I just replaced my 89 765 control arm bushings. They were incredibly rusted and thoroughly destroyed. Whatta mess. It took hours to removed the remains of the old bushings and to clean the rust in the control arm socket with a coarse conical wire brush, sandpaper and steelwool. When finished the bushing socket was anything but perfect when I installed new bushings. There remained deep pits and wear marks. Bur even so the vehicle handles and brakes MUCH better!
I noticed that later Volvo used aluminum control arms. Was this to prevent this kind of corrosion/rust problem? Or was it to help with unsprung weight?
Anyone have any suggetions about how "clean" the socket should be and whether replacing the stock steel control arms with aluminum would be a good idea?