Control arms and bushings

[Dathaeus]

Hi all... just got my rear control arms replaced thanks to their wear and tear and a "brushing noise", and it fixed it... when I went for an alignment the guys said it wont do too good for the front bec the fronts now need new control arms too, GOD!!!

The thing is though, it seemed like he was just pointing to the bushing where it looked more loose than it should be... anyways, a couple of days after that, I was on the highway and when I hit about 75, my car vibrated pretty violently, worse than I have ever felt, and it was scary... so when I slowed to 50 and below, it was fine.

My indy took a quick look with a jack up, and said lets replace the bushings first and when he puts it for that tomorrow morning, he will also test the arms.

Now Firestone quoted me a price (I know, I know, but I wanted a general ballpark of what they would charge for both front control arms) of $350 for parts and $250 for labor ($600+tax)... the indy had charged me $165 for the rear left c-arm and about $150 for the labor ($315... do rears cost more?).

So #1, are my symptoms indicative of the bushings or c-arms?

And how are the prices? (Pelican has the front c-arms for about $100 a piece)

Thanks!

[mikell]

You should be able to check the ball joints on the control arms by jacking up the front, getting under there with some big channel locks and jiggling them. If they're loose, the the arms have to come out (though I think the outer ball joints might be replaceable on the e36, but don't quote me on it.)

Anyway, if the ball joints are good, then the bushings are probably the culprit - they are more likely to be toast than the ball joints anyway.

As for labor, you really need to remove the entire arm to replace the bushings, so it's a question whether you want to replace the arms while you've got them out.

While you're jiggling things around, give the sway bar links and tie rod ends a shake. Alignment difficulty can be shot tie rods, too.

Good luck.

[Dathaeus]

My indy jacked it up but only commented on the bushings, sad he would have to put it on the lift to see if I need new arms... the guys at Firestone said I need new arms but it seemed like he was pointing at the bushing.. I know I know, but I have lifetime alignment there so... but my indy wont charge me to just put it on the lift, but it sucks bec he only has one and he is always busy so, he wont take a car down just to check that for me.

Ya see thats why I wanna know about the arms before doing the bushings, since it'll save me some money on the labor... then I can just order some arms for like $135 for 2 at FCP and have it delivered to him and get it done.

Well the BMW "analysis" did say the tie rods were bad all around, but then again they say like 10 things are wrong with my car so... probably could use them too, I'll ask my indy... he's real conservative in that he wont wanna change anything unless they are pretty much too dangerous to drive... he's one of those who likes to save the client as much $$$ as possible even though he isnt real cheap, but whatever.