SSchulze

Hi,
I finally got back into a P-cars loving arms today as I found a 90 S2 Cab that I couldn't pass on. I bought the car knowing it needed one new ball joint.
So...I tell my long trusted repair shop to pick up a rebuilt one and they laughed out loud at me! They then told me that for the most part they've had nothing but trouble with them and only sell oem. (They will put a rebuilt one in if I buy it).
Are all of these rebuild control arms basically cheap crap? I have been trying to do some site research and I see lots of people rebuilding them themselves, but few buying the already rebuilt arms...why???
Is there any brand of rebuild that I should look too, or any to avoid? I would rather not take the time to rebuild myself, unless there is a really good reason???

Thanks,
Scott

Kevin Baker

Scott, look at Travis' link uptop. He offers a top notch kit for the ball joints. Very easy to do (well once you've done one or two), but easy enough that you can do it yourself. I have no affiliation with Rennbay, just a satisfied customer.

Manning

Rebuilts are very cheap, and rebuilding is even cheaper. Only trouble is that when you rebuild them yourself, unless you are quite expert you may not know what to look for as far as subtle damage is concerned. For example some of the wear in the pocket may not be obvious. Also, internal fatigue issues cannot be spotted by the naked eye. Some folks who rebuild may actually x-ray to spot issue, some may only use dye. I think Marcus Blazsak will x-ray and provide the film for your records.

Serge944

If you don't want to rebuild, buy new steel arms. They are no worse than the Al arms, and changing the ball joint is a snap.

Kevin Baker

Steel arms are only available for the pre 85 1/2 cars. IIRC.

Serge944

They will fit on all 944s. Youll need to replace some of the early-944 specific bushings though.

Chris_924s

one word. Rennbay. Buy rebuilt, it's cheaper than you think.

tifosiman

Early steel a-arms aren't going to work on his late offset 90 cab. The arm length is different, he would need to change out the spindles and hubs, then get spacers for his late offset wheels. Not to mention probably beefing up the mount for the sway bar as the steelies weren't meant for the S2 sways.

Get the Rennbay delux kit (Not GCK unless your car is lowered). Rebuilding them is not difficult at all, just a little time consuming the first time you do it. If you are uncomfortable trying it yourself, I'm certain there are local Rennlisters near you that have done this that may be willing to lend a hand.

Travis at Rennbay may be able to sell you a set of rebuilt arms ($ plus your old ones as cores). I know that he horded some rebuildable arms while he was a Hershey 2 weekends ago. You might want to go to www.rennbay.com and email Travis to see if this is a possibility.

Additionally, I may suggest two other things. Ensure that you get an alignment afterwards. And, while you have everything apart, and before the alignment, it may be a good idea to purchase the 968 caster blocks (rear mounts on the a-arms where they mount to the chassis) and install them. They are cheap, and a good upgrade. By this time, if yours are original, they are 15 years old and the rubber tends to degrade and chunk out. The 968 units will really tighten things up again and with a proper alignment, will help fight tramlining on uneven road surfaces.

Best of luck.

Kevin Baker

So, I was correct. I thought there was a difference between the early and late control arms.