what i meant by the "control arm" is the parts attached to it. bushings and ball joint. yes an alignment afterwords is a good idea. with some old parts still attached the alignment might not hold for very long. you're not saving all that much by putting new parts on an old arm. plus, from what other's have said the individual parts are a major pain to put in. it's your call if you want to hassle with putting the bushings in. it's much easier to put the whole arm in in one fell swoop....