If you are new to automobile mechanics, then you might have never even heard of the control arm. This is unfortunate, as the control arm is one of the most important components in a car for ensuring that the moving operation of the automobile goes smoothly. While this may be obvious, many people don’t know exactly what happens when a control arm breaks in your truck. Here is what happens when this occurs!

What Is a Control Arm?

A control arm is a component of most cars that connects the wheel hub and steering knuckles to the chassis. As such, the control arm is responsible for making the bushings and ball joints flex and move to reflect the conditions of the road and the steering input from the driver.

Common Reasons of Control Arm Damage

Because these are highly impactful components to the general operation of the car, you need to always be conscious of whatever happens if the control arm breaks. Doing so will allow you to be on top of the situation to get it addressed immediately and give you time to recorrect back on course. Some of the major symptoms of a failing control arm include

• Wandering steering
• Clunking noises
• Bouncing while driving
• Nosediving after braking
• Vibrations upon acceleration
• Uneven tire wear

What Happens if a Control Arm Breaks While Driving

If the ball joints within the control arm wear enough, you are likely to face difficulty aligning the wheels. However, if you have incurred extreme damage to the bushing sand ball joints, the wheel could actually fall out of position. This is not to say the wheel would become disconnected from the car, but it certainly would not be providing any steering input or traction.

We hope this article has cleared up your curiosity over what happens when a control arm breaks on your truck. If you are looking to prevent this type of damage from happening to you, be sure to replace your OEM stock control arms with specialty or upgraded control arms for lifted trucks. As always, you can easily find these replacements and many more accessories at Supreme Suspensions!