Suspension bushing

[Jimmy9190]

I have a 2001 Dodge Dakota 2 wheel drive. There's a part on the front lower control arm that I can't find listed in any of my service manuals. It's a rectangle shaped piece of hard foam and is mounted to the front corner of the control arm in between the coil spring and the back side of the steering knuckle. I think it's some kind of a bounce stopper. It makes contact with a flat metal piece that's part of the frame in that area.

This part on the driver's side has a big chunk taken out of it. I saw it while changing my oil today. It's only made of a hard styro foam like material anyway. It's mounted in a metal holder and riveted to the control arm like a ball joint is riveted. I think I could drill out the rivets and replace it if I could find out what it's called so I can find somebody who sells it.

Truck rides OK, is a little rough but is alright for a pickup with 95K. I would like to replace the part before it causes problems but I really don't want to buy a whole control arm and go thru all the trouble just for this one part. If I could find out what it is and where to buy it I would replace both left and right parts.

Thanks everybody for any help you can offer.

 

[Merkava_4]

That sounds like you're describing a bumper. The bumpers attached to control arms are to prevent suspension components from colliding with each other whenever your truck gets bottomed out while driving over an unsuspecting deep dip in the road at a higher than optimal speed.

They're not an essential part; so therefore you won't find any at an auto parts store; definitely a dealer item. The guy in the parts department will have to pull up a schematic of your suspension so that he will know what it's called and retrieve the part number. He'll ask you to point to the part on the schematic.

A hard styrofoam doesn't sound very durable; I'd expect it to be a high density rubber.

 

[AcuraTech]

Wouldn't be surprised if the dealer said the part was only available with the control arm, especially if it's riveted on. May have to fabricate something on your own, unless you feel like dropping big coin on a control arm.

High density rubber, something like a hockey puck, might make a good donor.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Thanks for the replies. i found out it's called a bump stop and that's exactly what it's for , to keep the control arm from slamming into the frame on heavy bumps and dips in the road. Napa sells a universal set that looks like it will work and is made of a hard rubber poly something-or-other. $12.39 a pair. They just bolt in with a nut like a normal part.

I am planning to fix it later today, and replace both sides so I don't have to worry about it. The parking lot where I work is one of the worst I have ever seen and I bet it had something to do with this.

Everything on my Dodge is riveted. Ball joints, etc are all riveted in place and if I wanted to get this part from Dodge I'd have to buy the whole control arm. I guess Mopar does that because they figure when one part wears out it would be time to replace the whole assembly anyway. Or maybe they make more money on parts that way. Or both. Ugh.

Thanks for the help.

 

[The_Jeff]

Walmart has a rubber doodad that keeps the bow of a boat from scraping against its trailer as it's loading. Nicest thing is it has a hole in the middle. Great for cutting up and rebuilding cab mounts etc with.

Those rivetted in ball joints drill/grind out; service replacements bolt in. It is as much fun as it sounds and you can't use heat on vital steering stuff.

 

[Papa Bear]

You probably need to replace your shocks...that's why the bump stop is damaged.

 

[Jimmy9190]

My shocks only have 35,000 miles on them and yesterday I inspected them and didn't see any evidence of leaks. Truck passes the push down on the bumper bounce test so I hope the shocks are OK. I need to get a better look at the stabilizer bar and control arm bushings and will try to inspect it better today.

Thanks for all the help here. I appreciate it.

 

[mechtech2]

It takes a LOT of movement to hit those stops on a street driven vehicle.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Come to think of it Mopar probably makes it so you have to replace entire assemblies to fix one part because they figure the life expectancy of the parts is only 100K and maybe they figure no one keeps a vehicle that long nowadays. I'd like to keep my Dakota a lot longer than that.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Well after looking at it again today with the truck up on Rhino ramps instead of jack stands, there looks to be enough material there for the bump stop to do its job. The Napa parts are too big to mount on the control arm and there is no way to make it angle up and contact the frame in the same area as the OE part. No way that I can think of anyway. It looks OK and I am going to leave well enough alone and just watch it for a while and see if it gets worse.

Noe I gotta make a trip back to Napa and return the poly bumpstops I got there today.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[artificialist]

In many instances, if a ball joint is riveted to a control arm, some manufacturers sell a ball joint with bolts and nuts, and then tell you to drill the rivets out of the control arm.

 

[Papa Bear]

If you are beating up your bump stops, you....
1) Have worn shocks
2) You drive way too fast on keerappy roads.

 

[Adventurer_96]

Good timely thread for me.

I need to replace the rear bump stops on my Tahoe as a recent long-distance towing experience did a number on them. I also replaced the shocks with some that have a spring coil over them for extra suspension.

The fronts should be OK, but the rears are absolutely rotten. I hope that the local Napa has the universal ones in stock. Fortunately, GM bolts theirs in place in the back...