Has anyone broke one of these yet? (Rear Lower Control Arm Endlink Tab) - Page 10 - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

ToolFan66 · 03-25-2011, 07:57 PM

Did you replace both sides?? If not I would do it, the other side is not right with that seam look to it. I Deal with steel everyday and I will tell you that the other one will fail. The new one looks great!!! Looks like they used 10 or 11 gauge material,the old one looks like they used 13 maybe 12 gauge material, you would need a set of calipers to measure it. either way change the other side if you didn't do so,and thanks for posting this as I will keep an eye out on mine..

Darth_Emma · 03-25-2011, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToolFan66

Did you replace both sides?? If not I would do it, the other side is not right with that seam look to it. I Deal with steel everyday and I will tell you that the other one will fail. The new one looks great!!! Looks like they used 10 or 11 gauge material,the old one looks like they used 13 maybe 12 gauge material, you would need a set of calipers to measure it. either way change the other side if you didn't do so,and thanks for posting this as I will keep an eye out on mine..

I wonder if those who have failing LCAs have early production cars? I know PQ has a pretty early car. Maybe they changed the gauge of the steel for later production cars?

JusticePete · 03-25-2011, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth_Emma

I wonder if those who have failing LCAs have early production cars? I know PQ has a pretty early car. Maybe they changed the gauge of the steel for later production cars?

The arm I sent PQ was over a year old. I don't believe there has been a change, but that and $3 will get you a cup of coffee. We'll let you know what we find.

Dynabyte · 03-25-2011, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth_Emma

I wonder if those who have failing LCAs have early production cars? I know PQ has a pretty early car. Maybe they changed the gauge of the steel for later production cars?

My V6 RS was #3589, built in the March/April 2009 timeframe so maybe your theory is right?

PQ · 03-25-2011, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JusticePete

Do you have a vice?

Ject · 03-25-2011, 11:23 PM

hahahaha... I suppose that's one way to try and remove it.. I'd still use a vice though

PQ · 03-26-2011, 12:59 AM

Oh, ya, and by the way. I pried for an hour on the metal washers. Then I realized I could pry underneath and get simple, solid, full leverage by prying from underneath. OMG, I had both the fronts off in less than a minute.

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Rob@WretchedMS · 03-26-2011, 06:08 AM

Huggerorange73 · 03-26-2011, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob@WretchedMS

This, with my trusty air chisel...I had those washers off in seconds.

PfadtRacing · 03-26-2011, 10:37 AM

This picture is extremely telling as to where the point of failure was. As you can see, the control arm material that the endlink bolts to is still captured between the endlink and the endlink nut. It's reasonable to say that in the cases presented so far the sway bar bracket is working much harder than originally intended. Had the bracket been fatigued by a loose nut, we would have expected that the area around the hole in the bracket would have elongated and then broken, instead of torn completely away. Now that we are seeing this failure on stock as well as modified cars it appears clear that for some extra insurance, a reinforcement designed to redistribute some of the load from that bracket is necessary.

After some discussion we are going to be selling a reinforcement bracket prototyped in earlier in the thread.

Initial purchase price will be 30.00 per car, which includes brackets for both control arms. As seems to be the case with everyone these days we are extremely busy with both our Corvette and Camaro product lines, but we will be able to provide these production ready support brackets in about 4 weeks.

Stay tuned for more details coming soon as manufacturing progresses.

JusticePete · 03-26-2011, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PQ

Well that is the old school way....

Apex Motorsports · 03-26-2011, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PfadtRacing

This picture is extremely telling as to where the point of failure was. As you can see, the control arm material that the endlink bolts to is still captured between the endlink and the endlink nut. It's reasonable to say that in the cases presented so far the sway bar bracket is working much harder than originally intended. Had the bracket been fatigued by a loose nut, we would have expected that the area around the hole in the bracket would have elongated and then broken, instead of torn completely away. Now that we are seeing this failure on stock as well as modified cars it appears clear that for some extra insurance, a reinforcement designed to redistribute some of the load from that bracket is necessary.

After some discussion we are going to be selling a reinforcement bracket prototyped in earlier in the thread.

Initial purchase price will be 30.00 per car, which includes brackets for both control arms. As seems to be the case with everyone these days we are extremely busy with both our Corvette and Camaro product lines, but we will be able to provide these production ready support brackets in about 4 weeks.

Stay tuned for more details coming soon as manufacturing progresses.

They say, "a picture is worth a thousand words" and in this instance I would say that is definitely the case.

JusticePete · 03-26-2011, 11:17 AM

A picture out of context can be misleading. I spoke with PQ last night to get a better understanding of his failure. He drove his Camaro AFTER the initial damage. There was a loud pop which resulted in endlink failure and more damage to the tab. To be clear, we know the mounting area was bent AFTER the initial failure.

