auto experts: ball joints and control arms?

[Racer X]

Harbourmaster wrote:
Back when I was a kid, and cars were made of solid steel, EVERYTHING was replaceable and that’s how you repaired stuff.

The only REAL reason to replace a control arm is if it’s damaged or rusted beyond safety.

Mechanics these days suffer from the same illness as most young folks. You don’t even try to fix something you just replace it with a new one.

yes, but if you are wrestling with presses and clamps for 3 hours pressing out and in bushings and joints, plus the cost of parts, when for 1.5 hours of labor cost, you can buy replacement control arms already done, you are expected to. It's cheaper for the customer. Many newer vehicles have aluminum control arms not really designed to replace the joints and bushings in. You can, but it isn't a best practice.

I have run across lower control arms where the hole for the lower ball joint wasn't round and the proper size. I had them reamed and used oversized ball joints. What do you do when you can't ream them oversized because oversized parts aren't avail?

I must confess, when I gut the suspension on my Skylark, I might buy the repro control arms with joints, and poly bushings already installed. After having a shop press out and press in the parts, and buy the parts, I can get the repro arms for about the same price as a set, and have my originals as spares in case of an accident.