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Question on Lower Control Arms

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Old 10-22-2002, 12:53 PM
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Question on Lower Control Arms

Hey guys i just recently had a little fender bender and while i was at my axels and all sorts of other stuff i noticed that my Lower Control Arm Bushings r now gone (was wondering y car drove like crap). so i asked around each arm cuz they say u can not buy the bushing its self the arm is like 200 or 300 buck each does anyone know where i can get them cheaper?
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Old 10-22-2002, 01:08 PM
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u CAN buy the bushings themselves. give courtesy nissan a call.800 527-1909.

just need a press to get them out and put them in.
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Old 10-22-2002, 02:57 PM
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i secont that, theyre like 30 bucks a piece and if you were to buy the arm it would come w/o them
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Old 10-22-2002, 10:01 PM
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Umm new arms come with bushings, perfectly in place, ready to go, so what you said was incorrect information. And for the record, I recommend that anyone who needs new control arm bushings just save for the entire arm, because it's such a difficult procedure.

-Kaleb

Originally posted by shavedmax
i secont that, theyre like 30 bucks a piece and if you were to buy the arm it would come w/o them
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Old 10-25-2002, 07:03 PM
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I am in the same boat.
I was told that my left lower control arm bushing is bad. OK, then i was told that i need an alinement done b/c my tires are wearing out on the inner side wall both right and left side . They told me that i cannot do an alinement unless i fix the control arm, b/c i would be wasting my money if i did the alinement with bad bushings.

Now my question is that is that the only bushing i have to worry about in the area? is there an upper control arm? that i would need to replace.

basically my care drives like shiet. I would gas it and i would have to turn the wheel just to keep it going straight. and then when i release the gas the max wants to turn to the right.


what else can go wrong in my max.

so far year to date i have canged the power steering hose, pump, axles, and now i have to do the control arm. what are the going rates for new control arms.. any websites taht have them at reasonable prices.?

next on my TDL(To DO List)Motor mounts.
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Old 10-25-2002, 08:59 PM
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I just recently had the bushings pressed in on my 93. I got the bushings from Kaleb and had a friend that works at a machine shop press them in for me.

The only thing I would say though is call around and make sure there is a machine shop around you that is willing to do it cheap because not many will.

My friend didnt have time to do it before I took a trip so I called all the machine shops around where I live to see if anyone would do it for me and none of them would mess with it because they would have to make a tool bit to do it and they just didnt want to mess with it.

Later my friend was able to press them in for me and man what a difference they make in my ride quality.

the bushings are cheap (like $6 or something a piece) but you may pay up to $50-$100 to have them pressed in if you can find someone to do it.

Do not be suprised if your local Nissan dealer tells you that he cant get just the bushings (mine said they could only get the whole arm)
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Old 10-25-2002, 09:43 PM
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i recently replaced both of my lower control arms because the bushings were bad. i decided just to replace the whole thing. i paid like $300+ in parts and shipping. i was gonna take it in to do it, but i decided to try it myself. not too hard. just really dirty because my cv boot was torn on one side and the power steering was leaking on the other. impact wrench helped a whole lot. good luck. made a huge difference for me.

Laly
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Old 10-26-2002, 08:11 AM
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get this.

I had mine replaced about 6 months-1 year ago they told me my small oil leak made the bushing kind of rot away. But now after spending $220 for a new control arm, it is doing the same thing, it acts like bad torque steer and the wheel goes to one side when you punch it and then eventually jerks back...it is weird everything was fine and then I had my allignment done at the same place I always go and the car seemed a little off and just got worse and worse now it is as bad as it was, I am going to take it back to have the allignment done and I know what they are going to tell me. Is there a way to sabotage my control arm? It ****es me off cause I have had that oil leak since I bought the car about 4 years ago...and the arm barely went out 6 months-1 year ago, how is that possible?
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Old 10-26-2002, 12:08 PM
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Originally posted by dmontzmax
get this.

