Rear control arm question

[Blstrick55]

The frame bracket that the front of the upper and lower rear control arms mount to.... how difficult would it be to replace? Looks welded in to me and can’t find replacement brackets online so I’m assuming it comes attached to the frame? Any help is much appreciated.

 

[chris52010trx4]

Why are you wanting to replace the mounts?

As for the control arms themselves either a good impact or breaker bar will do the job

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[Blstrick55]

They’re looking pretty rusted. Thought it was just some surface rust when I bought the truck. Figured I could wire brush and coat it or at worst replace them. But now it’s looking like replacing them is harder than I thought. The rest of the frame is in good shape.

 

[chris52010trx4]

Mine is the same way just surface rust ... could always oil spray or else paint it with por 15 of even just some rustoleum black works fine I've done it before and held up fine

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[Blstrick55]

Mine is the same way just surface rust ... could always oil spray or else paint it with por 15 of even just some rustoleum black works fine I've done it before and held up fine

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That was the plan but my drivers side has a small hole in it. Looks like an impact could've contributed to it too, not really sure.

 

[chris52010trx4]

That was the plan but my drivers side has a small hole in it. Looks like an impact could've contributed to it too, not really sure.

View attachment 212110

**** that's not good

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[Wild one]

That was the plan but my drivers side has a small hole in it. Looks like an impact could've contributed to it too, not really sure.

View attachment 212110

Hit it with a grinder,i think there's more metal left then you think. By that pic it doesn't look to have much more then a layer of surface rust.

 

[ram1500rsm]

You can also use something like a punch and poke the areas around you think could be bad, if it's cancer you'll know right away. if it's not then grind the crap away with grinder wheel, or use a wire wheel or at least brush it off with metal brush as best as you can. The more you can remove the better although it doesn't look bad from the pic. Then spray the area with couple coats of Rustoleoum primer, then couple of coats of Rustoleoum semi black paint. Wait a week or two then hit the area with fluid film.

 

[Blstrick55]

Thanks guys. What about that hole, can it be filled in? After looking closer it looks like an impact, the metal was still pretty thick around where it’s broken. I’ve got a family member that owns a body shop, will probably see what he thinks too.

 

[Wild one]

Thanks guys. What about that hole, can it be filled in? After looking closer it looks like an impact, the metal was still pretty thick around where it’s broken. I’ve got a family member that owns a body shop, will probably see what he thinks too.

If the hole worries you,have your relative weld it up,but I think you're worrying about something that's not really an issue

 

[tantore]

look at the post by (graygoose) on this page about the rear control arms

 

[Gary2]

You want to be careful with arms like Gray goose bought if you go off-road . Stock arms have softer bushings so the axle housing can twist as it flexes off road. With bushing that are real hard ( poly type) will restrict the twisting effect more which in turn adds much more force on all of the control arm mounts. Choose your weak link as something has to give eventually. Thats the reason for the more expensive Johnny Joints on an end or both to allow the suspension to flex without trying to rip off the control arm mounts and restrict flex off-road . That type of arm on a Jeep Wrangler have been known to actually rip the OE control arm mounts completely off . The Ram like the Jeep TJ OE control arms look cheap but their is more to the stock arms than meets the eye . The actual arms are designed to twist plus they have Clevite bushings in both ends to allow more flex without damaging anything else. If you stay on the highway as Graygoose seems to his arms are OK , Flexing off-road not so much especially if your mounts are already compromised. Just something to think about......

 

[Lyle Longboat]

You want to be careful with arms like Gray goose bought if you go off-road . Stock arms have softer bushings so the axle housing can twist as it flexes off road. With bushing that are real hard ( poly type) will restrict the twisting effect more which in turn adds much more force on all of the control arm mounts. Choose your weak link as something has to give eventually. Thats the reason for the more expensive Johnny Joints on an end or both to allow the suspension to flex without trying to rip off the control arm mounts and restrict flex off-road . That type of arm on a Jeep Wrangler have been known to actually rip the OE control arm mounts completely off . The Ram like the Jeep TJ OE control arms look cheap but their is more to the stock arms than meets the eye . The actual arms are designed to twist plus they have Clevite bushings in both ends to allow more flex without damaging anything else. If you stay on the highway as Graygoose seems to his arms are OK , Flexing off-road not so much especially if your mounts are already compromised. Just something to think about......

Core 4x4 is the way to go!

 

[ram1500rsm]

You want to be careful with arms like Gray goose bought if you go off-road . Stock arms have softer bushings so the axle housing can twist as it flexes off road. With bushing that are real hard ( poly type) will restrict the twisting effect more which in turn adds much more force on all of the control arm mounts. Choose your weak link as something has to give eventually. Thats the reason for the more expensive Johnny Joints on an end or both to allow the suspension to flex without trying to rip off the control arm mounts and restrict flex off-road . That type of arm on a Jeep Wrangler have been known to actually rip the OE control arm mounts completely off . The Ram like the Jeep TJ OE control arms look cheap but their is more to the stock arms than meets the eye . The actual arms are designed to twist plus they have Clevite bushings in both ends to allow more flex without damaging anything else. If you stay on the highway as Graygoose seems to his arms are OK , Flexing off-road not so much especially if your mounts are already compromised. Just something to think about......

I agree having poly on both sides will be good for a street ride where flex is not needed, but none of the RAM rear arms are actually designed like the TJ's either so the arm itself doesn't twist like stock TJ's can. There is literally no flex in the factory rubber bushings either. I know there was a lot of rage in the TJ community when the aftermarket started pushing poly bushings and mounts started falling off but to be fair, the arms in the TJ are short and the mounts are not exactly HD, prob why it's the only Jeep Wrangler that had twisting arms

TJ Arms



You want flexy bushings that can can move side to side and allow misalignment when offroading. JJ's on both ends will be the best in terms of abuse but they also require maintenance, for instance some people seem to forget they need to be greased. You also have a nice bunch of arms with DDB's that don't require maintenance and offer good flex. I'll do JJ's on both ends or DDB on both ends and have used/have both styles.

 

[Gary2]

Believe me I understand what you are saying but you are doing apples to oranges . I hope that set of arms pictured was not an example of good TJ control arms as they are a well known **** poor design . Seems to me the OP was concerned about his mounts being rusted through which makes the comparison of the TJ mounts to a good set of Ram mounts comparison a wash which is why I posted initially. On mounts that are not questionable their is no comparison between the two vehicles but thats not the case here if the op concerns are correct . As far as maintenance of a Johnny Joint on a DD is pretty pointless. If you grease them when you grease the truck it will be more than they need . We are not talking about a mudder here. My TJ's JJs and my Metalcloak duroflex bushings on my Savvy dbl adjustable aluminum arms are still fine after a big lack of maintenance since I gave it to my son 10 years ago or so. My post was for protecting what MAY be a badly rusted or weak'nd control arm mount not a perfectly good one

 

[OLEJOE]

As far as the rust, I’d just coat them down with one of the rust converters. I saw one but don’t remember the name of it that made it a matte black finish and thought about using it for a firearm finish. They claim absolutely no rusting after coating.