buy control arms or press bushings?

[oragex]

I am in the same situation now, preparing to replace again the control arms, this time I will do a DIY video about it and I will also compare three rear bushings (the ones with the vertical sleeve): a new Volvo OEM rear bushing installed by Volvo, and aftermarket bushing sold individually as Volvo OEM, and a Lemforder bushing sold again in box. The results are surprising, with the Lemforder bushing having failed 2 months after being installed. Will follow up in the 'what did you do today' thread on P2 section.

Always go with a full control arm, the bushings sold separately in boxes are all of low quality, when they are not simply fake.

[mrbrian200]

the bushings sold separately in boxes are all of low quality, when they are not simply fake.

Auto parts counterfeiting is on the rise/becoming a big problem. I forgot exactly where I saw that.. a large major legit journalism operation like 60 Minutes or Frontline type of show.
A lot of parts we seek from euro manufacturers may pass through several hands before we buy them. I would imagine that puts us at a higher risk. Especially from discount/3rd party eCommerce sales as well as retailers who aren't registered import/export operations taking shipments direct from euro based suppliers.

[bluesguys80]

The whole sleeve is moving up and down in the Df Lca. No, i just pushed them in and out. I used a bushing press.

[bluesguys80]

My experience it is better to go with the whole arm. I have bought 3 sets of front/rear bushings from variety of places. All of them, ALL, have pushed out of the arm.

Might I trouble you to clarify...
The rubber failed or the metal sleeve doesn't stay pressed into the control arm?

Did you do anything beyond soaking the LCA in plain water/wiping with a clean cloth, such as sand or file the holes on control arm before installing the new bushes, or, super heat the LCA while pressing in the bushes (might soften and expand the aluminum just enough to lose it's grip on the outer bush sleeve)?

Both of those ideas seem like a bad ideas to me. I'm aware of commonly held beliefs/advice to the contrary floating around out there. I don't think these parts were designed to be heat expanded/shrink to fit. Employing that method may have unintended consequences.

As it being aluminum i know not to heat it up. The whole bushing is moving in and out of the lca. I used a bushing press to remove/install.