So I'm not entirely sure what the difference is between the QLC and QMT arms, but I'd expect it relates to a sub-component. I lose interest in looking up part numbers at that point since all the rubber parts and bearings, etc are going to be spent at this point anyway...

 

Ok thanks all for info. My car came with the 245/50r16 stock so looks like that's what I'll be looking for

 

So i went to the local junkyard (in town) found a 88 firebird, same year as mine, but it had a v6 in it. Couldnt tell what size rims were on it because they were all gone, the door jam tire size was missing BUT the service parts identification list was still on the inner compartment. Im running the RPOs right now on austinthirdgen.org.

If i find that they ran 16" wheels, do you think i'd be safe to pull the control arms of the 88 with the v6 and put it on my 88 with the v8?

thanks again guys



EDIT: Damn RPOs N24, and QYZ , 215/65r15, 15" rims

There was a 82 there as well, but with no info... damn

EDIT #2: Are the bump stops riveted on the control arms or bolted? Would i be able to swap bump stops?

 

The stops are riveted.

You can just use the stops provided by your driver's common sense instead. (that is, when your driver hears the tires rubbing, they should STOP turning the wheel... it's not that hard)

 

16" wheels will only be found on 85-90 Irocs, and 91-92 V8 RS with F41 or Z28s. On the Firebirds they'd be 85-92 Formulas, Trans Ams with FE2, and GTAs. So V6s won't have what you want.

Fat 245s will still rub the plastic fender liners before hitting the locks. I ripped a chunk out of the liner once before hearing any contact. For whatever it's worth. I personally wouldn't swap from arms with 16" wheel stops just to save a few days down time.

 

damn... Ok i guess i'll just re-do my own control arms

 

What do the steering stops look like?
When I rebuilt the suspension on my 1992 RS (16in rims) I had to replace the cracked Rubber A-arm stops with ones that were slightly shorter.
Is being 1/2in shorter gonna be an issue?

 

#17, riveted to the arm.

 

Uh ok wow I totally thought the stops were what Mclovin just posted. I don't remember how much different those looked though... that's why I thought they could be removed, that rubber piece mclovin shows feels like it's bolted and can be removed lol.

 

Looks Like There Were 3 Different Part Numbers.

 

Those would be bump stops, and they do just bolt on. On a FE2 suspension equipped thirdgen, I can't imagine axtually hitting the bump stops anyway. The struts would have to be completely shot and the springs would have to be REALLY BAD. I'd imagine the crossmember would hit pavement before the suspension would compress far enough to hit the stops.

The steering stops are there to keep you from cranking the steering wheel so far that the tires rub the chassis. Think parallel parking and U-turns. Without the stops, at the very least you can scrub the frame.

 

Ok crap yeah i wouldnt want that either, although ever since ive owned the car i have a rubbing sound when i turn the wheel a certain point (driver front wheel) when reversing it sounds like im scraping hitting something... Only when turning the wheel clockwise while reversing... Need to finally get under there and check it out.

So im prob just going to re do my own control arms unless im able to find some in the junkyard 30mins down the road, which is a larger lot.

Thanks again everyone for input.

 

The write-up below covers all the differences, I believe:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...s-created.html

JamesC