Tootie Pang

iTrader: (2)

Gotta go after my front LCA bushings. These arms:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B001CA23...d=5BF04TA5B4SS

are $100 each and come with new bushings and a new ball joint.

Anyone tried these? Quality/fit?

thtanner

iTrader: (1)

Those don't cross reference to fit third-gens?

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

A quick glance at the customer reviews on amazon will answer all your questions lol. You get what you pay for.

Tootie Pang

iTrader: (2)

They are spec'd to fit. One guy had to grind a little off the back.

gt4373

Mevotech Shows Them For 1980-1981.

Tootie Pang

iTrader: (2)

I see it. Thanks all. Amazon says it will fit. But I see that this is incorrect. Bushings for me!

W.E.G.

The photo shows an item which look strikingly similar to the 1988 OEM arms I spent many hours massaging.

Amazon has only two reviews. One guy had to grind some metal off somewhere - but doesn't say how much, or why. The other guy said he couldn't get them to fit on his car - but doesn't explain why.

One thing that concerns me about that product is that that same MEVOTECH part number is listed as available at Rock Auto, but does not say what car it is supposed to fit. But, when you drill through the Rock Auto site by inputting your car, and you go to the "suspension" category for (in my case a 1988 Camaro) there is no listing for control arms. HOWEVER, if you change the car to 1981 Camaro, you can drill down to control arms, and guess which part appears. That same part shown on Amazon.

Now, the $64,000 question: Will second-gen control arms fit on third-gen cars? I'll be honest, and tell you I don't know the answer to that. Or the corrolary question: Can second-gen control arms be MODIFIED to fit third-gen cars? I don't know the answer to that either. I wish the reviewer-guy on Amazon, who said he installed the MEVOTECH arms on his third gen by making some modification, would have told us more about his success (or his failure that he mistook for success?).

The MEVOTECH on Amazon:



The control arms from my 88:

W.E.G.

The thing that sort of jumps out at me in the comparison is the spring pocket.

Look at the inboard side of the spring pocket.

Look at the "slope" from the base of the sping pocket, going in the direction toward the motor.

That slope on my 88 arms looks a lot steeper than the slope on the MEVOTECH.

W.E.G.

Also, if you look at the side of the MEVOTECH that holds the large bushing, that side seems to have a more-pronounced "dogleg" shape than the same area of my 88 arms.

Tootie Pang

iTrader: (2)

Yeah. It's really close but not exact. But maybe it doesn't need to be in those areas.

For now, I'm just going to remove the arms, make some pressing collars, rent the tool, and press those suckers outta there. Probably change the ball joint while I'm at it.

gt4373

Doesn't Sound Safe To Me,Not Much You Could Cut/Grind In That Area.

W.E.G.

Be sure to wear heavy gloves and a good face shield if you are using an angle-grinder with a cutoff wheel.

I won't post the pics here, but there are some pics that will pucker your six on the Psycho Mechanics forum that document some truly shocking impalement injuries from those big cutoff wheels exploding and fragging the operator.

I wear a welding helmet in "grind" mode, and welders gloves when I'm fooling with that implement of self-destruction.

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

Nothing more dangerous about an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel than any other power tool. You could send a drill bit through your hand as well. It comes down to common sense and knowing how to use it. I don't even run a shield on my angle grinder and I've never had an issue.

Just have to know where the sparks are going to fly so you can cut the metal and stay out of the spark path. I also hold the grinder in a way where no part of my body is directly in line with the spinning wheel so that in the rare chance it does explode, the pieces will scatter in a different direction than your body. I've only had one cutoff wheel explode on me ever, and it was because my grip slipped off the part I was cutting so it slightly tilted and sandwiched the wheel, causing it to explode. But other than making me cringe, no damage done.

A friend of mine did actually take an exploding cutoff wheel to the face. He was wearing safety glasses, but the piece hit him in the cheek and cause a small cut and stung like heck according to him, lol. I honestly don't think they have the weight or sharpness to them to "impale" someone unless your using a mega size cutoff disc on a large grinder.