Had a bit of a wobble in wide sweeping turns. Checked the old interwebs and it said bad control arm bushings. I was told they were going bad when I got the car. Figured I had more than 5k miles before I had to replace them. Ordered a set with bushings already in them from Import Image Racing. Took 3 hours to get the dang end links off and about 2 hours to put the new control arms in. All new bushings and ball joint. One less thing to worry about for a while. Test drive was great, the clunk I was hearing is gone and the front end feels tight.
Luckily I was only dealing with 76k miles of rust. I did have to use the air chisel with a blade to spread the knuckle and some heat and a **** ton of knock-r-loose. I purposely bought end links with a square washer on the back. I'll never have them stuck on again. Also... anti-seize on the ball joint and clamp bolt.
Drives like a new car. I recommend this be done. I read that all XTs have this problem and probably the non-turbos too. If someone wants to rebuild my old ones, let me know before they get put in the garbage bin.
So.... since these parts went it I have developed a clunk/grind/noise. Sometimes I think it's temp related. So I'm going to start replacing parts until the noise goes away. Starting with the eBay sway bar links. If that doesn't work. Moving to the ball joints. If that doesn't work, I'll be rebuilding the stock control arms with Tomioka bushings like I had on the WRX. Glad I didn't throw those out yet (I'm lazy). But in the meantime, I also ordered upgraded sway bar bushings. While I'm in there kind of thing. Car still drives great, just makes stupid noises. Also, might put the WRX mid-pipe in while I'm in there. Oh and all new OEM component Kicker speakers in the doors and Pioneers from Crutchfield for the dash. Then there is still a sub and footwell lights. So many things to do.
Well, it wasn't the end links. We even tightened the castle nut on the ball joints. So it's either the rear bushing on the front control arms or the ball joint is not fit well. Both came in the kit. So, I'll be asking for a replacement or refund. Hoping the weather is good tomorrow. Want to get the speakers put in.
Well, I had a bushing failure. The company was amazing and is sending out a new set. I'm trying to figure out what I want to do. I'm likely going to sell that set. They are on back order for 4-6 weeks. I think I might rebuild the factory arms with Moog ball joints and Tomioka bushings. I had many good years with those on the WRX. With that said, I also bought the bushings for both sway bars from them. Trying to decide how far down the rabbit hole I want to go.
Well... since I got a warranty replacement for the arms that are in there, I figured I'd rebuild the factory ones with the bushings I used in the past. Starting over. New bushings and ball joints are on the way. I'll sell the brand new set. Probably keep the ones that failed just in case.
So I have rear aftermarket sway bar bushings to go in while I'm doing the WRX mid-pipe. Has anyone done the rear control arm bushings or diff bushings? Going to do both front/rear diff fluid. But trying to plan the next fix/upgrade/mod.
