Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Rear Lower Arm on Rear Suspension

Quick head check for me. I'm seeing a slight bend on the end of the left rear lower arm on my '99 Tour. I check the right rear lower arm and it's as straight as an arrow.

Is this indicative of fatigue or damage sustained to the component, or is this the way Ford made 'em?

I only ask cause I've had a suspension alignment issue (bent strut, shot control arms or something) that's been eating up tires rather quickly (left hand side had been chewed through much more than the right hand side on tires).

If only BAT would get me the rest of my components for my suspenion swap...

As always, thanks for any info provided!

Sounds like a bent lower arm, jacked up on maybe..????

What's odd is that the bend is not vertical, it's horizontal, so I doubt it was anyone jacking the car up improperly. Though I hate to admit it, I did hop a curve one night about 4 months ago and could have quite possibly done the damage then (if indeed it is damage). I must say that I did have alignment and tire wear issues way before then, though.

So, long story short, BOTH left and right rear lower arms should be straight with no side to side or up and down bends in them?

Yes, they should be straight. I've bent a few control arms in the rear. At least they aren't very expensive. That's what I get for driving downtown from time to time.

They are around $30 apiece IIRC. My right one was bent about two years ago by Discount Tire. Yesterday when I took it in to a different one to fix a flat, they jacked up the left side on that arm. Idiots. It looks ok, but I had them write it down on the invoice for future reference.

Thanks for the help and info, guys. I'll be putting in an order for one on Monday.

highly possible it got jacked on. the jack does not bend it vertically, but twist and bend it. The rear lower control arm sets the toe of the wheel it connects to, so that your toe could have been off a bit, and the tire is pointing outwards.

I got mine in the right side bent by a tire monkey too 2 years ago, and I had my Ford dealer look at it as I had no idea what it could harm then, and they said "that's only a sway bar...doesn't matter". 1/2 year later when I had a waranty repair they told me the arm could affect the rear wheel alignment and could result in tire wear, and they wanted CAD$350 to change it. I turned it down and took the receipt along with the diagnosis to the tire shop, only to find they have closed down the business.

I'm thinking to get one from bone yard.

Don't forget to get the car aligned after installing the new part.

I feel the so called Quterlink rear suspension have a problem,the rear lower arm is so slim comparing to the thick rear fornt arm making them imbalance in some situations.