I had mine replaced about 6 months-1 year ago they told me my small oil leak made the bushing kind of rot away. But now after spending $220 for a new control arm, it is doing the same thing, it acts like bad torque steer and the wheel goes to one side when you punch it and then eventually jerks back...it is weird everything was fine and then I had my allignment done at the same place I always go and the car seemed a little off and just got worse and worse now it is as bad as it was, I am going to take it back to have the allignment done and I know what they are going to tell me. Is there a way to sabotage my control arm? It ****es me off cause I have had that oil leak since I bought the car about 4 years ago...and the arm barely went out 6 months-1 year ago, how is that possible?
dont tell me that. i just spent 105 on each side for the complete control arm.. but this is what i feel when i drive the max as you do. but my is just normal wear and tear. and i need to get an alinement done after i install the control arm.. hopefully the bad wheel torque will go away
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Old 10-26-2002, 12:24 PM
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Yea, unless you can get a machine shop to press the bushings in its not worth it. My dad and I spent a whole afternoon tryin to get the bushings in. We finally got them about a thress quarters of the way in and said scew it. We put the control arms back on like that with some bushing sticking out. The car works fine now. It used to jerk with and acceleration or deacceleration. It was hella lot cheaper then buying the whole control arm assembly.
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Old 10-26-2002, 12:32 PM
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easyest way to get the old ones out if they dont pop out is to torch them, , if the inside is nice and clean then you can lube it with some grease and put then on a vise you should be able to get them in that way. easy maybee not, but easier on funds( i believe oen control arms are between 2-300 a piece.
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Old 10-26-2002, 12:32 PM
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Originally posted by paganinimaster
Yea, unless you can get a machine shop to press the bushings in its not worth it. My dad and I spent a whole afternoon tryin to get the bushings in. We finally got them about a thress quarters of the way in and said scew it. We put the control arms back on like that with some bushing sticking out. The car works fine now. It used to jerk with and acceleration or deacceleration. It was hella lot cheaper then buying the whole control arm assembly.
and how much was the bushings.? There are two bushing on either ocontrol arm.. back and front.. o well i paid for the whole thing and it costs 105 each.. atleast that is done, i just need to install them.. how hard is it to install these ? can you do it with some common tools?
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Old 10-26-2002, 05:21 PM
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ok they are in and let me say.. i am driving a new car..lo. well not exaclty.. but the feeling is much better to drive. i just need to get my rotors and then pads. then tires and get my alinement done. but i changed both control arms.. let me say that the both needed to be changed.. the rubber was torn and loos in the bushing when i took it out there was a pice of rubber littery stuck on the thread of the bolt and needed to be heated up via welder torche. to take them off... but for those with high mileage maximas please have them checked out. I was hydroplanning b/c of the mounts . i would hit a patch of water and the tires would wabble and a hydroplanning i go..

but it wasnt too bad i guess.. i got new control arms with bushings and also the ball joint for 105 a piece 210 total for both sides and 70 +10(tip) to install them. plus an alinement will be 54 dollars down the road.. so total would be 340 for the replacement. notbad i think.

edit spelling
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Old 10-26-2002, 07:46 PM
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Originally posted by crazy4maxima
70 +10(tip

NEVER give a mechanic a tip.
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Old 10-27-2002, 10:52 AM
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Originally posted by Sudesh



NEVER give a mechanic a tip.
y?

i need to get those done....i was wondering why my car seemed to twitch real bad when i switched gears. does this also affect the ride of the car as in up and down movement? It might just be my rear struts that are gone...i'm bouncing slightly in the back when i drive slowly. I also want to get new springs but the weather's pretty cold now and mechanics charge higher when the winter comes dont they?
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Old 10-27-2002, 11:05 AM
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Originally posted by lophix

y?
Simply because more than likely you are being over charged in the first place, why give them a tip on top of that? I could go into further details, but it's too trivial of a topic to discuss. If you want to give a tip, go right ahead, some people have money to throw around.
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Old 10-27-2002, 06:15 PM
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Where do you get the arms so cheap? or bushings?

I live in south Florida and I have looked around for about 2 months cheapest place i can find them is 250 per side. If you guys get them so cheap please......... tell me where i feel like my car is going to do a sumersalt everytime i drive.

Thanx
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