GMT-800 2500 Upper Control Arm frame mounts spreading apart?

[emdece]

Hello all, first time poster here. I recently bought some Upper Control arms from a well known company (not naming names until I figure out what's going on) that do not fit on my truck. Part numbers, fitment, etc has all been verified as me having the correct part numbers.

The issue is that the control arm legs are not spread far apart enough to fit in the mounting brackets. My stock control arms measure 12.5" (12-1/2) apart from the inside of the bushings, while these new arms measure about 12.25" (12-1/4).

I am being told that "Those older HD's are pretty inconsistent" in their frame construction. I have a hard time believing that GM would allow for this much variation.

The truck has never been wrecked and aligns perfectly so I do not suspect any frame damage causing this. The stock arms are easy (with a few mallet taps) to install and remove.

Any suggestions? Any help is appreciated!

[davester]

No way GM had that big of an allowable variance, as it would be hell on the assembly line trying to bent parts to fit.

 

I installed Moog uca's awhile ago (don't know which quality level they were), and they took some pounding to get in, and that was just a small overlap (like maybe 1/16" of an inch, so the effort was due to the friction of the rubber going into the two mounting points.

 

Do the parts themselves have part numbers stamped into them?  Maybe someone did a part swap in the box because they bought the wrong parts and couldn't return it, and bought the right ones, and returned the wrong parts in the wrong box (either on purpose or accidentally).