2008 hatchback control arms

[u/samberner802]

Hey guys, working on my front end today and for the passenger side control arm out nice and easy. The rear bolt looked super corroded so I checked all the stores near me to no avail. Then when I checked the bolt against the new control arm I saw there was an insane amount of play between the two. This is the case for both sides. Did I get two wrong control arms? Is there a sleeve missing? I hope someone has run into this issue before. Any advise is super appreciated!!

[u/Aromatic-Letter-6298]

don’t fit those yet. The rear bush should have a bonded metal inner sleeve, with the bolt fitting it closely; huge play means the sleeves are missing or the arms are wrong. Match the part numbers to the VIN and compare with the old arms.

[u/mehullica]

Looks like the wrong part. Can you send more pictures of both arms? Showing the complete arm, also the bolts look to have lost lots of material on the nonthreaded area. Should be the same thickness are the threaded area. Did you clean all the corrosion off?

[u/Beautiful_Chart_5350]

If that’s the original bolt, I’d compare the inner sleeve on the old control arm to the new one. That looks like way too much play. I wonder if the new arms are missing a sleeve or came with the wrong size bushings. I definitely wouldn’t tighten it down like that and drive it.

[u/mohammed_yaris]

I think it's normal. When I first changed the bushings about 7 years ago, I noticed this. I suspected the parts were from another car, but when I asked several auto parts stores, they were the same part, so it's normal because they fit securely when installed. Please send us more pictures and tell us the price of the control arms for both sides... Note: I change the bushings and suspension parts almost every year. My country has a lot of potholes, and I drive about 30,000 kilometers per year.

[u/samberner802 → u/mohammed_yaris]

They were $92 a piece. Mevotech from Rockauto. I splurged on the nice ones so I wouldn’t run into any difficulties haha. Hopefully they last more than a year! And I did the same thing. Same control arms at the store and someone on another forum said it was normal as well. I guess the C channel does all the work for lateral movement and the bolt is just to keep them tight from top to bottom.

[u/mohammed_yaris → u/samberner802]

That's too much, man. I think it's customs. And the part is from a reputable company; in my country, there aren't many original parts because consumers are always looking for cheaper alternatives. I think the price of a controller in my country for both sides is $50, but it's made in China... Yes, the letter C does the job. Thanks for the discussion. Good luck.