Anyone tried swapping these into a J-body?
I know that the 99 n-body was the only year with the aluminum control arms... don't know why though. Probably cost?
The N-body control arms are the same as the J-body control arms, just flipped the other way...
So in theory... they should fit and work just fine... comments?
just gotta make sure the geometry is the same (camber caster toe)
never thought about it
my stamped pieces work just fine , with the bushings added to them
Borrowed from a post on grandamgt.com:
Quote:
Unmodifed cast aluminum control arm, worn bushings, busted seal:
Modified control arm, ball joint removed, and other removed components:
If I'm going to swap the ball joint for the N-body knuckle swap (and F-body dual piston caliper brake swap, with 12" rotor!).... I may as well just get a set of these at the same time.... wonder if the Prothane urethane bushings will fit in it? Guess I'll have to find out.
The 3rd gen N-Bodies (92-98) have the exact same control arm as 3rd gen Js. For 4th gen I think they just turned them around.
Let us know on the prothan bushings. My have to do this myself, try to keep up with Lenko.
take a look at the cobalt they have alu a-arm too
Location: Montreal, Quebec
I know the N-body is the same as the J-body... I don't know if the Cobalt is the same or not... (doesn't matter, there's no Cobalts in the wrecking yard I go to yet)
I have the Prothane bushings in my existing control arms... so I'd have to hack them out to make it fit. Looking at the pic I posted above, it's got a lip for the bushing, so it should work the same?
go john the pioneer , go john
looks damn close. If you need i have a set of bushing in the garage, I can measure them for you if need be.
whoa if anyone gets this to work, im heaidn to the junk yard for a 99ga control arms. Always wnated new ones
John: Hurry up and see if this works. Those GA A-Arms would give me the perfect mounting surface for an idea I have.
I used to race cars, now I race myself.
5K PB: 24:50
10K PB: 54:26
Im definitly interested, I need to replace my control arm bushings anyhow.
BTW, is the sway bar end link connection the same aswell?
The cobalt arms are different. GM does bonehead things, and the cobalt is one of them. They totally redesigned everything, and it looks almost the same as the original, marginally better, and at great expense. Could have slapped the N-Body suspension on an improved J frame (stronger for better crash results), reworked the styling, switched names if they really wanted to and come out with a 4th gen that would have cost much less to develop.... Can you tell I don't like the f***ing bean counters in charge of GM?
Anyway, I know it's close. Just looking at my sister's 99 GAM I can see they're very close to the same measurements. Only question is, are they the same? Just looked some up in a yard nearby, $35 each. I'll definately do this too if it works!
Listening as well, looking forward to see how it this comes out.
Someone tell me ASAP. I have an idea that I need to try and I'd rather have the best parts possible on the car when i do it.
I used to race cars, now I race myself.
5K PB: 24:50
10K PB: 54:26
Looking at Car-Part.com, are those from FE2 or FE3 Suspensions?
from J's discovery, this might be the a-arm to replace the lack of tubular ones...
i know on the infinity g35, the a-arms are aluminum which are lighter (naturally) and offer better response
Did a little bit of research before bed, looked up Control Arm Bushings from Advance Auto's website, both cars (98 Sunfire and 99 Grand Am), had the same part # for Control Arm Bushings. Ball Joints were a different part # from Autozone's website for the 99, 98 GA had the same #'s, but not a 99, dunno if they will work or not, but its worth further investigation i suppose.
I know the ball joints changed in 99. They're larger than the 98 and previous N-body ones. Those older ones are the same size as the J-body ones.
I'm going to do the swap to N-body knuckles and F-body dual piston calipers and rotors... so I may as well change the control arm at the same time.
I'm really surprised that no one has tried this yet...? I know the N-body 00-05 control arm is identical to the J-body... except the ball joint has a grease nipple on it. But that's technically not the control arm
can the newer style balljoint work with the 99 Arm? When you say larger, do you mean it wont fit our Spindle?
the 99-05 N-body ball joint wont work with the J-body spindles
but the mounting is the smae pattern for the N and J ball joints
So buy the 99 control arm, add in a set of poly mounts, and a J-body ball joint and there you go, certainly it cannot be that easy
Just in case any of my brethern are wondering.. this won't work on a 1st/2nd gen becasue the rear bushing is vertical. Why OEM's do this is beyond me, as you're purposly defelcting the bushing. 1st/2nd gens have the "Correct" double horizontal control arm setup with unequal bushing sizes.
Marchi1 wrote:So buy the 99 control arm, add in a set of poly mounts, and a J-body ball joint and there you go, certainly it cannot be that easy
I just assumed the 99s were the same steel as every other year. Never would have noticed with all that grime on there.
98 was a transition year for N-Bodys. Some are the 99+ style and others are the "98-" style. So be careful when on Autozone or whatever that you're looking at the 4th gens and not the 3rd gens.
