Lower control arms

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hotsooze, Aug 29, 1:49am
I need to get these fixed in my Mazda 3 . Do I have to go to a specialised mechanic for this , what sort of price would I be looking at and where are West Auckland would be a great place to go . Thanks
kazbanz, Aug 29, 2:41am
Any reputable mechanic can sort that stuff
budgel, Aug 29, 3:01am
Ask your mechanic if you need a wheel alignment after they are installed.
m16d, Aug 29, 4:21am
Get them from Repco,. do it yourself. they're only bolt on.
serf407, Aug 29, 6:55am
Might get racefab, christchurch to make some stronger custom lower control arms if you are driving your car so hard you are damaging standard control arms.

http://racefab.co.nz/about.html
ellroy, Aug 29, 7:48am
I'm looking at having to get it done on my Madza 6. Googling it as you do seems to look like a reasonable size job with the subframe getting dropped enough to get the rear bolts out.
the-lada-dude, Aug 29, 5:47pm
What did these arms fail on ? . usually only bushes or a knuckle
martin11, Aug 29, 6:16pm
You will need someone with a wheel Alignment machine to check the alignment after the new arms are fitted
the-lada-dude, Aug 29, 7:13pm
not necessarily true
martin11, Aug 29, 7:24pm
How do you know then that the alignment is correct ?
supernova2, Aug 29, 10:26pm
Can be checked without a machine and often the arm is not adjustable anyway so even if you check it you cant fix it without major surgery.
martin11, Aug 29, 11:38pm
You still cannot tell if the aligment is correct including the thrust angle , for the cost of $50 or $60 get the job done properly it will save on tyre wear
patiki1, Aug 30, 12:22am
If your lower ball joint is f#ucked you have to replace the whole arm
the-lada-dude, Aug 30, 12:52am
not necessarily
supernova2, Aug 30, 6:47am
What do you think they did before they invented alignment machines? I repeat you don't need a machine to check alignment.
What are you going to do if you get it checked and it's out of spec and the parts have no method of adjustment.
Do you really believe that a $50 alignment check will actually correct anything properly? Surely not!
bill-robinson, Aug 30, 5:57pm
do as I do, use a ball of string
martin11, Aug 30, 6:09pm
In the old vehicle they just had a solid diff and all you could adjust was toe in and out plus the fact most only did 60 mph .
Now days cars with independant suspension and diffs they are also a lot faster most have full adjustment on most parts of their suspension it is stupid not to set it set up correctly . The Mazda certainly will have a lot of adjustments on it .
the-lada-dude, Aug 30, 6:15pm
" including the thrust angle " . what's this thrust angle thingy ?
bill-robinson, Aug 30, 6:42pm
which cars on the road had a "solid diff"
martin11, Aug 30, 7:21pm
Solid diff housing from wheel to wheel
martin11, Aug 30, 7:25pm
Go and learn about lazer wheel alignment machine .
bill-robinson, Aug 30, 8:36pm
that is called a live axle. camber and toe in can be changed on a car with a live axle
bill-robinson, Aug 30, 8:37pm
why laser machine? it was known about before lasers, so what does it do then?
martin11, Aug 30, 9:24pm
It makes sure the back wheels are tracking in the same direction and the front ones ! Not off to one side or the other .
bill-robinson, Aug 30, 11:01pm
you really do not know do you. what you speak of can be sorted using a tape measure.