Originally Posted by gear-head

I believe the lca's are forged. I saw a 300cd which the owner told me he hit a curb that led to the compression/strut rod being bent like a pretzel and it appeared to have put a bit of a twist and slight bend in the lca. Had it been a cast piece, I believe it would have cracked and/or broke. I wish I had had a camera and taken a picture for posterity's sake and this thread's! The tie rods on that side were bent and the coil spring had a rearward "bend" to it also yet there appeared to be no other damage what so ever. You don't even need to wonder about the wheel! For all practical appereances, just the parts replaced and the car would be good to go! BTW, pricing a set of bushings vs. a completely new lca w/bushings pre-installed, well it seems like a no brainer to me which makes the most economic sense considering that the lca is probably a forged piece (and also judging by the price of the new one too!). Pricing the going labor rates for a professional mechanic to do it, well again, if you got some gumption to diy, its like gettting a whole 'nother payday for a weekend's effort vs. setting in front of the boobtube swilling back suds!

sooo..."Git 'er done!"

p.s. for further proof that the lca's are forged, look at the picutres if you can't look at some on your own car, there is "a wide parting line" running pretty evenly the entire length of the part, this is always a sure fire indication of a forging. Castings will have a very fine line which will often have some sharp edged flashing often sharp enough to cut yourself on, and some bit of "offset" where the molds didn't quite line up perfectly