Control arm question

[Martin Spencer]

i bought an 09 with 80k Miles. Been maintained,but I’m getting some clunking in the front end on bumps. Question is what advantage is there in replacing the whole control arm? Why not just the bushings? It’s a TX truck with no rust. Do I need an alignment after the swap? Thanks

 

[catman]

You will 100% need an alignment after this work.

As for the bushings, if you have the equipment or know a place that can do this, there is no harm in just replacing them on the original control arms. Many people here have just done the bushings and they can chime in as to whether there were any issues to note when doing it. I think people (including myself) do the new arms because it is pretty much the same amount of total labor (if you are paying for it) to do it either way and then you do not have to worry about getting the bushings pressing in properly and more shops can do the work.