Control arms, including adjustable upper control arms, can easily be overlooked. However, they are some of the most mechanically amazing elements making up your car. Without it, you would have a far less pleasant or safe drive. In fact, a malfunctioning or broken control arm will have a significant impact on your driving experience. Therefore, it is so important you understand and can recognise symptoms of a faulty or failing control arm, as well as how to replace it.
Staying on top of your control arm’s status can help prevent accidents, as well as costly repair bills. In this post, we’ll look at how control arms operate, the usefulness of adjustable upper control arms, the signs of poor upper control arms and the consequences of not replacing them. We’ll also tell you how to replace them so you can skip the trip to the mechanic.
So, What Are Control Arms?
In the most basic terms, the control arms enable your suspension to travel up and down while keeping the knuckles, spindles and axles attached to your vehicle. For a century, they have been an essential component of suspension systems. They’ve appeared in a variety of forms, sizes, and materials over the years, but they’ve always served the same purpose: to keep everything together!
They connect to the frame on one side and the axle on the other end of the vehicle’s front and rear suspension. Lifting a vehicle, though, might cause the axle to be pushed too far forward or back, prompting drive-line angles to be strained and other steering issues. Therefore, longer control arms, drop pitman arms, transfer case drops kits and trackbar drop brackets are frequently used to restore the axle to its normal geometry.
Control arms are suggested for vehicle lifts of 3 inches (7.5 cm) or higher. They are not prohibitively costly and aid in restoring your steering and ride to normal. They can be fixed or adjustable in length, with polyurethane bushings on either end. Typically, short control arm kits work for lifts to 5 inches (12.5 cm), while you’ll need a long control arm kit for anything over that.
But Do I Need Adjustable Upper Control Arms?
Adjustable upper control arms are used to adjust wheel camber — the vertical alignment of the wheels. Negative camber has the tyre turned inward, toward the vehicle’s centre. Positive camber, on the other hand, will have the top of the tyre tilted outward, away from the car’s centre. When it comes to racing, posture, and lowering or elevating a car, camber adjustment is crucial.
When installing a lowering kit or a lift kit on a vehicle, adjustable upper control arms are frequently required to correct the negative or positive camber that comes with them. If this is not rectified, the tyres will lose traction and will degrade prematurely. To correctly set the camber using adjustable upper control arms, the car must be aligned by someone who precisely understands what is going on.
What Do Upper & Lower Control Arms Do, & Why Are They Important?
Upper and lower control arms are standard on some vehicles. The upper control arm is meant to connect to the top of the front wheel, while the lower control arm connects to the bottom of the front wheel. Both arms are then attached to the vehicle’s structure. However, for some vehicles, there may just be a lower control arm. Control arms, regardless of kind, are made up of a ball joint, the main body, bushings, and sleeves.
The bushings that allow the control arms to move up and down are connected to the car’s frame. The opposite end of the upper control arm is connected to a steel spindle, which is attached to the ball joint and the front tyre of the car. The ball joint allows the spindle and front wheel to rotate left and right, allowing the wheels of the vehicle to easily travel over the road’s terrain. A steel coil spring installed between the control arm and the vehicle frame aids in this motion by helping the vehicle absorb bumps and carry its weight.
So, how long can you keep driving with faulty control arms? It all depends. A poor control arm may take you thousands of kilometres or halt you in the middle of nowhere after only 50 kilometres. A functioning control arm with well-aligned bushings and ball joints guarantees stability and improves vehicle control. The driving experience is also enhanced since it is easier to drive the car and manage vibrations and potholes on the road. Bad control arms provide the opposite experience.
What Are the Symptoms of Bad Upper Control Arms?
Control arms cannot last forever — they will fail or go bad sometime in the future. Driving around in a vehicle with a broken control arm is not an innovative idea, so it’s important to change the control arms as soon as you realise, they are broken. But how can you recognise when your adjustable upper control arms are malfunctioning? Fortunately, certain indications should point you in the right direction.
Your Steering Wheel Is Vibrating
This is one of the most obvious signs of a faulty control arm. What happens is that damaged control arm bushings frequently cause the wheel to shake. When you push on the accelerator, the vibrations in the steering wheel become more pronounced, but they gradually diminish at cruise control speed.
Your Steering Wheel Is Wandering
The control arms are intended to influence the efficient movement of your vehicle’s steering. If you observe that your steering wheel swings from side to side, you may have a problem with your car’s control arm’s bushings or ball joints. Inspect the control arms of your vehicle as soon as you discover this symptom, because, if the problem is not handled fast, you may endanger yourself and other drivers on the road.
You Hear Unusual Noises From Your Car
When the bushings, as well as the ball joints, of the vehicle’s control arm fail, you’re certain to hear unexpected noises like snapping or clunking. This is because, after a certain amount of wear and tear, they struggle to balance the movement of the control arm. As a result, metal components create popping and clunking noises.
Your Wheels Feel Shaky
This symptom is unavoidable when the control arms fail to keep the vehicle’s wheels securely linked to the frame. When the ball joint and bushings wear out or the control arms bend, the control arms fail to steady your car’s wheels. When this happens, the wheel alignment is thrown off, and your wheels begin to shake, making it impossible to drive safely.
Is Replacing a Control Arm Hard? Our Tips for Removing & Installing Adjustable Upper Arms Correctly
While removing and installing control arms shouldn’t be attempted by just anyone, there are things you can do to make the process run more smoothly and to get a better result.
Use a Vehicle Lift to Lift Your Car Safely
Being able to easily access your car’s underbody makes it far easier to tighten or loosen the control arm’s fixing screws accurately. Be sure to use an appropriate vehicle lift to be able to work confident in your safety.
Use Rust Solvent for Tough Nuts
Don’t force stuck nuts or screws. You may end up damaging other parts of the car or hurting yourself. Instead, use a rust solvent to loosen them up. After a few minutes, you should be able to work with them easily.
Clean the Mounting Flange Before Installation
Use sandpaper and brake cleaner to clean the mounting flange of the ball joint pin on the steering knuckle. Otherwise, tiny rust particles can enter the new control arm joint through the ball pin, potentially causing the joint to fail prematurely.
Check & Check Again to Get the Perfect Fit
You want to be sure your control arm will be able to do its job properly. Therefore, loading is important. Remember, this can depend on your vehicle and the control arms you’re working with. You may need to play around with loading and unloading to get it right.
Similarly, you will also need to ensure that your alignment is correct. Otherwise, you may run into more issues.
Take It for a Short Test Drive for a Final Check of Your Work
While it’s great to be confident in your work, you need to be cautious when replacing such a key part. Therefore, take your car for a short test drive to be sure that your replacement control arm is not causing any issues, like those listed above. If something doesn’t feel right, you can try the installation again, or contact an expert.
Don’t Wait Around to Fix Control Arms
When control arms fail, your car will no longer provide the same driving experience. This is due to the fact that functioning control arms, among other things, ensure a smooth ride with effective control. That’s why you need to be ready to replace it when the time comes, as well as know where to source quality replacements. Luckily, you can find a range of control arms, including adjustable upper control arms, at PX Wholesales. Explore their range today!