iceman991

I have this dilemna as of late where my control arm cracks where my tension rods are bolted into them, I was wondering if anyone could tell me what a possible cause of that would be before i go and replace one for the second time and the other for the first.

I had some possible ideas of mayb thats how dead my front struts are that every decent bump or hard braking creates alot of pressure on those points,

Or mayb i torqued too much the nut and bolt that holds the bushing of the tension rods to the frame there for not giving it much leverage at all?

Thnx for the help

Next Level 240

Has the car ever been wrecked before??? Or has there been a recall on the control arms??? Those are my only ideas. But i highly doubt that the torque on the tension rod to control arm bolts could be to much. Somehow it would take an extreme amount of force to crack a control arm. Sorry i couldnt be of much more help but those are my only ideas.

iceman991

Im taking it to the mechanic tomorrow but i think the problem might be that the bushings i replace on the tension rods, were not right and are not allowing the tension rod to do its job, Ive heard that the tension rods should b able to move up and down with some sort of ease, and mine dont with these bushings... Anyways hoping this is what the problem is.. any thoughts?

Next Level 240

Yeah that maybe possible but still i dont see how that could be enough force to crack you control arm. Hey when you get it back from the garage let me know what was causing this problem i really want to know it has me puzzled. Thx.

Project Cheap13

Put the car up on jackstands. Then put a jack under the arm & SLOWLY jack the arm up, while looking for binding or anthing catching.

What may have happened( not sure what rods you have). But I also notice your in Jersey.
The Bolts that hold the tension rods in up front may have rusted to the sleeve. Which is preventing them from pivoting.
But also. Like you said. Improper torque will cause it also. Not sure how long ago you did it( thats why I brought up the rusting).

But it sounds just like they are not pivoting.

iceman991

Thats what my mechanic said was that my tension rods werent pivoting. So im picking up new tension rods that come with a pillowball joint as opposed to a rubber bushing, this should help solve my problem.
My mechanic was recommending though that after i replace the control arms, since both are cracked, that i should let him weld reinforcements on them.. any thoughts on that?

iceman991

Thats what my mechanic said was that my tension rods werent pivoting. So im picking up new tension rods that come with a pillowball joint as opposed to a rubber bushing, this should help solve my problem.
My mechanic was recommending though that after i replace the control arms, since both are cracked, that i should let him weld reinforcements on them.. any thoughts on that?

Also they werent pivoting not due to rusting but due to a site online sending me bushings for it that are apparently incorrect ... even though they fit on the arm and bolt in properly