GBody Front Upper A-arms

Jerryl

Tall Unvaccinated Chinese Guy
Joined
Dec 14, 2004
Just wish the a-arms had a cross bar with bumper stop. :(
Could be in the same place a the extension . . . . Thoughts?
 

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I have the same a arms and had the same concern. A bump stop would be nice but the arm will never 'travel' that far once everything is back together. I think the shocks pretty much keep that from happening? In any case, I haven't had any issues yet.
 
Hey hawkfan, understand they will never travel that far under normal driving conditions. The a-arms will however bottom out each time the wheel is raised off the ground though.

I know these work fine as I installed a set of uppers 4 years ago on the other car. Just saying the stops would be nice to prevent paint damage to the arms.

Would be easy to add as well.
 
Hey hawkfan, understand they will never travel that far under normal driving conditions. The a-arms will however bottom out each time the wheel is raised off the ground though.

I know these work fine as I installed a set of uppers 4 years ago on the other car. Just saying the stops would be nice to prevent paint damage to the arms.

Would be easy to add as well.
Oh yeah, they will definitely bottom out each time you raise the front of the car. The bump stops would be a nice touch, but only the higher end a-arms have that and they are $$$. But you are right, I would've paid extra for a pair of these with a cross bar and bump stop attached.
 
Yeah, would have paid extra as well. If there was an easy way to take the bushings out, i would have welded the stops, and have it repainted.

BWeavy, thoughts?
 
i realize this is 4 years old...but i have these arms and wonder if there has been any "issues" since there inception ...i refer to the ball joint angle ...i too asked Mr. Weavy and was told there are hundreds of sets sold and never heard of a failure. I did buy the taller ball joints and will install them soon. Just wondering if there is any more feedback now?
 
I've got the same tubular upper control arms with taller upper ball joints and also would prefer if they had rubber bump stops.
Have had em installed for the past 3 seasons with no issues whatsoever.
 
The extreme ball joint angle. When you lift the car and the control arms hang,the ball joints will have a lot of force trying to rip them apart. I know that Ridetech shocks are built with internal bump stops. The only question is how long are they at full extension. I would look into this.
 
That bind isn't going to hurt the balljoints from normal jacking of the car up to service it.

They might get hammered if you jumped the car and the spring hammered them, but that's going to be a rather rare occurrence.
 
That bind isn't going to hurt the balljoints from normal jacking of the car up to service it.

They might get hammered if you jumped the car and the spring hammered them, but that's going to be a rather rare occurrence.
It's impossible for the ball joints to be harmed in either of these two scenarios with bump stops.
jerryl has some misgivings about having no bump stops and I think he should. I bought the Southside Machine version of these control arms ( look exactly the same but have needle bearings instead of bushings ) and I installed one with a spindle and lower control arm and no spring. While I put it together,I supported the lower control arm with a floor jack. After assembly,I lowered the jack to allow the suspension to hang. The upper control arm didn't contact the frame because the ball joint was rotated to its limit of articulation stopping any more downward movement of the suspension. If we add any downward pressure to the upper control arm,at this point,it will be applied to a lever trying to pry the ball out of its socket. The stem is the lever and the side of the pocket is the fulcrum.
 
Oh yeah, they will definitely bottom out each time you raise the front of the car. The bump stops would be a nice touch, but only the higher end a-arms have that and they are $$$. But you are right, I would've paid extra for a pair of these with a cross bar and bump stop attached.
I have a set of high $$ a arms and they don't have it (hotchkis) had them for 11 years
 

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Spohn has bump stops on their arms.
 
Spohn has bump stops on their arms.
When I was going through this I bought the QA1 arms then sent them back because of the rebuild able QA1 ball joints that they didn't see fit to design in such a way as to accept any existing boot. Nor did they design a boot that would fit. I ended up with the Spohn arms for tall spindles.I like them very much,but they could be shorter. The manufacturers of upper arms that are to be used with tall joints or tall spindles know that they need to be shorter yet still don't make them short enough. It's also nice to get an upper arm that moves the ball joint pad a little bit toward the rear of the car to create more caster. Likewise,it is preferable to move the lower ball joint pad toward the front of the car for the same reason. Adding caster with both upper and lower pads moved keeps the tire centered in the wheel well. Moving the pad on the uppers lessens the need for more shims at the back of the arm as compared to the front.
 
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Thanks guys..some good,info to digest....i feel better/safer..i think.
Don't use a jack under the middle of the engine cradle to lift the front of the car up. Use ramps. Don't jump anything. Don't leave so hard from a traffic light that the front wheels come up off of the ground and you'll be fine.
 
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