Front Lower Control Arm Compatibility

[Tango91]

Hi all,

My 2001 1.9D Bingo Multispace needs new wishbones on the fronts as the bushings have gone and they're knocking like hell.

Searching online shows several varieties of wishbones available for the 1.9D berlingo, of both the cast steel and pressed steel varieties, where the cast versions have the ball joints incorporated into the arms, and the pressed arms have removable ball joints that bolt on.

Currently my van has pressed steel wishbones with removable ball joints. I'd like to replace the ball joints with the arms as a matter of course, but I'm on the fence about which type to order. I can pick up a set of cast arms with ball joints for around £60 a side, or buy pressed arms and new ball joints for the same price, give or take.

I was wondering if anyone had any insights into which kind I should order, particularly with regards to compatibility problems.

Thanks,
Tom

[Roadrally]

From experience I would spend the money on a set of "Powerflex P bushes" (for 306) and replace the ball joints on the arms you have.
I used to be a courier and went through wishbones at a fair rate until I made my own poly P bush, it made the front end much more precise and they lasted years, I replaced the ball joints twice and the bushes were still perfect when I sold the van.

[Tango91]

Thanks for the reply, unfortunately I got the notification about 10 minutes after taking the plunge and buying a set of arms!

For anyone wanting to know about the compatibility, on my '01 1.9D multispace with PAS, I went from the pressed steel type arms with removable balljoints to the cast arms with non-removable balljoints. Everything seemed to line up fine, a slight issue with the sizes of the bolts on the rear mounts, but easily fixed with a decent set of taps.

My car now needs the tracking doing as it's not quite 100%, but it's certainly in the right ballpark.