Bad Control Arms

[hatecars]

2002 Mercury Mountaineer V8 AWD
Went to the dealership for the the oil change last week(free..oddly enough). But service manager comes out with a "list"..nothing major.. But he mentions control arms need to be replaced.

No i have had this "clunking" when I slow the car below 20mph(and only then) that comes and goes.

Could my problem actually be control arms?

How do i tell if an arm is bad(uppers and lowers right?)

I priced out the parts and it seems pretty expensive to replace all 4, so is there a way to tell which ones are bad?

How hard is it to do?

 

[esclamada]

It's probably not the arm, it's the ball joints. Ford recommends replacing the control arms along with the ball joints. I might try another shop for a 2nd opinion to really check if the ball joints really need replacing. Replacing the ball joints can be DIY easily.



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MY MOUNTY
http://www.facebook.com/diyfordexplorer/photos_albums

 

[hatecars]

I found the parts online (advanced auto parts) where the arms come with new ball joints and bushings:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/we...-solutions_21299130-p?searchTerm=control+arms

Should I start with the uppers? and then do the lowers if the problem is still there(Lowers are almost 3x price as uppers)?

 

[esclamada]

you could do the uppers (there's an option to do ball joints only) and normally for the lower ball joint, it's the ball joint itself only that needs changing not the entire lower arm. The lower ball joint is press on.





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MY MOUNTY
http://www.facebook.com/diyfordexplorer/photos_albums

 

[Ihatecars]

I am going to just do the uppers(can get both for $104 total)..

Your facebook link is awesome.. A lot of great stuff I need to do to mine truck before I sell it.

 

[swshawaii]

You should diagnose the problem BEFORE changing parts.
The lower ball joints usually wear faster than the uppers.
Lift each wheel by the lower control arm and check first.