Factory Control Arm

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PunisherSVT

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Hey guys. I have a loose ball joint on my passenger side upper control arm. At this time I just want to have it replaced with original equipment. Does this upper control arm differ in any way from a standard F150 control arm. Ford quoted me $230 for just the part. If this is just a standard control arm, I think this seems high.
 
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PunisherSVT

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I forgot to mention this is a 2014 Raptor. I guess my question is is there anything special about the control arm Ford quoted me or are the OEM control arms I find on various websites the same?
 
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PunisherSVT

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Great tanks for the info. I was guessing their dimensions were a bit different. I haven't had a chance to crawl under there and look, but does the OEM arm have SVT or anything stamped on it? I just don't want to buy one that doesn't match the original. If I buy one of the ones you reference it will match, correct?
 
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The upper control arm is just a black control arm. The aftermarket may have slight variations, it may not. It’s kinda tuff to tell unless you have em in hand. Also aftermarket stuff tends to change rapidly from my experience, almost like the suppliers change a lot for the aftermarket companies. For example you’ll buy an aftermarket arm, the bushings could be black. You buy another in 6 months it may be a red bushing.... if that makes sense?

As a professional auto tech, in my opinion oem is always better unless your buying a true upgrade aftermarket. A true upgrade won’t cost less than a oem item 99% of the time. I personally won’t use non oem parts unless the price different is more than double, and fiitment or tolerances aren’t critical. From my experience aftermarket stuff works fine, but I see a lot of noise or quality complaints related to aftermarket parts with my brand Lexus.
 
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PunisherSVT

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That being said, and as a tech, do you think its worth it to spend the $230 on the control arm from Ford instead of the $100 arm from various online retailers?
 

AndysLog

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That being said, and as a tech, do you think its worth it to spend the $230 on the control arm from Ford instead of the $100 arm from various online retailers?

as an unprofessional ass hole who has been working on cars for longer than a decade.

go with the online one.


UNLESS, you take your shit over sweet jumps. then go with an online moog or motorcraft at least lol.
 
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For the price difference I’d grab the oem. Also warranty for it is much easier if it’s done at the dealer. You won’t pay labor or part for 1 year and around 10-12k depending on the dealer. If you order online your on the hook for removal costs, shipping, reinstalling and alignment.


If your truck only has 40k and smoked a ball joint, I’d go with the highest quality I can find and not play with cheap parts. @PunisherSVT


It’s just my opinion but I do make a living off of my automotive opinions.
 
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AndysLog

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ive never heard of getting parts installed for free when buying from a dealer.
also never heard of the dealer replacing a part for free when you have a warranty on a part you just walk in an buy from the parts counter.

thats not how that works.

you need a bumper to bumper or drivetrain warranty thats covered into the part you need on the whole vehicle. not just a single part you walk in and buy.


OEM is good dont get me wrong, but spending more money is just spending more money. its a stamped piece of metal with 2 bushings and a balljoint in it. sure get a good balljoint, but the stamps all come from the same manufacturer lol.





For the price difference I’d grab the oem. Also warranty for it is much easier if it’s done at the dealer. You won’t pay labor or part for 1 year and around 10-12k depending on the dealer. If you order online your on the hook for removal costs, shipping, reinstalling and alignment.


If your truck only has 40k and smoked a ball joint, I’d go with the highest quality I can find and not play with cheap parts. @PunisherSVT


It’s just my opinion but I do make a living off of my automotive opinions.
 
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ive never heard of getting parts installed for free when buying from a dealer.
also never heard of the dealer replacing a part for free when you have a warranty on a part you just walk in an buy from the parts counter.

thats not how that works.

you need a bumper to bumper or drivetrain warranty thats covered into the part you need on the whole vehicle. not just a single part you walk in and buy.


OEM is good dont get me wrong, but spending more money is just spending more money. its a stamped piece of metal with 2 bushings and a balljoint in it. sure get a good balljoint, but the stamps all come from the same manufacturer lol.

Lots of wrong info here. No1 when your purchase and have a dealership install, or even many qualified repair shops, It comes with a workmanship and parts guarantee. The workmanship warranty covering any defects or poor execution of the labor resulting in other or a repeat repair. The parts warranty covers total failure or failure to the point where the component is no longer performing its task. Eg a smal crack in ambushing is not warranty however a split bushing would be. You are correct a cash and carry purchase will only provide a over the counter warranty to be provided at the sellers discretion.

No2. The control arm sold aftermarket is not nessecarlily made of the same materials with the same quality control and or tolerances for fitment. Its gauranteed to not be made identical by the manufacturer of the parts for ford, hence why Ford liscences the production to that 3rd party company. Now a Chinese manufacturer that doesn’t play ball with world lic agreements and will knock off anything very poorly for a buck may claim it’s identicle, and if you feel it is than it’s your dollar. For instance Lexus uses denso a lot, you can buy an aftermarket denso o2 sensor that will work nearly the same but the harness won’t be the correct length or you’ll have to use your own connectors because denso has an agreement not to sell the Toyota/Lexus specs’ parts to any other retailer or wholesaler. That’s IF your buying from the actual manufacturer of the part. Like denso, Bosch , advics ect, in the aftermarket world.

But hey what do I know how a dealership operates or the ins and outs of auto repair and parts manufacturers. I’ve only been employed by Lexus for 16 years, am a Lexus Master and DS and also a ASE Master and Advanced level Specialist for 10 of those years.

These are just my opinions take em as you want. But like I said I get paid enough to drive a raptor as one of my vehicles for what I know about auto repair.

We drive a nice truck that’s not cheap. A hundred bucks on a major component isn’t anything. I don’t have any experience with these particular aftermarket arms, maybe they are great maybe not. But I use rock auto for parts on my side jobs on 3 thousand dollar cars.
 
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