We don't know if the hole is round or elongated as we have not yet disassembled the ball stud. We do know when the tab failed the endlink was still in place in the broken tab and the endlink was not damaged as you can clearly see in this picture. You can see rust in the damaged areas which could indicate it cracked before it failed, it could also mean nothing. There is a lot we can speculate about, but until we have the arm and ball stud in hand as well as all the details from PQ we will wait to make a complete analysis.

I'll have the arm in hand in a few days. I'll follow up with PQ. When we have gathered all the details they will be posted here. Until we have collected all the facts and details, please remain calm. Please do not rush to judgement with out all the information. The sky is not falling. Your OE control arm was designed by a great TEAM of engineers at Chevrolet.

Ject · 03-26-2011, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PfadtRacing

After some discussion we are going to be selling a reinforcement bracket prototyped in earlier in the thread.

Initial purchase price will be 30.00 per car, which includes brackets for both control arms. As seems to be the case with everyone these days we are extremely busy with both our Corvette and Camaro product lines, but we will be able to provide these production ready support brackets in about 4 weeks.

Stay tuned for more details coming soon as manufacturing progresses.

That's fantastic to hear! You can put me down for one of the first purchases!

03-25-2011, 11:23 PM	#132
Ject aka Patrick Drives: '10 Camaro 2SS '04 Silverado Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Derby Kansas Posts: 3,072	hahahaha... I suppose that's one way to try and remove it.. I'd still use a vice though __________________ Current Modifications: Your average Bolt-ons & Suspension Upgrades GForce Engineering: 9" Rear End, Strange Pro Iron Case w/Moser Nodular 3.70:1 Detroit locker, 3.5" Solid Drive Shaft

03-26-2011, 12:59 AM	#133
PQ Booooosted. Drives: 2010 Supercharged SS Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Mobile, AL Posts: 36,716 View My Garage	Oh, ya, and by the way. I pried for an hour on the metal washers. Then I realized I could pry underneath and get simple, solid, full leverage by prying from underneath. OMG, I had both the fronts off in less than a minute. __________________

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03-25-2011, 07:57 PM	#127
ToolFan66 Drives: 2011 2SS 6.2L W/RS package Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Colorado Posts: 3,008	Did you replace both sides?? If not I would do it, the other side is not right with that seam look to it. I Deal with steel everyday and I will tell you that the other one will fail. The new one looks great!!! Looks like they used 10 or 11 gauge material,the old one looks like they used 13 maybe 12 gauge material, you would need a set of calipers to measure it. either way change the other side if you didn't do so,and thanks for posting this as I will keep an eye out on mine..

03-26-2011, 06:08 AM	#134
Rob@WretchedMS Drives: His Wife Crazy Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Silas Deane Auto,CT Name: Rob Anderson Posts: 1,789

03-26-2011, 10:37 AM	#136
PfadtRacing Drives: 2010 Camaro, 2006 Z06 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: SLC, UT Posts: 3,370	This picture is extremely telling as to where the point of failure was. As you can see, the control arm material that the endlink bolts to is still captured between the endlink and the endlink nut. It's reasonable to say that in the cases presented so far the sway bar bracket is working much harder than originally intended. Had the bracket been fatigued by a loose nut, we would have expected that the area around the hole in the bracket would have elongated and then broken, instead of torn completely away. Now that we are seeing this failure on stock as well as modified cars it appears clear that for some extra insurance, a reinforcement designed to redistribute some of the load from that bracket is necessary. After some discussion we are going to be selling a reinforcement bracket prototyped in earlier in the thread. Initial purchase price will be 30.00 per car, which includes brackets for both control arms. As seems to be the case with everyone these days we are extremely busy with both our Corvette and Camaro product lines, but we will be able to provide these production ready support brackets in about 4 weeks. Stay tuned for more details coming soon as manufacturing progresses.

03-26-2011, 11:17 AM	#139
JusticePete Drives: Camaro Justice Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 20,174	A picture out of context can be misleading. I spoke with PQ last night to get a better understanding of his failure. He drove his Camaro AFTER the initial damage. There was a loud pop which resulted in endlink failure and more damage to the tab. To be clear, we know the mounting area was bent AFTER the initial failure. We don't know if the hole is round or elongated as we have not yet disassembled the ball stud. We do know when the tab failed the endlink was still in place in the broken tab and the endlink was not damaged as you can clearly see in this picture. You can see rust in the damaged areas which could indicate it cracked before it failed, it could also mean nothing. There is a lot we can speculate about, but until we have the arm and ball stud in hand as well as all the details from PQ we will wait to make a complete analysis. I'll have the arm in hand in a few days. I'll follow up with PQ. When we have gathered all the details they will be posted here. Until we have collected all the facts and details, please remain calm. Please do not rush to judgement with out all the information. The sky is not falling. Your OE control arm was designed by a great TEAM of engineers at Chevrolet.