PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

Well, I happened to be laying on the ground under the car yesterday. (was getting ready to change oil and trans fluid).

How much "give"/play is considered normal in the forward front lower control arm bushing?

On my car, the two sides were not equal, with the left side looser. I could, with hand pressure alone, move it maybe .060ish. A caveat would be that, although my hands are smallish and old, they are relatively strong.

Since it is my belief that play and slop in the front end, combined with mechanical resonance, is the root cause of the 70mph vibration, this movement has my attention.

Any comments?

When I redid my suspension, I was pricing out getting new ball joints. The ones I found were around $40. I then found that I could get the entire new control arm, with bushings and ball joints for $50... no brainer. While I never had the vibration, I think for $50, you can't go wrong.

I got them from RockAuto.

IIRC, some replaced their control arm bushings, but it didn't make a difference. However, I don't think that they were bad on the car. It was done as a test to see if it would help. In your case, it may.

regardless if it fixes the vibration issue, I wish it would, any bushing with play in it should be replaced.