Does this sound like a bad control arm?

xneox · Post by **xneox** » 20 Mar 2013, 13:45

Hi All. First post, and I have a question. I have a 1998 C70 coupe, and refreshed the entire suspension last July. Most were OEM Volvo parts, but I opted for Meyle control arms due to the significant savings. I might be regretting that decision.

Lately I notice the steering wheel is positioned a bit to the right when going straight (was not the case after the suspension refresh/alignment), and when I apply the brake it corrects to the left, past center. The car does not track completely straight when braking either. I inspected the control arms and noticed that the gap between the front bushing and the outer 'frame' of the mounting pin changes when I turn the wheel; there is a ~3/16" gap when the wheel is straight, and the gap closes completely when the wheel is turned. The arm is moving fore & aft within the bushing. My thought is that this is not supposed to happen, and explains the brake/steering problem I'm having. Can anyone confirm this? Is this something people have seen with the aftermarket (Meyle) arms? I'm not hard on the car...the only thing I do a lot of that most probably don't is U-turns, as I live in the last house on a dead end.

Thankfully I'm within the one-year warranty and FCP Euro is awesome to deal with...but I wasn't planning on replacing the arms eight months after installing them. Of course I'll order the Lemforders now.

Thanks for commenting.

Post by **matthew1** » 20 Mar 2013, 14:10

Could be tie rods. Did you change those in the refresh?

xneox · Post by **xneox** » 20 Mar 2013, 14:14

I did not. I bought them...they are sitting on my bench.

Should the control arm move front & back within the bushing? Is that normal?

Post by **erikv11** » 20 Mar 2013, 14:57

There should be zero play of the arm within the bushing. Sounds like it/they are shot.

Do you know if the control arms were "preloaded" prior to tightening the bolts to the subframe? If not, that could explain why the bushing went bad so quickly. The Meyle arms have a good reputation these days, but I have not used them recently.

Post by **JDS60R** » 20 Mar 2013, 15:29

The bushings are a heavy duty rubber compound. I have installed many sets and have not yet had an issue but am concerned with yours. I believe the HD Meyle carries a 4 yr warranty from Meyle itself. Contact who you purchased it from after confirming that the rubber is ripped.

There is flex in these bushings and some have open areas that do allow movement. Please upload pictures or a video of this and we will be able to give you an accurate opinion on what has failed.

Please let us know how this turns out.

xneox · Post by **xneox** » 20 Mar 2013, 20:37

EDIT

FCP Euro has already agreed to take it (them) back for full credit, so my plan was to deal with them, not Meyle.

And now that I think about it, do the C70 arms really need to be preloaded? I understand the concept of positioning the bushing at a 'zero' point before tightening, but the C70 bushings just are where they are. They mount to the frame differently than most...see below:

That's the gap that opens and closes when I turn the wheel.

It sounds like people are saying the Meyle arms should be good parts...? I was thinking I bought junk. If it turns out that it's a bad bushing, what are your opinions on replacing with another Meyle? I'd love to still save the money if I can be relatively sure I just got a dud and not junk...

xneox · Post by **xneox** » 22 Mar 2013, 07:03

Another thing I noticed last night...I'm actually hearing a small 'clunk' coming from the driver's side. It's not happening all the time, but I heard it twice. Pretty sure it was when I started going after braking.

Thoughts on replacing with another Meyle?

Post by **erikv11** » 22 Mar 2013, 09:02

I don't have experience with the 4 bolt arms, didn't realize you have those, so I don't know to recommend the Meyle part or not.

As for the clunk, that is actually the first symptom when the bushings are bad. I have never seen them so bad as to make the car wander, but 3/16 is a huge gap for that bushing. So yes, the clunk when first applying accel or decel is likely due to a bad control arm bushing.

xneox · Post by **xneox** » 25 Mar 2013, 14:04

Just ordered a pair of Lemforders. Couldn't wrap my brain around getting the cheaper parts again. Now to lay on my back in the driveway again...

Post by **mikealder** » 25 Mar 2013, 15:22

One option to get the angles correct to get the bolts in through the subframe and in to the wishbone strut is to fit a coil compressor to the spring, use this to compress the spring so the wishbone is sat in the same position it would be with the cars weight on it, this makes getting the bolts in far easier and doesn't ruin the rubber bush, also much safer then trying to put the weight of the car on to the strut without the wishbone connected to the subframe as this will pull the drive shaft CV joints apart if it goes wrong.
If you are changing the bolts that go through the subframe you will need to lift the engine and gearbox slightly for at least one of the bolts otherwise it is trapped by the gearbox if auto, to do this release the engine top mount and gearbox torque link then using a block of wood and trolley jack/ bottle jack lift the gearbox to get the bolt out and new one in to the sub frame - Mike