adjustable control arm broke again!

[gEtyOpAPiOn]

ok for some reason my upper control arm broke again from the same spot as last time and im wondering if anyone else has that happen to them initially i thought it was my fault by maybe using the wrong bolt but Marcus from SC&C sent me a replacement part and bolt and it apeared to be the same bolt so i tighened everything again and today boom it broke from the same spot again ...anyone using this same arms has had the same problem or do they become loose after a while ? another question was are these arms maybe not intended for a daily driver ? ok any help would be apreciated

by the way i didnt buy them from sc&c i bought them a while back direct from the distributor through cambell performance and restoration in the san jose area ,CA

[BonzoHansen]

What part broke?

[gEtyOpAPiOn]

bolt at the bottom left ...the thing just gets ripped from the bolt its like a screw with an eyelet ? something like that

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[BonzoHansen]

The bolt breaks?

I replaced mine with gr8s, but I have zero miles. A couple guys at nastyz use them, and I know no one has reported anything yet. I think Shane used gr8 bolts as well.

[gEtyOpAPiOn]

nope the actual arm is what breaks

[Marcus SC&C]

Rick,if you have a minute give me a call at the shop (610) 346-8805. We`ve NEVER had an arm break like that. We even had one customer whos car was totalled by a front end collision. The car took a whole frame but all the arm on the impact side took was a ball joint plate,it was slightly bent and could have been straightened but he replaced it just to be safe. One of our own test cars took a hard hit to the right front,hard enough to wrap the fender around the tire and toast the rad support and hood too. Not only was the arm fine but the alignment didn`t even change. We pulled the fender away from the tire and drove it 650miles home. You`ve got to have some serious binding or interference issues to cause that. My guess off the cuff is that the ball joint is binding in droop putting a vertical twisting load on the clevis. Our packages are designed to avoid that type of binding but since you bought the arms ala cart anything`s possible. I`d like to help you track down the problem though. Thanks, Mark SC&C

[gEtyOpAPiOn]

ok problem half solved hehe ....after talkin to Marc now i know what to look for ...replacement parts on the way ....great guy!

[6'9"Witha69]

And that is the type of service we see here from top vendors! Not even purchased from them but willing to help solve the issue. Top notch service and thank you as a loyal supporter of the PT crowd!!

[EFI69Cam]

great guy!


yup.

[Mean 69]

ok problem half solved hehe ....after talkin to Marc now i know what to look for ...replacement parts on the way ....great guy!

Might be nice to share with the other folks here as a good precaution for them, if you are so inclined. Pic's are always good too!

Mark

[gEtyOpAPiOn]

yeah i will be posting some pictures soon ,as I would like to figure out the problem and the fix too as there is something wrong with the setup on my passanger side most likely so i will send the pictures to Marc first and maybe he can explain better on why did it happen as he is a very knoledgable guy and i dont want to mislead anyone hehe

[BRIAN]

Had those mocked up on a early FBody and if I am not mistaken that is part that will hit frame at full droop. I tapped frame and installed a simple screw in bumper.

Again not sure if that was your problem. Marcus will figure it out. That guy knows what he is talking about.

[Marcus SC&C]

I`ve been in contact with SPC about Rick`s problem. They shipped out replacement parts yesterday (free of course). They`ve done a LOT of testing on these arms and they`ve been used in all sorts of racing for over a decade so they`ve had a great deal of real world experience with how they react to violent collisions etc. Typically they`ll survive impacts that`ll bend a factory arm. They agree that there must be some serious binding causing pronounced vertical load and bending forces on the arms (not their normal load path). Rick`s car is dropped hard,about 4" of spring drop so in jounce the suspension is way out of the normal range of motion. Once we get some pics I`m going to duplicate his setup on our test subframe. I`m still almost sure it`s a ball joint bind (ball joint plate angle) issue and we should be able to iron that out very easily.
These adj. arms are fantastic to work with,largely because of their modularity ie. we can make them fit almost any car and combination *perfectly* but on the other hand you can also make them fit almost any car wrong. :doh: That`s one reason I prefer to sell them as part of a Street Comp package that`s been tested and proven to the nth degree rather than by themselves. At the very least I talk to every client in detail to make sure we assemble the best arms for their car. We get a lot of calls and visits from folks who bought them elsewhere and got the wrong configuration for their application. It`s always easy to swap a few components and get it right though. :twothumbs Mark SC&C

[USAZR1]

4" drop springs???:confused: Dayum!!!

[gEtyOpAPiOn]

yeah thanks again Marc...i will disasemble the car as soon as i get the new replacement parts and will post some pictures im curious too on finding out what caused the problem i am not no suspension so i just dropped the car to my like without thinking of any binding. the reason of going with this arms was to make it easier in aligning the car and being able to adjust it without having like 50 shims haha