Shop Control Arms & Ball Joints from NAPA

NAPA AUTO PARTS carries a wide variety of suspension control arms and ball joint replacements for your vehicle.

What does a suspension control arm do?

Automotive control arms are suspension components that connect the wheel hub and steering knuckle to the frame of the vehicle. They are typically equipped with control arm bushings on the frame side of the vehicle and a ball joint on the wheel side of the vehicle that allow flex and controlled movement according to road conditions and steering input from the driver.

Control arms, rubber bushings, and ball joints are critical components of your vehicle's suspension system that allow your tires to smoothly go up and down in a controlled fashion when driving over bumps and potholes. Most vehicles use either one or two control arms per wheel on both front suspension and rear suspension. Many front-wheel drive vehicles only use a lower control arm, while trucks and SUVs often have both an upper and lower control arm.

How do you know if your control arm needs to be replaced?

When replacing control arms, it is important to check for wheel alignment of both front and rear wheels. Many suspension and steering joints utilize rubber bushings when components need to be mounted together where vibration is a concern. Also, one of the first symptoms associated with bad control arms is steering wheel vibrations. If the bushings or ball joints in the control arm become excessively worn it can cause wheel shimmy, which may cause vibrations that may be felt in the wheel. This can also include clunking noises as you drive.

A pair of lateral arms, sometimes called double wishbones or A-arms, offers better control over the kinematics than a strut-type arrangement. Among the benefits: an upper arm that's shorter than the lower arm to optimize the orientation of the tire contact patch as the body rolls, increasing lateral grip.

A tie rod is another steering component that connects your vehicle's rack and pinion to the vehicle's front wheel via a steering knuckle while a control arm connects the vehicle's frame to the vehicle's suspension.

NAPA AUTO PARTS is your aftermarket for a range of parts to help fix or replace your vehicle's control arm.