Control arm replacement recommendations

[Ozuye10]

Just got my Ranger back from a brake and tire place I had a coupon for. They said my control arms are shot and need to be replaced. I would imagine they mean the bushings but I figured I’d just do the whole thing. There’s a ton of options out there and I have no idea what’s good or not. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers

 

[Uncle Gump]

I would like to tell you Moog or TRW parts... but even those nowadays are a crapshoot. The aftermarket parts system is flooded with cheap Chinese parts and it's really a buyer beware thing.

If you look at the reviews... even those can be misleading.

Hopefully someone will chime in with a recommendation.

 

[Ozuye10]

I was going to go with AC Delco for that reason but they’ve probably farmed everything out to China as well.

 

[55trucker]

Are we talking about the uppers or lowers?
2wd or 4wd? coil suspension or torsion bar?

if you have access to a vertical press (even a small one) keep your oem arms & purchase just the bushings & press out the old & press in the new.

 

[Jazzer]

I was happy with the quality of the AC Delco ones I bought, both upper and lower.

-Jazzer

 

[cbxer55]

I bought my upper and lowers from NAPA back in 2018. My friend and I did it in July 2018. Not a problem since. They were easy to install. We took measurements, and after done, the tire wear hasn't changed. So I never even bothered to get it aligned. Tire wear will tell you if you need an alignment. I put new tires on two months after we did it, they're still on the truck. However, they are worn down to the wear bars, so new tires are coming up soon.

 

[Blmpkn]

I was going to go with AC Delco for that reason but they’ve probably farmed everything out to China as well.

Just because something is made in China/mexico/not MY country doesn't automatically mean it's shit

Basing the quality of an item strictly off where it is manufactured is foolish.

It all comes down to the parent company, and what quality they want their outsourced product to be. If they want a high quality product, thats what they'll have their Chinamen make.. If they don't care.. they'll pick a second rate factory/supplier who uses sub bar materials, processes, and QC.

Just look at batteries.. your lucky to get 4-5 years from a made in America napa battery.

My mother got 8 years from the China made ac delco battery in her Acadia or whatever tf it is.

 

[Ozuye10]

Are we talking about the uppers or lowers?
2wd or 4wd? coil suspension or torsion bar?

if you have access to a vertical press (even a small one) keep your oem arms & purchase just the bushings & press out the old & press in the new.

That’s what I would like to do. Looking around for access to one.

 

[mikkelstuff]

So what's shot? Ball joints? Bushings? or both.

I personally replaced the lower ball joints and upper control arms with Moog units in my '02 4WD Ranger a couple of years ago and all have worked out well. The upper control arms with ball joints come as a unit for that Ranger. The only really difficult part was removing and installing the lower ball joints. I was afraid to remove the lower control arms what with the torsion bar suspension. I finally did the "free" tool rental from NAPA for a decent ball joint press after messing around with a cheap Amazon press.

 

[Ozuye10]

So what's shot? Ball joints? Bushings? or both.

I personally replaced the lower ball joints and upper control arms with Moog units in my '02 4WD Ranger a couple of years ago and all have worked out well. The upper control arms with ball joints come as a unit for that Ranger. The only really difficult part was removing and installing the lower ball joints. I was afraid to remove the lower control arms what with the torsion bar suspension. I finally did the "free" tool rental from NAPA for a decent ball joint press after messing around with a cheap Amazon press.

I’m pretty sure the ball joints and the control arm bushings are shot on the passenger side, driver isn’t much better so I’ll be replacing both. I’ll take a video and post it.

 

[Ozuye10]

Just because something is made in China/mexico/not MY country doesn't automatically mean it's shit

Basing the quality of an item strictly off where it is manufactured is foolish.

It all comes down to the parent company, and what quality they want their outsourced product to be. If they want a high quality product, thats what they'll have their Chinamen make.. If they don't care.. they'll pick a second rate factory/supplier who uses sub bar materials, processes, and QC.

Just look at batteries.. your lucky to get 4-5 years from a made in America napa battery.

My mother got 8 years from the China made ac delco battery in her Acadia or whatever tf it is.

I hope that is now true because it sure wasn’t in the past. I lived in Hawaii and Guam for many years and we were flooded with cheap Chinese made bs. Batteries are all pretty shitty nowadays for whatever reason, 4-5 years. Duralast made in China lasted 18months in my daughter’s Mazda. 2019 4Runner factory battery died in 2020. Mexico is usually better as is Malaysia.

 

[cbxer55]

Batteries? I always go with Sears Die Hard Platinum AGM batteries. Advance Auto sells them. The one in my Lightning was put in by myself in 2014. So eight years, so far. Just put one in my Mustang. Next time the Ranger needs one, that's what it's getting. The one in it now is three years old, and is an Advance Auto Gold battery. The previous battery was an Optima Red Top that I put in in 2007. So it lasted until 2019. WOW! But, they're made in Mejico now, and I hear they are crap. The Sears Die Hard Platinum AGM is the same type battery.

Let's talk IAC. Auto Zone sells two, one made in Mejico and another by Hitachi in Japan. The Mexican parts have a one year warranty, and always fail after that year. In 2015 I opted for the Japanese IAC. Still in the truck today., It has a five year warranty. Which would you buy?

 

[superj]

japanese is way better than chinese, historically. japanese are very particular about their stuff where teh chinese stuff seems to be made at different levels depending on how much you want to pay

 

[don4331]

@Blmpkn got it right: Product is built to specification. The specification they are building to comes from the OEM. So, the blame/credit should be with OEM over the spec, not the manufacturer.

I work for a company which builds product around the world. Often, we build 2 versions of the product, sometimes even in the same plant - one with high quality components, controlled manufacturing process and through QA. That product comes with good warranty. The other version has lower quality components, a more lax manufacturing process/limited QA. The lower cost product comes with lower warranty. But both products meet the customer's specification to the letter. The end consumer is then given choice of low cost/quality or higher cost/quality. You have a choice on how to spend your money; do so wisely.

There was a time, not that long ago, when Japan quality was atrocious, but the Japanese needed the work. But once they got their feet on ground, they stopped making the low cost product, even if it cost the company/country money.

Some of the 2nd world countries still need the volume of low cost product, even if it damages their reputation.

 

[BuckHunter]

I replaced my upper and lower a couple years ago. Went with motor craft replaced the whole arms both sides no problems what so ever. They come with new bushings ready to go.