Tips and Tricks for Rebuilding Lower Control Arms

10. A nice sandblasting will do wonders for a dirty and scalypiece of steel. We blasted ours to white metal with extra-fine silicasand.

11. Here's the new trick product we were talking about. Theselaser-cut steel reinforcement plates from AR Engineering are made to boxthe control arm for added strength. The boxed arms have less deflection,especially if heavy-duty sway bars are used. If the control-arm membershave spread, allowing for a loose torsion-bar anchor, this is a goodtime to remove some of the clearance as the structure is reinforced.Notice that the weld area has been buffed to shiny metal. It'spractically impossible to get a good weld on an as-blasted surface.

12. The 1/8-inch plates easily conform to the curvature of thecontrol arm with clamping. Now is also a good time to see if thetorsion-bar- adjuster pivot at the end of the arm has too muchside-to-side clearance. Pulling in the sides of the control arm for aflush fit while clamping the plate can reduce the clearance. The anchordoes not move relative to the control arm once the ride height is set,so little to no clearance is required. The fit of our plates is right onthe money.

13. After tacking on the brace, run a full weld along each side.Boxing the control arms takes only minutes.

14. (above & right) All that's left is installing the new bushings. (A) First,the pivot shaft must be pressed into the bushings. (B) The pivotshaft/bushing assembly is then pressed into the control arm. We use apiece of pipe to apply pressure on the flange of the outer bushingshell. We favor stock rubber pieces in the lower control arms becausethe poly bushings have no means of positively retaining the control armto the pivot shaft.

15. With our lower control arm boxed, bushed, and painted with amix of bare steel urethane paint, the control arms are better and nicerthan new.