Control arm flanges bend?

[lostranger2026]

I'm working on my new to me 1999 Ranger (see my post in https://www.therangerstation.com/fo...ts-upper-control-arm-stuck-to-knuckle.216321/ ) and I ended up deciding to reuse my old control arms and put new bushings and high quality ball joints (TTX)'es in them. I had a very hard time removing the bushings and I think my control arms are a little bend, which might actually contribute to me having such a hard time getting them out. So far my only luck has been drilling out the rubber and then cutting through the metal sleeve. I still have more to remove in the picture.

When I got the second control arm out I noticed that one flange (extrusion with the hole) is definitely 'off' and there is a chance that they're all bend a little. My idea is to try and straighten it out and I'm wondering if there's a good way to know where to align it to. Are the flanges supposed to be perfectly parallel ? How accurate do I need to be or is this a matter of 'tough luck, get new arms' ?
I'm open to any suggestions or ideas on how to go about this. Maybe someone has accurate measurements I can use.

Thanks

 

[franklin2]

You will know it's off too much if you can't get the shafts in place. The arms getting bent is common, people running over things and denting them is common. I would just eyeball it the best you can, especially if they got a little bent taking them out. I have seen fixtures they use to support the thin arm when they use a press.

After you get it together, the alignment shop should be able to compensate for anything that is a little off.