Thursty

Ok, so we had our car aligned at Firestone today and they tell my wife that our control arm bushings are worn out. The quote they gave us says "control arm bushings are badly worn". They go on to list P/N: 520-953, 520-954, 520-955, and 520-966, then service charges for remove/replace control arms and remove replace thrust arm. I have looked those part numbers up and they all come up as Dorman front control arms. So my question is, do I need to replace all of the control arms or can I just replace the bushings in the control arms?

Perfect world I would just do control arms and be done with it, but my wife and I just bought a house so funds are really tight right now. Thanks for any info.

slammer111

Personally I'm not so sure I would trust Dorman for such a critical part of the car. These things are the only parts keeping the wheels attached. I would highly recommend only MB or Lemfoerder (they make OE parts for many brands including MB and BMW).

I once had a problem of the control arms sliding out of the bushings (defective press job), so personally I would never only replace just the bushings.

While all 4 arms don't have to be replaced together, keep in mind that anytime an arm(s) is replaced, the car has to be aligned again. In other words, the final cost over several small jobs may exceed the price of one "big" job. Also, arms should be replaced in pairs, since if one goes, the other (opposite side) is probably not far behind.

Good luck.

RWDlifer

Also note that on the other end of the control arm is a ball joint, which can't be replaced. To remove a control arm from the vehicle, then replace only the bushing and then put the control arm back on the car is simply....let's go with not smart. If you can DIY, replace all control arms front and rear for about $600, including misc parts.

optimusprime m1

New arms are the way to go .Some control arms you can not change the bushes in the arms . They come welded in, and most new ones to-day are not servicable .

Thursty

Thanks for the replies guys. I am a DIYer, but I have little to no suspension experience, other than helping my dad install a lift kit on my Jeep when I was a kid.

What do I need to look for when I go to buy the parts? I've looked on Rock Auto, some are called control arms upper and lower, some are called thrust arms, some aren't actually called anything.

The Dorman parts they listed call them all Control Arms P/N:

953-front left lower forward
954-front right lower forward
955-front left lower rearward
956-front right lower rearward

When I look up control arms on MB Online Parts they only show upper and lower control arms for the L/R.

Again, thanks for the help, I can do the job myself, but I don't want to buy the wrong parts and have the wife's car out of commission for an extended period of time.

evannguyen

Dorman is a reputable OEM quality brand. There are 4 parts that you'll need. Front upper and lower, left and right. Some call it front forward and backward. As long as you don't see the word Rear then you know you're getting the right part.

FCPEuro

A kit like this one will contain all of the arms needed. Apologies for the terrible pictures.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...t-merc230kitmy

--Kyle