I need to replace the LCAs on my 96.

There are some suspension kits out there which include the LCAs, inner and outer tie rods. Some of the prices are ridiculously low. On ebay I see a couple for around 100-130.

FCP Import has a kit around 200.

Obvioulsy, If I went with Nissan from Courtesy parts, it is going to be a lot more - probably around 500-550. Napa around 300-350.

I used Napa on my 2000 and the quality seems fine. I can't believe a 100 kit is anything other than junk. Because of the labor, I'll spend more on parts but just wanted some feedback.

Has anyone had any experience with FCP's parts? What about Suspension Parts from ebay?

Thanks.

 

inner and outer rods, ehhh go with whatever.

The LCAs should have the ball joint preinstalled. Just make sure its there.

Try rockauto.com.

For 100 bucks, u can order them and then test the quality. I look at it this way, yeah u get what u pay for, but when u pay 100 vs 500 and if it fails, u know not to cheap out anymore lol


even nissan stuff is aftermarket man. THey dont manufacturer their own stuff on a 15 yr old car.

EDIT:

Yeah man goto www.rockauto.com they got namebrand LCAS for the low price

 

Appreciate the response. I pretty much understand all of that.

I'm looking for feedback on what is good and what isn't.

 

i found acdelco lca's for ~$65 (amazon), got moog inner & outer tie rods, steering boots and anti-sway bar endlinks (rockauto) and quality was good. i saw the dorman lca at advance auto and it didn't look as substantial as the acdelco (or beck arnley) lca as well as having a lessor balljoint. all three were made in taiwan but differed as to overall beefiness as well as quality and amount of welds, balljoint quality and etc. the dorman's were ~100+ while BA's were ~ $150 at aa.

 

It seems like everyone you talk to has tried some different brand. I have to do this too and it's going to be fun trying to figure out what to buy.

 

Thanks!

After I posted, I read some stuff about Dorman and think I'm skipping them.

I'm really curious about FCP Imports - they are a sponsor of this forum.

 

I've installed a dozen or so FCP Import kits. Tie rods, LCA's, etc etc.

Quality is mediocre. Probably one notch under OEM, but decent for the price.

Longevity varies. I've had customers with torn boots inside of a year, and some going 3 years strong.

 

i'd say it's more likely that fcp wishes that they were ONLY "one notch under oem".

 

Lol I was trying to be nice but you're right. Interestingly, there isn't much else worse than OEM....

 

so what would be the best, least $hittiest after market lca to buy? lol

 

Moog makes a 4th gen control arm. Never used them but used plenty of their other products with great results. Price is fair too, around $55-$60 each (per RockAuto)

 

I bought Mevotech LCA's from rockauto at $51 a piece with ball joints and bushings. I took the bushings out and pressed in ES bushings. The LCA's are great quality

 

thanks i'll keep those in mind!

 

Why buy NEW arms just to gut them?

I buy used for real cheap and just renovate them. It's just metal afterall.

 

What if your old arms are bent? That's probably why they are buying new arms and them upgrading all the failure points. It takes more to be able to tell if you can reuse a part and if they did the work and it ended up being bad they'd be mad.

 

Though I agree that this is a possibility by the OP, you'd have to be in a fairly involved accident to bend control arms, and an owner will usually those get replaced fairly quickly to repair the accident.

The more likely scenario is the reason for needing control arm replacement are busted ball joints or worn/torn bushings. The metal is more than likely still perfectly fine.

 

OEM control arms are great. I paid a pretty penny for some new ones and they are far from crap

 

1. New Ball Joints are already pressed in.
2. Not having to have my car down for 2 days to press in the bushings and asking friends for rides to a shop. Opposed to me doing the bushings before hand and just swapping out LCA's.
3. Time is money.

 

Which is why I suggested purchasing used arms....everything (including ball joints) has to come out of them anyway. Even if I were to purchase new arms, I'd still replace the ball joints with Moog.

 

Went with Napa (excel 8 is the brand). Decided that I would rather have to not do that job again anytime soon and needed to do it yesterday. Obviously could have gone cheaper as lca/tie rod/sway links ran close to $300. Have done it twice recently on both cars and it is not a fun job.

This time, had to burn out one of the bushings and dremel off the metal sleeve to get the fork out. Other one was so done that there was no bushing left.

Then had to fight the tie rod ends.

It took longer to get those three things unstuck than it took to do the job. Of course that included two trips to the store - one for more pb blaster and one for more propane for the torch.

A couple of suggestions.

- for the tie rod end lock nuts - loosen the damn lock nut (clockwise) with the tie rod end still attached to the steering knuckle. It seems obvious to me now and I figured it out while working on it , but I was reading some instructions that didn't mention it.

- For the tie rod ends themselves, I used a vice grip on the rod at the spot for a wrench. Much better than a wrench since it won't fall off. Then find a spot to jamb that against the body. That spot should be one that will make the arm immobile when you take a wrench to the tie rod. If you have a second vise, use it on the tie rod end and then start smacking it with a hammer (after lots of pb).

- Don't forget to tighten down the ball joint nut BEFORE you put the axle back in the steering knuckle.

- I also used a small bottle jack on the lca to lift the new one and steering knuckle into place so it can be rebolted to the strut. Much easier than pulling it up by hand.

- lots of nitrile gloves and lots of floor covering (I used old cardboard boxes) I would also suggest long sleeve shirt and pants. It is a damn dirty job.

If anyone wants the oem lca's make me an offer. I'm keeping the 5th gen ones and installing ES bushings and Moog balljoints.

 

I'm building a set of OEM LCA's with Moog Balljoints and ES bushings I can have them done and shipped too you in less than 2 weeks....