How long should lower control arms last?

[Uncle Gump]

I did call Discount Tire (I have a great relationship with the 2 managers) explained to them what their tech said and what I am feeling in the suspension and they said get the parts replaced within a couple weeks and they will do another alignment free.

I've never heard of tie rods being "a little tight".

IMHO... that's a good thing.

I am curious as to what you find... keep us posted.

 

[Jazzer]

If you don’t feel it in the steering wheel, it’s unlikely to be the tie rod ends.

 

[Summers22]

I feel it more in the floorboard but I find it hard to believe the lca bushings are bad, as thats really all thats left suspension wise.

 

[sgtsandman]

I feel it more in the floorboard but I find it hard to believe the lca bushings are bad, as thats really all thats left suspension wise.

I've never seen any go bad but that doesn't mean it can't happen. I can't remember, did you look at body bushings and mounts yet since you said you can feel it through the floor?

What about motor mounts? They can do some pretty weird things when they go bad.

 

[Summers22]

I actually have considered the motor mounts as well. When I first got the truck and began maintenance on it, I thought the motor moved way too much side to side from the rough running and idle. So that thought has crossed my mind. I'll try and inspect the body mounts after work when I look at the tie rods and steering movement.

 

[Uncle Gump]

With an automatic... I drop it in drive... foot firmly on the brake... ease the throttle open a bit. Basically brake torqueing it. With hood open... you can see the engine roll up. If bad... it will typically put the cooling fan into the fan shroud. You would also get the noise just leaving a stoplight... probably not at cruise.

 

[Summers22]

So upon further inspection today, I found......nothing. Tie rods looked good, very little play so I decided to go over the shocks and what the heck, the passenger shock shaft threads were stripped at the nut! Ugh. So I looked through the work bench, added a second washer, hoping to make space for new threads for the nut. It worked, went for a drive and the clunk/rattle is about 95% gone. I still feel like the shock nut isn't tight enough. I used KYB Excel G. I hate how they mount with the little 1/4" top of the shaft. So I am debating on switching to a different shock, like the Sachs shock. I think this is my issue. I reached out about warranty from Rockauto, but probably wont pursue it, do to it being my mistake.

 

[sgtsandman]

So upon further inspection today, I found......nothing. Tie rods looked good, very little play so I decided to go over the shocks and what the heck, the passenger shock shaft threads were stripped at the nut! Ugh. So I looked through the work bench, added a second washer, hoping to make space for new threads for the nut. It worked, went for a drive and the clunk/rattle is about 95% gone. I still feel like the shock nut isn't tight enough. I used KYB Excel G. I hate how they mount with the little 1/4" top of the shaft. So I am debating on switching to a different shock, like the Sachs shock. I think this is my issue. I reached out about warranty from Rockauto, but probably wont pursue it, do to it being my mistake.

I'm glad you found it.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Something not mentioned here and I feel it's important for any suspension/shock replacement.

When putting the final torque on suspension components... the suspension/shock should have the weight of the vehicle on the suspension.

 

[Summers22]

Yes, I did that, I didn't have the proper tool for installing this kind of shock either. Just a $60 mistake but I went with a different style mount for the replacement shocks, no special tool needed.