lower control arms and tire wear

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives

I had my alignment checked yesterday. They came back with the contention that I need to let them put a camber adjustment kit on the car. The measured alighnment is within factory specs for all of the settings, yet my right front tire is wearing on the inside edge. There is no feathering so it doesn't look like it is a toe in issue. Could worn lower control arm bushings be allowing this wear under braking, cornering, and/or acceleration? The car has 171,000 miles on the original front suspension.

Umm 171k!!!!! Geezus yes I'd guess it's the arms. They're usually worn at 100k or less. I'm sure the RWD wheels with the incorrect offset aren't helping any either.

Do you have the alignment print out? That could help us.

My money is on the control arm bushings. They can cause a significant amount of toe change during driving when shot - and I'm sure yours are toast!

Originally posted by Big Jim:
Do you have the alignment print out? That could help us.

I couldn't get the print out. They didn't charge me anything when I refused the $400 plus camber adjustment plate install. I know that the toe was right in the center of the acceptable range. I seem to recall that camber was at 1.1 degrees and was still within what they referred to as factory specifications. The mechanic wanted to adjust it down by 0.7 degrees, but my suspicion was that something else was going on. I got underneath and noticed that the lower control arm bushings look pretty worn, so I thought I'd ask what the consensus was on the forum.

I have a price of about $131.00 (right) and $152.32 (left)for the two control arms from fordpartsnetwork.com. Does anyone know if Bill Jenkins has landed anywhere yet?

Bill is at Team Ford.

http://www.teamfordlv.com/

1.1 degrees negative camber should't be too much. I also would like to see it closer to .5 though if you are chasing a tire wear problem. Mine was sent from the factory close to the upper limit (about 1.7 if I remember correctly) and it most certainly contributed to a wear problem. I installed the camber kits and adjusted camber close to 0 and my tire wear problems are GONE.

I did much better on the prices than I stated above. I found them in stock for $116.96 for the RH and $136.00 for the LH and only $7.95 for shipping. I used parts.com (Genuine Ford Parts out of Sherman, Texas) and placed the order late Monday evening. They are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow, September 1st.

Were those parts from a dealer because I live in Sherman, TX?

Yes, it did turn out to be a dealer. I didn't know this until I got the packing slip. It was Bob Utter Ford.

Well, I got the arms replaced and the alignment checked on Friday. The car feels so much tighter, you just don't realize how things degrade over time until you replace something. It looks like I may be putting on camber adjustment plates, the car is now at 0.9 on the front left and 1.3 on the front right. I am concerned this may still cause pre mature tire wear. Any comments?

By the way, I was up to 173K when the arms were replaced on Friday. Do you think this might be a record (for a still drivable car)?

Originally posted by tktrain:

By the way, I was up to 173K when the arms were replaced on Friday. Do you think this might be a record (for a still drivable car)?

LOL! Yes!

Originally posted by tktrain:
By the way, I was up to 173K when the arms were replaced on Friday. Do you think this might be a record (for a still drivable car)?

I thought I had the record at 153k

Originally posted by todras:

Originally posted by tktrain:

By the way, I was up to 173K when the arms were replaced on Friday. Do you think this might be a record (for a still drivable car)?

LOL! Yes!

Mine are original and still tight. 210,000 miles.

At 89,000 mine were so worn out that the wheel was actually moving..was replaced under ESP but was misdiagnosed initially so i got new endlinks and the control arm..

I am at 205,000 and I need new ones just can't bring myself to pay 250-300 dollars.

Check my sig for control arms

what is a sig?

I too have had the same kind of tire wear. I replaced the right side control arm and ball joint ( luckily the ball joint is included with the arm, and the right side is non-interference bolts ) about 15,000 miles ago. I still had some noticable wear though. I was going to change the drivers side arm this spring, but i was forced to change it when the clutch and tranny bearings went at 210,000, on original parts!!! I figured i might as well do it while the tranny is out of the way, otherwise it's pretty much a PITA!I'm now at 218,000 miles and still going. It's gonna be a feat if I can make it to 300k cause I'm not ditchin' my tour!!

Originally posted by murphylee:
what is a sig?

The part below the "--------------------"

Like mine has a link to pics of my car... click it!