Compression lower arm assembly

[turbosax2]

Hey everybody - this thread is regarding my brothers 1995 Eclipse GST

I was looking at the suspension today and I noticed a torn bushing on the lower compression arm assembly. I looked on CAPS and it has the arm assembly (MR162583 or 40320AL) listed and also a cover (MB808555 or 40317) listed. So my question is, which part is damaged, the cover or the lower arm? I included pictures of the CAPS diagram, the bad bushing (on the drivers side) and the bushing on the passengers side, which looks good to me. Thanks!

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[turbodsm18]

WOW.......That needs to be replace NOW....That looks terrible

I cant tell from the picture which way the camera was facing but.....

On the front of the car, there is two lower ball joints and one upper ball joint, the the lower control arm is the Curved looking one. The lower lateral arm is the straight one. On 2g cars, the arm and ball joint are one so you need to replace the whole piece.

He is the part with a better diagram and the part numbers all right there for you.

http://www.trademotion.com/partloca...=1995&graphicID=F703112&callout=5&catalogid=1

 

[snowborder714]

That is the LH (driver's side) lower control arm (the curved one). I want to know if the whole thing needs replaced or if the ball joint is ok and I just need to replace the grease seal/boot/cover thing. I'm turbosax2's brother, btw.

Would there be a way to tell (me personally) or if I brought it to a shop would they be able to tell? I really would rather spend $6 on the seal/boot/cover thing vs. $150+ on the whole arm.

I do notice the steering wheel shaking at 60+ mph (highway speeds) and I'm not sure if that is a brake related issue since my rotors are warped a bit, a wheel related issue if they got out of balance or something, or if it's because of that arm.

 

[turbodsm18]

That is the LH (driver's side) lower control arm (the curved one). I want to know if the whole thing needs replaced or if the ball joint is ok and I just need to replace the grease seal/boot/cover thing. I'm turbosax2's brother, btw.

Would there be a way to tell (me personally) or if I brought it to a shop would they be able to tell? I really would rather spend $6 on the seal/boot/cover thing vs. $150+ on the whole arm.

I do notice the steering wheel shaking at 60+ mph (highway speeds) and I'm not sure if that is a brake related issue since my rotors are warped a bit, a wheel related issue if they got out of balance or something, or if it's because of that arm.

Most likely you will need to replace the whole arm (other people can chime in)..The reason I say this is because if that boot has been torn a while, the actually ball is probably rusted because it has probably lost most of the grease inside the boot.

I know it sucks to have to spend $160, but at the same time, it could be $160 now or few thousand if that ball joint ever fails down the road and your wheel falls off...

You can install the arm yourself, the actual labor part is not that hard....

-Kevin-

 

[snowborder714]

I know labor isn't that hard as I replaced the straight lower lateral arm when I got the car about 6 months ago. I would've thought the guy that does my alignments would've said something since he caught the other one...

 

[turbodsm18]

I know labor isn't that hard as I replaced the straight lower lateral arm when I got the car about 6 months ago. I would've thought the guy that does my alignments would've said something since he caught the other one...

Ya, but at the same time, It could have happened recently.

I just looked at mine a few days ago and noticed my two rear lower ball joints were toast. I figured if the rears were bad then the front are probably close, but they looked to be in good condition.

 

[steel_3d]

If there's no play in the ball joint, you probably don't need to replace it. Shake the arm around in every direction by hand, and also pry on it gently with a pry bar to make sure there's no play in the ball joint. If there isn't, just clean it out thoroughly with brake cleaner and repack it with grease when you replace the boot. Make sure you get all the greese and dirt out from behind the ball as much as possible, then work the new grease in.