Hey guys. A while back (early past summer) I was on here touting the untimely retirement of my beloved 87.

Long story short I kept it under a car cover outside and I need to get it going again by May if I want to keep it.

What I need to accomplish this:
Well - I replaced the front ball joints on it and in removing the factory-riveted originals, I over drilled the ball joint holes on the control arms.

My question is one of two:
1) Can I just fill in the overdrilled holes with a welder? Is this safe/ Has anyone tried this?
2) If not - anyone have a set of front control arms they can sell me?

Thanks to all and lets get the 87 moving again soon!

Mike Diaz

i would say that welding wouldnt be the safest option since i dont think it would be strong enough to hold it

i would just say run down to a yard and grab some. its not worth it getting them from a member because they are so heavy and shipping would be outrageous.

Check with a parts store in your area. The O'Reilly chain handles used parts. Tell them what you want and they go get it from a salvage yard. There should be a store in your area that will do that for you, if you don't have an O'Reilly nearby. But it would probably be cheaper to go to a salvage yard yourself and get them.
As far as shipping goes, they don't weigh as much as you'd think.
Concerning welding, I used to work with a Navy Hull Technician that could weld any kind of metal. I'm sure he could have repaired your old ones or he could have fabricated a new set of control arms that would be much lighter and stronger than the stockers. But the cost would be prohibitive for someone that good. If your welding skills are good enough, I'd say go for it. If not, be prepared for plan B.

Mike..if you don't have success and can verify 87-90 were the same, I may be able to pick one up at a yard nearby if the weather holds out.

id like to point out, the lower control arms on this gen bonne are insanely hard to get off after all these years, i tried everything and couldnt get mine off and ended up replacing the whole subframe.

it might be more cost effective to have it put on a frame machine at a body shop and see if they can bend it back.

thats an option, go to the yard and take the whole subframe and control arms.

hmm well if it came down to a subframe issue I think I'd be out of luck :(
My goal is to cheaply - albeit safely - get the '87 on its feet again. While I can't say I know that the sub frame would be expensive I do believe it'd be expensive since I've never done a suspension job that big so I'd probably have to get it done and that would be a $$$ job.

I guess I should try and remove my control arms as a first step. If I can get them off then I should go from there. If I can't remove them... well let'* just hope I can remove them.

Any tips on removing control arms?

Thanks to all you guys

Mike

The bolts and nuts are really tight to start with and then they get pretty rusty. Put the front up on jackstands and remove the wheels and anything else that gets in the way. Since your new ones are bolt-ins, you can remove the ball joints from the arms by unbolting them. If the sway bar end links are rusted, chisel open the sleeve in the center and cut the bolt. You may want to unbolt and push the drive axle through the hub to let you swing the strut and knuckle back out of your way. Unbolt the brake line clamp to give you a little more swing.

Where the control arm bolts to the subframe, take a wire brush to the exposed threads on the bolts and get them as clean as you can. Spray them with Power Blaster penetrating oil, Kroil, or Seafoam Deepcreep, (NOT WD-40, that stuff is useless as a penetrant) then whack the end of the bolt with a 2-lb hammer to encourage the oil to migrate between the nut and bolt. Let them sit for a day, and repeat the oil and banging. On the third day.....if you don't have an impact wrench, get a 1/2" breaker bar and a 4' cheater bar to multiply your torque. Jam a 6-point wrench on one end and engage the other end with a 6-point socket on your breaker bar. If you can, try to turn the nut and hold the bolt head. It will be more likely to come loose that way. The shaft of the bolt often rusts into the sleeve in the rubber bushing. Keep the wrenches aligned nice and straight. You should be able to break the bolts one way or the other if your lever is long enough, your wrenches are strong enough, and you keep everything aligned.

Other options: Acetylene torch, Dremel tool to cut nut longitudinally or bolt axially. Once nut is gone, you can drive out the bolt. You may need to get creative; just be encouraged, there is not a nut and bolt that can withstand repeated attention from a determined mechanic.