MShorten

This is one of those stories where the more I'm doing to the car, the more I'm finding stuff that's wrong or broke.

The question is simply this, for those who don't want to read the story of woe *grin* - Has anyone "reused" their LCA/TLs when finding that the rear rubber block that is pressed/mounted on the end of the arm is shot/metal rotted?

Here's the story - While changing my clutch, I opted to replace the lower ball joints on my front suspension. I removed both of my front transverse arms (lower control arms) on my 91 Sentra SE. There is a large "block" of rubber with metal inside that is pressed/mounted on the end of the arm. The left side slid out of the arm, and all of the metal dropped out in a nice tiny pile of rust. The right side is still on the arm, but torn up a bit and not looking in good shape. From looking at the FSM and talking to Nissan dealer this morning, it seems to be sold as one unit - ie., it's not supposed to come off!

I can replace the entire LCA/TL for about $110 apiece, but being a short track racer on a budget for this car, I have to race a couple of weeks before having the cash to drop on these things. Since they've held together up till now, my suspicion is that I could make use short term, but I was curious if anyone else had the same experience with their LCAs?

Regards,
Michael

__________________