In the 350 miles or so that I have been driving my car I have lost two control arm bushings because the cross shaft bolts loosened and then fell out. When I put the new suspension together I used loc-tite and torqued them to where they were supposed to be, and then after the first bolt came out I took it to a suspension shop and they re-tighted everything and said not to worry. That was about 6 weeks ago, and this morning I found another bolt in my driveway and a bushing missing on the passenger side. Anyone ever have problems like this? I'm thinking the cross shafts may be worn out or the threads stripped. Should I get new ones or just keep tightening the bolts every time I drive it?

thanks,

Nick

Nick, I've never heard of this *specific* problem but for safety's sake, check the bolts that run THROUGH the cross-shaft to hold the upper control arm and shaft to the frame. These bolts can break, but before they break, they flex and bend causing a lot of strange things to happen like losing shims. Because these bolts have raised ridges near the bolt head, they are very difficult to get out. Sometimes they are seriously banged up by people trying to loosen them (or if the shims are ever lost completely).

The other thing is that your upper arm might be damaged. If the shaft isn't aligned with the bushings (or if the ends of the arm are out of whack... same thing), the bushings will be "kinked". As the bushing rides up and down, this kinking might catch on the bolt, and could ease it out (kinda like the "self-adjusting lever in drum brakes).

Just something to think about.