1080p

Upon taking my car for an inspection for a PS fluid leak, the mechanic pointed out that all of my sway bar links are completely broken, this makes sense as last year i had to make an emergency maneuver to swerve from another vehicle while traveling at a fast speed, i ended up doing a GNARLY 360 on dry pavement ... I'm lucky to be alive. I was able to walk under the hoist and see the broken links my self, they were all off, flailing around all willy nilly ...

He then proceeded to tell my I would need new upper and lower control arms, as they are broken too ??

I'm no mechanic, but My control arms appear to be fine and i've been driving for almost a year since this event.. car feels fine, although some minor sounds when going over bumps prob the broken links clanking around ??

How dangerious is this to drive with broken sway bar links ?? and how can i further prob my control arms if they appear to be visually fine ??

The mechanic i took it too is pretty shady, I could tell he was fear mongering so i could leave my car and get hosed... I just played along. I caught him lying about some other things previously.

Tosh

You're going straight to hell: driving around like that, taking it to shady mechanics, and can't tell PS fluid from windshield wash. Dude....?

Sperry

iTrader: (1)

Swapping out the links is a fun job. Jack stands, Sawzall, four Moogs ...

Nicks2001tl

You can do a sawzall or grab a fork and smash/pry open the caps, and then use a locking plyers and a wrench to remove old. Get a set of moogs from rock auto and call it a day. Better than OEM.

1080p

With my schedule, this shady mechanic is my only option for a quick diagnosis on a hoist.

You got me on the fluid comparison though ...

1080p

Question, are the front upper and lower ball joints replaceable, or are they apart of the control arm ??

Nicks2001tl

Lower and upper are replaceable. Lower ball joints are more susceptible to wear than the upper. Replace them in pairs.

fsttyms1

If your control arms were broken you wouldnt be able to drive the car. Get your endlinks replaced. You can do it yourself pretty easy in your driveway.

murky

I'm sure the mechanic means that the compliance bushings in the control arms are shot, and it is probably more cost/time effective to replace the whole arm than it is to pull the arm and then press out the old bushings and in the new ones.

I just did this on my wife's Honda element, and in retrospect, I would have been much better off to just replace the whole lower control arms instead of doing the individual bushings. I saved $60 or $70 vs aftermarket control arms, but wasted hours and several trips getting a shop to do the pressing (they didn't realize the parts were clocked and had to do it twice).