Control arm fail

[djkaosone]

As an aggravating follow up, had an appointment at Firestone for an alignment immediately following picking the car up from my indy. Went into Firestone right on time and was told the soonest they can get me in is Friday. Cue Seinfeld "But the reservation is for the alignment. That's why you have the reservation."

I really don't like Firestone, but have to grind through my teeth and smile through the whole process. I had a guy at Firestone that only did alignments and he could get them done in 45 mins, but he's no longer there. The other guys take their sweet time and often consults the service advisor while I wait, that tells me the tech is still learning. Most Firestone techs don't have the skills to do alignments and they're often short staffed for the service. But hey, lifetime alignments...

 

[ryanjl]

I really don't like Firestone, but have to grind through my teeth and smile through the whole process. I had a guy at Firestone that only did alignments and he could get them done in 45 mins, but he's no longer there. The other guys take their sweet time and often consults the service advisor while I wait, that tells me the tech is still learning. Most Firestone techs don't have the skills to do alignments and they're often short staffed for the service. But hey, lifetime alignments...

Lifetime alignment is the only reason I'm going there. This experience torqued me the wrong way. Every other experience has actually been great, though, so I'm considering it a one off or maybe just a ton of people coming in for alignments after the snow and ice we've been having the last few weeks.

 

[ftillier]

I got my new control arms in, and the difference in ride quality was instantly noticeable. Glad to be rid of the poly, though I might keep the old arms and put OEM bushings back in them, keep them on hand as spares. I haven't inspected the upper LCAs, I'll add that to the list of things to check.

Shame Firestone no longer do lifetime alignments for the LR4.

 

[djkaosone]

I got my new control arms in, and the difference in ride quality was instantly noticeable. Glad to be rid of the poly, though I might keep the old arms and put OEM bushings back in them, keep them on hand as spares. I haven't inspected the upper LCAs, I'll add that to the list of things to check.

Shame Firestone no longer do lifetime alignments for the LR4.

Find another Firestone. Most likely the one you went to don't have the proper equipment. I usually tell them I plugged in my (Gap) obd2 tool to lock the suspension and they're usually cool with it.

 

[txfromwi]

A good friend is a manager at our local Firestone, I still will not them fix even a bicycle...

 

[CPalacay]

Picked up my LR4 from my independent mechanic this afternoon. He replaced my LCAs with the Meyle HD units, and my upper control arms with the Lemforder.

My lowers were in fine condition; just wanted to get rid of the poly bushings.

Uppers were original, with 133k miles on them.

When I picked it up, guy showed me the uppers he removed. They were definitely due. One of the bushings was cracked in a couple of places. The inner metal sleeve on another just spun freely in the bushing.

Now, I'm thinking the rear control arms will be next. Anyone DIY those?

As an aggravating follow up, had an appointment at Firestone for an alignment immediately following picking the car up from my indy. Went into Firestone right on time and was told the soonest they can get me in is Friday. Cue Seinfeld "But the reservation is for the alignment. That's why you have the reservation."

I DIY’d the upper and lowers in the rear. You will need an assortment of wrenches and breaker bars handy since access to some of the bolts are limited. Break lines will need to be disconnected since the retainers for the hard lines are part of the arms so be prepared to do a flush/bleeding afterwards.

-CP

 

[ryanjl]

Shame Firestone no longer do lifetime alignments for the LR4.

They'll still do them, when they get around to them.

I made an appointment for a different location on Thursday at noon. Let's hope that location knows how to both take and keep a reservation.

 

[16FujiDisco]

They'll still do them, when they get around to them.

I made an appointment for a different location on Thursday at noon. Let's hope that location knows how to both take and keep a reservation.

I get mine done on 2 vehicles every 5k, I just always make my appointment for 8am to make sure I don’t have to drop it off

 

[ryanjl]

Looking at youtube videos on rear control arm replacement (mostly LR3/Disco 3 videos), I see several mentions that the rear upper control arms are susceptible to going out, only second to the front lower control arms.

Has anyone here ever had them replaced? I recall seeing a few here mention it, but wondering how common it is. I suppose there's a point where age matters more than mileage on some of these bushings.

 

[CPalacay]

Looking at youtube videos on rear control arm replacement (mostly LR3/Disco 3 videos), I see several mentions that the rear upper control arms are susceptible to going out, only second to the front lower control arms.

Has anyone here ever had them replaced? I recall seeing a few here mention it, but wondering how common it is. I suppose there's a point where age matters more than mileage on some of these bushings.

My LR4 is on its 3rd set, done at least once by the previous owner and evident from the copper grease on all the bolts when I removed them. The bushings on both sides were all cracked, the inserts are useless. Makes me wonder whey they didn’t go with a solid rubber design.