Lower Control Arm Bushing Question

[94pathfinder]

on the lower control arm, you know how you have a radius arm type bar on the back of the control arm going to the frame. my bushings on both sides look really bad. is that bad or no?

[Precise1]

What happens is those bushings stop properly supporting the tension rod or what ever it is called. This causes the hole to oval out and the rod to become worn. It will affect steering and stability and eventually break, this takes a long time though. Often the bushings look fine but are really worn so if yours look worn, they have probnably been garbage for a while. Also, the rod is often corroding/rusting under the bushings. I replaced mine with polyurethane rather than stock as I wanted the extra support, mine showed wear at 100k miles!!

 

I recommend you order some bushings and replace them.

 

B

[Kingman]

Yeah, you'll want to replace those bushings and cups as soon as possible. It's called the compression or tension rod and it keeps the tires on a straight vertical plain when going over bumps and what not, instead of having a tendency to come back towards the passenger compartment. Mine were beyond toast, and every time I hit a bump or pavement imperfection the steering wheel would shake and you could literally see the front tires wobbling in different directions, which is really quite dangerous.