suspension arm broke off chassis

[numlock666]

I've searched and searched not found anyone who had this happen to.

On the upper control arms, it mounts to the chassis in two spots and the nut holding it to the chassis is located in the engine bay on opposite sides of the strut mount nuts. Usually have a bead of some type of sealer around it. On my drivers side the nut closer to the master cylinder came through the top of the mount and the chassis is pretty bent up. It was rattling the whole 20 mile drive home. The mount seperated from the chassis. Im thinking of welding it back up. Any opinions on this?

Also would having blown shocks cause this??? My suspension is a mess, shocks are blown, rack and pinion is shot, And im sure all the bushings are worn. Sent all my time and money on the engine and forgot about the car.

 

[Locke]

You should have a body shop re-weld it, since the placement of the upper control arm is directly related to the suspension's geometry, and the wheel's alignment. Since the UCA is unadjustable, you cannot correct for a mis-alignment here.

Aftermarket adjustable UCA's only allow so much room to make changes, and an improperly placed UCA may be out of range for an adjustable UCA to make up for.

 

[numlock666]

thanks....what do you think caused this to happen?? I live in CA so there is NO rust at all in that area.

 

[Locke]

I haven't a clue, other than some serious off-road mis-use. Post a pic, if you can.

jtmcinder is our resident suspension guru, you may want to sling him a PM, and see what he thinks about what may have caused it.

 

[XSNRGGST]

....what do you think caused this to happen??

In my experience in the world, it is most definately related to your username and the usage of a certain numerical sequence.

I suggest going to your local chuch and getting some holy water to expell the beast.

JK...

Never heard of that before either. Sorry.

 

[numlock666]

, well just welded it up today and its pretty good. Going to get new shocks tomorrow and put it to the test. But so far its holding and actually feels better than how it was before. Ill get some pics in later tonight.

 

[Locke]

Take it to an alignment shop.

 

[jtmcinder]

Maybe there wasn't any rust, but that's still the lousiest metal on the car (with the rear hatch and the area just in front of the rear wheels being close second and third). Make sure that the upper A-arm is still bolted in place when they reweld it. It's crucial that the two holes through which the pivots mount are parallel.

Why did this happen (besides weakness)? Hit a curb, maybe?

- Jtoby

 

[numlock666]

Nope no curb hitting here. I'm guessing it's the freeplay in the dead steering rack where the tie rod connects to it, its like a ball and socket, its has about 1/8 of an inch freeplay in the socket. Going to replace it all. How much side to side stress does the upper control arm get ?? Would having bad shocks put too much stress on it? I got a big trip to San Diego this weekend and kinda scared to have it breakdown down there.

 

[jtmcinder]

It would be hard to estimate the amount of force. Off the top of my head, with a nose that weighs (around) 2000#, with (maybe) three-quarters going through the outside wheel, but the lower control arm being much closer to the hub than the upper A-arm, I'd say 800# of lateral force.

But, even assuming I'm on the right track, the transient loads when weaving through a slalom could be double.

Can we just say "a lot"?

- Jtoby

 

[numlock666]

Ah man...this kinda makes me not trust the welds...I took it for a quick drive around on some pretty rough roads and it looks fine. Probably do more bracing - Thanks

 

[numlock666]

well posting on how i fixed it. Welded it back on with as much bracing, Got new Tokico HP's, new power streering rack and alignment. Everything seems a-ok, took it for a good run in the twisties and its good.

 

[Locke]

Glad to hear it.

 

[NavyP583]

actually i just found the same thing on my car but on the passenger side and front stud. Im not understanding exactly how you fixed it. Ill have to read it a few more times... i can hear the boly smaking around though makes me scared to drive it.

 

[Sgtbongripp]

This is exactly what's happening to me I need to take it all apart and see if I can weld it together, the UCA on the passenger side front stud just moves free, its rusty and broke from what I can tell, the UCA is still in tact just the housing it goes into just isn't holding in that grommet that the UCA bolts into, I already replaced my power steering, cvs, lcas, and was still getting the rattle and squeek before I noticed that was just moving free in the housing, anyone come up with a proper or quick fix?

 

[nwBryce89]

Since this thread is nine years old I don't know how many of these guys still frequent the site, but I'm sure you will need to repair the area it bolts to if it's all rusted out.

 

[Sgtbongripp]

Yeah I noticed shortly after I commented that it was a bit old but basically I don't know how to go about the fix, I'm sure I'll have to weld something in to make a secure grip, but I just thought maybe someone went thru the pain already. I'll attach a picture of I can to show where I'm talking about I just have to wait till a little later today to get the wheel off and check it out thoroughly.