Can someone verify that the front a arm (passenger side) is in fact different on a base C6 versus a C6Z06? I damaged my lower a arm at the track and found a used replacement. I was told that the a arms are the same but that does not appear to be true. The part numbers between each of the arms is the same up to a point. See the picture below to see what I mean.

It appears the Z06 uses different bolts to fasten the arm and the bushings on the 2 different arms are different. The Z06 one appears to use a brass one and the other looks to have an aluminum bushing. The ID of the bushings are also different which accounts for the Z06 using different bolts that measure larger in OD. See Z06 has some sort of thin aluminum tube that is placed over the bolt. This thin tube measures about 0.015" in diameter. See the picture below.

So now I need to decide what to do. Are the rubber bushings different between the base C6 and Z06. Since I track the car, I don't want to mix and match.

At this point I am a little pissed off since I purchased this used A arm and my car has been sitting on jack stands for a few weeks. It looks like I have a number of choices to solve my problem.

1. I could go the cheap route and use my old bolts and take off the tube and use the old a arm.
2. I could press the bushings out of my old arm and into the newer used arm.
3. I could go buy a brand new a arm and then use the 2 new bolts I bought. They were $27 dollars each by the way.

Thoughts on the right solution?

Back to my original question, are the a arms different between the base C6 and Z06? Did they change from one model year to another?

I have a 2007 Z06. I don't know from what year the used a arm I bought was from.


By lgz06 at 2012-03-19


By lgz06 at 2012-03-19

 

find out if they are the same part number or not

 

That is what I am trying to do. I called the GM parts warehouse and they did not know if they are different.

How do I go about finding out this answer?

 

If the noun name for part # 10307579 does not include the word "ASM"then the A arms are used on the base car and the Z06. Once the specific parts for the respective A arm assemblies are added to the A arm the assembly should get a new part number for assembly plant ussage. In other words you can use a Z06 A arm assembly on a base car after you replace the Z06 bushings and adjustment bolts with base car equivalents.

 

info from comp9 and gm parts house

15284769 original #
20799883 new part #

Lower cntrl arm Z06 and grand sport Right

 

In the above picture, I show the part number for both A arms in my posession. I don't follow what you are saying.

I have a Z06 and am wondering if I can use a base C6 A arm on this car or not.

 

These part number do not match what is on the a arm above.

What exactly are you saying?

The Z06 and grand sport use the same a arm and it is different than the base C6?

 

Up until today I thought they were the same as well!

The part numbers n your a arms dont even register in the system for some reason . I just posted the ones I found in case the information might help in your search.

This isnt the first time ive seen crazy **** like this. Ive dealt with the same thing with springs...

good luck and let us know what you find out!

 

Just looked at GM Parts House site and ut doesn't give part #s. But the base model price is 226.49 and the ZO6 price is 173.08.

Probably confused the situation even more...

I read a thread awhile back in which Lou from LG stated that the control arms are the same. Just the bushings and the way the rear upper arms attach are different. The thread was discussing if base control arms could be used with a PFADT poly bushing kit on a ZO6.

 

I called them today and they could not tell me if the a arms are different. I found that hard to believe. I called a few weeks back and was quoted $173 for a new a arm. I would like assurance it is going to fit before I buy it.

Hopefully someone else can shead some light on this.

 

I would be shocked if the A arms themselves are different, however I think there is a difference in the bushings (for what reason I have *no* idea). I know that when I pulled my OEM bushings, they had those metal sleeve things that you're seeing, so that's definitely a Z06 part. But I'd bet that the metal arm itself is the same. What you might want to do is call up Pfadt and ask them, they would know for sure. If they are different, you might want to look into just replacing all of the bushings with poly or sphericals and just never worry about bushing issues again. I'd bet that once the OEM bushings are pulled the A-arms for the C6 and the C6 Z06 are the same.

 

After reading all of this, it seems like the same arm, but you would need to make sure the bolt/bushing matches. There may be different manufacturers that use different bushings.

 

The part number on the aluminum part in both assemblies is the number for the A- arm only. If you are sure that the used assembly you purchased is an A- arm assembly from a base car then install the bushings and bolts from your Z06 assembly into the base car assembly. Doing so will convert the base assembly to a Z06 A- arm assembly. The only other difference between assemblies could be the ball joint. From the photo they look alike. Good luck and I apologize if I confused you in my last post.

 

I was going to ask Pfadt today and see what they have to say. I will probably upgrade all my bushings next year sometime so for now, I just want to get the car back together.

I wonder why the Z06 uses that metal sleeve over the bolt. The clearance between the OD of this bolt with the sleeve and the ID of the metal sleeves on the Z06 is the same as the clearance on the bolts with no sleeves and the base C6 metal sleeves.

I can't imagine that if I use the base C6 arm with a slightly different bushing (if they are different) that I will be able to tell a difference on the track.

By the way, when replacing the a arm, the manual says to replace these lower a arm bolts. When you put new bushings in your car, does that kit come with new hardware? When I removed one of my a arm bolts, the sleeve over the bolt was damaged hence I bought new ones.

 

I was considering this, but was wondering if the I could successfully get the bushings out of my arm and into the other arm. I have read that these bushings don't come out easy and some times you need to destroy them just to get them out. I was reading the procedure on Pfadts site about replacing the OEM bushings with poly bushings.

 

C5 lion Personally, I would use new bushings and bolts

 

I have a set of ZO6 arms that I had powder coated and put Pfadt C6 bushing in them and they installed just fine. Since it is already apart why not install the Pfadt bushings now and save the work of taking it apart again.

 

This would mean I need to tear the other 3 corners of the car apart. I just want to get my car running again so I can drive it. Down the road I will be doing what you suggested.

 

Just to update this issue.

I spoke with my local Chevrolet dealership and they now tell me that the a arms are different. He went back and forth on this 3 times before finally coming to this conclusion. He tells me the a arm design changed for the 2009 model on the Z06 and they went to a new part number. He also said that there was a note that you should replace both a arms if you have a 2006 to 2008 Z06 and use this new a arm. That is just wonderful. I think I will take my chances that replacing one will be OK.

 

If the base a-arm bushing hole is smaller than the ZO6 a-arm bushing hole, that would account for the "thin tube" that installs between the eccentric bolt and the bushing hole. If the bolts are the same diameter, I would install the base a-arm without the "thin tube".

Also, I believe the a-arms come as an assembly (with bushings and ball joint). I don't think you can get replacement bushings or ball joints (have to buy the whole assembly).