I've bought this 2000 blazer that was sitting for a while, and have been restoring it. The control arm bushings have suffered some dry rot, and are cracked but intact. This is the case for the upper and lower arms. How important are these control arm bushings to replace? I'm assuming they'll eventually disintegrate and start clunking and prematurely wearing.

Also, noticed while I had the front end in the air that when i push at 3oclock and 9oclock, the wheels will turn slightly, and a white cylinder (see pic) will twist (assume its part of the power steering assembly). Its not a clunk when i push at 3 and 9, but I can make that white cyclinder spin 1/4 turn each way. Also my steering wheel has about 10 degrees of play both sides of centre when im driving.

Thanks!

 

As far as the control arms go, getting new bushings pressed into those old original and starting to rust arms may be asking too much. You can purchase loaded control arms that are ready to bolt in with new bushings and ball joints, and that is what I would recommend in your case, because it looks like both the bushings and ball joints should be replaced. That being said, I've seen people driving on MUCH worse and just live with it. I don't condone that, and there's two things that I NEVER skimp on when it comes to my vehicles; brakes, and steering components; you NEVER want either of those to fail...


Keep in mind though, if you're not savvy at working on your own vehicles, and don't know the kind of tension and pressure that suspension components (specifically springs and torsion bars) can hold, I would HIGHLY suggest that after you acquire these new parts, you have someone or a shop that has the proper tools, safety equipment, and know-how, install the control arms. There is a specific process to unloading the tension on the torsion bars on these 4x4's before you can remove the lower control arms (not so much the uppers, those can be done relatively easily and without unloading the torsion bar tension), and if it's done incorrectly, it can be VERY dangerous... And the torsion bars HAVE to be removed to pull the lower arms out as they go into and lock into the lower arms.



I'm not exactly sure about you're referring to as a "white cylinder"? Maybe the object in the background of the last pic, round and has a white sticker on it? That looks like it is the actual steering shaft that connects the steering gear box to your steering column and steering wheel, and yes it will twist/spin as you cycle the wheels to the left and right while the tires are off the ground.

 

Ok yeah i hear you... thanks for all the info on the bushing situation! And ill be sure to properly research the control arm replacement process, im familiar with the danger of torsion and springs.

The white cylinder is in the last photo, yes. It twists/spins when I push and pull on the tire itself, at the 3 and 9 oclock positions, with the tire off the ground. Is this ok? No touching of the steering wheel itself.

 

If You're asking about the thing with a white label, it's a steering shaft.

Generally, if You want to check what is loose in Your steering, best way is to go visit someone with a pneumatic driven plate, that pulls the tire side to side, like here:
...you go underneath and spot the loose sleeves, joints, etc.

 

Thanks for the suggestion! I need to take her in for an alignment anyway, but was trying to see if this type of play was a tell-tale sign of anything.

 

Does the CA bushings give you a knock-knock-knocking noise when driving over bumps?