Im going on 40k miles on the polybushes on the control arms in my LR3. Greased the shit out of them and they will definitely be easier to remove replace than the stock bushings were when the time comes again.
Lower control arm
- Thread starter MonLand
- Start date
Any opinions on what arms to buy? I plan on buying complete arms and doing the swap myself...looking at Rockauto - 'Dorman' arms - $103?? Price is right...which is what I said about the brake rotors I'm about to replace for the third time in 1k miles... :banghead:
Thanks,
Pat
Thanks,
Pat
ptschram said:I wouldn't consider doing just the bushings.
I can beat Rover's North's price!
Holy crap...I love RN as much as the next guy, but man...$100 per side more than my dealer? That's a deal breaker...
Edit: just re-read your post...lol. PM on its way...
Pat
If I have one lower control arm needing replacement should I go ahead and replace both at the same time?
t42beal13t said:
Definitely. They will both fail, and then you'll have to pay for two alignments.
After doing pressing out the lowers on my 05 Ford Expedition 4x4(similiar to the LR), I will be replacing whole arms next time Im forced to do this. I used a cheapy Harbor Freight bushing tool (giant C clamp) and when I coulnt tighten/press any more, beat the upper side of the clamp, tighten, whack, tighten, beat, tighten, whack (yes, scary, Do Not recommend, cadone, advise, etc! Do so at your own risk!) and out it came. 4 hours first side, 1.5 hours other.
Cutting out the bushing like Jeffro did was my backup plan.
I think removing the arms, using the adaptors from the so-so Harbor Freight kit, and a hydraulic shop press would also be a good way to go.
Ive got a set of Rock-Auto Dorman uppers on the same truck and they came with zerks. Quality is good, no issues as of one year since replacement.
Cutting out the bushing like Jeffro did was my backup plan.
I think removing the arms, using the adaptors from the so-so Harbor Freight kit, and a hydraulic shop press would also be a good way to go.
Ive got a set of Rock-Auto Dorman uppers on the same truck and they came with zerks. Quality is good, no issues as of one year since replacement.
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The doorman arms are also available at Amazon. A little more than Rock Auto, but if you've got prime it works out to be cheaper overall.
I just had the lower control arms replaced in my lr3 today, as I've been working too much to do them myself. They did an alignment as part of the replacement.... it drives like a different car. It's funny, the big bushings were certainly bad, but they didn't look horrible. (I asked to keep the old arms, in case I decide I want poly bushings at some point, I'll just put them in the old arms.)
Just finished up swapping my lower control arms. A word of advice: invest in air tools before starting. The job would have been all but impossible without them.
The air hammer was very effective in popping out the axles. I tried my best golf swing with a 4lb sledge and it wouldn't budge.
This job sucked. The POS rear bolts were seized inside the bushing sleeve on mine. They got the sawzall treatment. I neglected to support the knuckle when I popped the upper control arm ball joint out. The knuckle fell at me and the inner axle CV separated.
What fun!
What fun!
You had your upper ball joints out to replace the lower control arms?
Luckily all my bolts came out quite easily.
Luckily all my bolts came out quite easily.
Another takeaway point. Make sure you have an alignment scheduled. I made a very conscious effort to make sure all hardware went back where it was originally but I had to fight the steering all the way to the dealership to get an alignment.
There is no reason to calibrate the steering angle sensor unless the steering wheel is not straight after the alignment. It is calibrated with the steering wheel straight. When the alignment is done, the steering wheel should still be straight.
Yeah, I guess it just depends how diligent the guy doing the alignment is, or how straight the wheel was before he started. When I got mine back, it drove great, but making hard left turns under power would cause the DSC to kick on. After calibrating the SAS it stopped doing that.
I released the upper arm from the knuckle when I was trying to figure out how to get the axle out. This is what happens when you just start taking shit apart without reading a manual.
I used a disco3 thread to guide me. But the post said to use a hammer and punch to help with breaking the axles free. I had to buy an air hammer!