Max Power

Yeah, you guys are dead on. The wrong ball joint is in these things. At this point, I almost feel like any reasonably priced control arms are going to have this same issue. Only way to do it right is to get the stock ones and take it up the ***, which I will not do.

Here is a picture of the stock ones compared to arnotts. I tore the boots off so you could see what I mean.

fisher9720

Ugh,.
Count me in as another Arnott loser. I replaced both UCA on my 1991 with 172K Miles 3 years ago. I have 190K adn they are banging like crazy..

I took the wheels off, put jack stands under the ball joints, to "load" the suspension. All my components, bar links, bar mounts, ball joints replaced in 05, all is tight. I grabbed the UCA on the driver's side,, bangity bang bang...Of the 2 Bushings, it's the front bushing banging...
I really think with these cars you have to load the suspension to get an accurate idea of what is loose, unloading my UCA's, don't band much at all, IE, car is free hanging..

THen on the pass side, it's the rear bushing banging...

I feel ripped off.....Like you others I see that guy on Ebay APX, has anybody ever bought those???

Forget Arnott, not worth the trouble.. Mine only lasted 18K, but the thing is, I assumed I had stab links bad or something else, I assumed it wasn't the UCA's again...because they've been banging a lot sooner than 18K miles.....

Ugh...

johnnyg66

Well just had Arnotts installed last week. Guess i will see how long they last. Since its not my daily driver hope they will last a long time. But sure do enjoy the ride now. What a difference it makes to replace the arms.

Max Power

Lucky you even got 18k out of them.

Lasted me 3 months!

Johnny, they won't last but that also shouldn't be your primary concern. They don't fit right which is dangerous and obviously doesn't allow the suspension to work the way it was designed!

Vtur

Hello, I had a same problem with oem UCA boot on my sc430 and couldnt find any oem replacement boot. I end up used boots from 99 honda accord and it fit perfectly. Just $8 at honda dealer for both and just reuse existing ring.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

that's a fine idea (as is any other aftermarket poly booot) but if the joint is already worn you're kinda boned.

acidfire52

I put these on my car almost a year ago, have replaced them under warranty 3 times. The rubber boots keep ripping. If they could put a decent boot on it, they would last. But as they are, no good. Going to be replacing them with OEM.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

it's not the boot that's the real problem. the big issue is that the Arnott's ball joint doesnt have the stop to limit movement, so they overengage into the spindle, crushing the boot.

johnnyg66

Mine have been on for 6 months and still good. Hoping for the best.

Raddison

I have also fell for Arnott's non-verbal promises of affordable upper control arm and ball joint replacement opportunities.

Installed them about 3-4 months ago. This taper issue is ridiculous. There are always going to be the people that argue, "If you want perfect fit, go OEM". And I will agree with that until I'm blue in the face. But I am not about to spend 1400+ dollars on upper control arms on a car worth that much. However, it is not that difficult to make a few measurements and produce an aftermarket product that functions.

Anywho.. there has to be more guys on here who have had problems and come up with solutions. Or other experiences with alternative UCAs.

Has anyone gone big and had custom ones made?

acidfire52

I am looking for either a cheap place to buy OEM or will look for low milage used OEM.

KMinAF

Try this place instead for UCA's
APX
Steve Bertling
DMAGoodpoint
910-653-6181

acidfire52

Good prices but only 1st GEN.

moat

I need to replace my 93 LS upper control arms and possibly lower ball joints too.

What's the latest word on Arnott and APX upper control arms? The OEM is still so expensive ($515 each at www.parts.com)

I also see a German brand called Meyle on ebay, each UCA is around $200. Anyone have any experience with Meyle?

Any place to buy OEM for less than $515? It's amazing how expensive this oem part is.

If you know anything about these products, please give us a quick status. Thanks to everyone in advance.

KMinAF

just a thought on the premature failure of the bushings, could it be due to installing them at full drop instead of the under load position?