garthbreaks

Tom, Thanks so much for such a detailed explanation. I'm waiting to hear back about availability from a couple of places & hoping it's just my tie rod. I'll keep everyone posted and if anyone else out there has a EA71 passenger control arm, feel free to give me a holler. I'm not yet certain I've found one.

Can't get over that dash!!!

PM sent! As a side note - does the whole control arm go, or is it usually just the bushing?

Hi folks, I just took my 1980 Brat in for a safety inspection (part of the process of importing it into Canada). I was told that my front passenger control arm is shot and needs to be replaced. I'm hoping for a second opinion as my understanding is that I just needed to replace the inner tie rod. Two questions: 1) What should I look for to determine if the control arm is shot (it's a Nevada car, rust free and in good shape - just drove across the country) 2) Where could I find a control arm if need be? I've emailed Mountain Tech Subaru and I'm waiting to hear back. This is somewhat time sensitive as I've got about 30 days to complete the importation, though I'm sure I could figure out an extension if need be. Thanks as always, look forward to hearing your advice!

One final update - the spare tire compartment won't hold a 185/70, for that, it's gotta be a 175/70. Otherwise, the 185/70's were fine driving across the country.

Tom, that's crazy! I stopped at a shop in Niles called Corbidge Automotive - a fellow by the name of Mitch helped me out and he couldn't have been nicer. There's a Route 66 right next door to the shop that I set up a tent behind and crashed around midnight. At 7am, I packed everything up and stuffed it in the Brat. Within 5 minutes, the sky completely opened up and I thanked my lucky stars for the timing. There's no way my $30 tent from Walmart could have withstood the fury of that storm!

Looking for a door handle for the tail gate of my Brat, please let me know if you've got one to spare. Thanks!

Turns out I had play in the tie rod which got worse over time. That led to the pad slapping the rotor, warping it. The wobble in the tie rod messed up the wheel and when it was all combined, I got the violent shaking. The garage I camped behind was able to machine the rotor and switch front and rear tires for me so I could limp across the border. Currently 200km from home waiting for CAA/AAA to come pick me up and finish the trip. I thought about trying to finish it on my own, but it's not worth the potential damage (wheel still wobbles a whole lot). Still, 2200 miles since Friday morning ain't half bad for this ol' Brat. I'll be ordering a new tie rod assembly from Rock Auto soon unless anyone can recommend another vendor I should check out. Thanks to everyone on the forum for all the help and advice - much appreciated.

*GPS, not God (though any help right now is appreciated).

Just looked at it with the shop - the rotor is out of round and there's some play in the tie rod. My hope is when combined - that was the problem. They're machining the rotor now and I'm gonna try to limp home with the (minimal) play in my tie rod. I'll be setting my God to avoid highways and keeping braking to a minimum. Goal is to get across about 40km's past the Detroit border into Windsor. After that I can call in a 320km tow from CAA/AAA. I'll keep folks posted.

Pardon the spelling, I'm writing from my phone.

i'm writing this camped out behind a route 99 in rural Michigan, 2 hours from the Detroit border. I left Vegas Friday at 6am and made it this far before something gave up the ghost. On the I94, the Brat started shaking violently and pulling to one side. Before I left, I put in new axles, bearings, brake pads (and hardware), tie rod ends and ball joints. After rebuilding the deont end I noticed the wheels were a bit out of alignment but drove it anyway (and made it pretty far). It starts shaking violently at about 60, but if I leave it alone for a few minutes, I can limp along without it shaking. Drive it about 20 miles on backroads in 2nd to where I am now (next to a garage that opens at 8). Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts. There's a clicking sound coming from the front passenger wheel (the one that pulls - it's been a bit toed in for 2000 miles). My hope is that it's not the tranny, I'll change the fluid tomorrow morning and look for metal flakes. In the interim, I welcome any advice! Just a few hundred more miles until I'm home in Toronto.

i'm writing this camped out behind a route 99 in rural Michigan, 2 hours from the Detroit border. I left Vegas Friday at 6am and made it this far before something gave up the ghost. On the I94, the Brat started shaking violently and pulling to one side. Before I left, I put in new axles, bearings, brake pads (and hardware), tie rod ends and ball joints. After rebuilding the deont end I noticed the wheels were a bit out of alignment but drove it anyway (and made it pretty far). It starts shaking violently at about 60, but if I leave it alone for a few minutes, I can limp along without it shaking. Drive it about 20 miles on backroads in 2nd to where I am now (next to a garage that opens at 8). Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts. There's a clicking sound coming from the front passenger wheel (the one that pulls - it's been a bit toed in for 2000 miles). My hope is that it's not the tranny, I'll change the fluid tomorrow morning and look for metal flakes. In the interim, I welcome any advice! Just a few hundred more miles until I'm home in Toronto.

Thanks for the help folks, just wanted to update and let everyone know I went with 185/70R13 and they fit fine. A few more things to tackle (axle replacement, weber swap, pertronix installation) and I'll be attempting to drive my Brat from Vegas to Toronto via Route 50.