Control arm won't line up or fit during installation
Aftermarket suspension parts often fail to line up with mounting holes or feature stiff ball joints that resist installation, leaving beginners stuck for days. Trying to force or trim the component to make it fit only creates dangerous gaps, forcing people to abandon the job and buy parts from a different brand.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1buying a new replacement part from a different brand
- 2using lube, a pry bar (lady foot bar), and a deadblow hammer to force proper alignment
- 3loosely installing the rear bolt first before swinging the front into position
- 4jacking it up
- 5hammering the arm
- 6Trying different types of spring compressors or alternative installation methods
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I’m swapping the entire front end out, and hit a road block I cannot seem to get the coil springs back in, the compressors I have are external and don’t fit the space properly, any suggestions?”source ↗
“Hey y’all, was curious if this gap on the control arm (first pic is the one I’m worried about, the second is the other side of the arm and seems to be fine) is dangerous to drive on?”source ↗
“It was not lining up at all with the holes, no matter how I oriented it, so I trimmed some off to get it to fit but now there’s a gap.”source ↗
“I’m very new to mechanical work so I’m assuming I should probably just buy a new one from a different brand”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3How do I remove unfamiliar aftermarket wheel locks and hardware?
- 7Are aftermarket auto parts safe and reliable to use?
- 2Why is my car suspension popping after replacing struts and springs?
- 2Mechanic refused to fix rusted control arm and subframe
- 2Why does ABS trigger after replacing an axle?
- 2What to do if you overtightened a suspension bolt