My 2004 blazer 175000 mi needs new control arm bushings. I am having difficulty sourcing OEM GM control arms. Are dorman control arms going to also last 150k+ mi or are they not so good (10k to 50k mi lifetime) ?

Or is there another brand I should use?

 

I would replace the bushings in existing control arms with poly bushings and call it good. Are the cross shafts actually damaged?

 

I'm not a mechanic but nothing is visually obviously wrong with the shafts to my untrained eye. Who makes quality poly bushings?

It does seem that the OE control arm bushing parts are available:

https://parts.gmparts.com/product/gm...shing-15980176

The dealer mechanic I was speaking to I think had said that they used to replace the bushing only but sometimes it would get stuck or something so they only do the full control arm replacement now (??)

I'm kind of afraid of getting my vehicle serviced at a non-dealer after some bad experiences.

 

I chose to use rubber bushings.

 

Just once source. Stock ones are a lot cheaper. Assume you have a 2WD Blazer.

https://www.partsgeek.com/4bc2kqc-ch...b054af3ae3082b

 

I went with Moog and they worked out fine. I had asked a shop how much $ to press in new bushings and it was too much.
Anyway, if you have never replaced these control arms, you can follow my 1st effort https://blazerforum.com/forum/2nd-ge...ictures-97791/

 

I'm actually not sure that I need to replace the control arms, I was sent in this direction at the suggestion of a dealer mechanic (who I think is probably a good mechanic).

I visually inspected the front suspension for a good twenty minutes and nothing is totally obviously wrong to my layperson eye. There is some cracking in some rubber which is towards the front and somewhat center of the vehicle near the sway bar (not control arm components) but it isn't so severe that the rubber is structurally compromised. I don't see any metal component obviously touching another component or leaning at an abnormal angle, although my eye is very much untrained.

The ball joint rubber looks fine, at least from the front.

I jacked the car up and am getting a clicking sound if I rock the wheel left and right but not if I go up and down. I also get this sound if the car goes over a small bump such as a plastic reflector in the road (or a larger one).

There isn't anything obviously wrong with the alignment (no pull, no difficulty steering, no asymmetric tire wear).

 

A visual inspection is seldom sufficient to determine if a suspension component needs to be replaced.

What is important is the free-play bewteen components or in a component. For ball-joints, there can be excessive wear between surfaces of the ball and cup. To check lower ball joints a test of the vertical play of the ball joint must be done by trying to lift the steering knuckle, the part to which the hub of the wheel is attached, away from the lower control arm. If worn, any free-play will not be noticeable by trying to wiggle the wheel and tire as gravity is pushing the steering knuckle down. Also, finding loosness at the wheel/tire could be due to a bad hub bearing.

The same issues will affect any attempt to try to find looseness because of bad rubber bushings. People just are not generally strong enough to apply enough force to cause them to shift as can happen while driving.

That you are hearing a clicking sound is an indication that there is a bad component. When I had a bad upper ball joint, I here a big heavy single click or metallic thump when exiting my driveway.

The reason replacement of complete control arms might be recommended is that the total cost of having a shop rebuild the front suspension will be less since the cost of the labor will be greatly reduced, more than compensating for the price of the more expensive parts.

Most people on the forum do their own repairs and would likely replace the individual components, e.g., bushings and ball-joints, themselves to save a few bucks.