Control Arm bushing repair NYC area

[chrisp]

Hey all.
I recently drove across the country from CA to NYC and it's time to redo my lovely control arms again. I replaced the whole arm and bushing about 2-3 years ago, but I know they're a weaker spot on the car. My mechanic in CA is the best and I've yet to find a shop as knowledgeable about Rovers out here.

What he does with them is replace the bushing itself with Sport bushings. The 2 shops I've talked to mostly just want to replace the whole control arm again which might be fine too, but I have a feeling my guy in CA knows what he's talking about. He said most independent rover shops should be able to replace bushings not just replace the whole arm.

Anyone know of a good rover mechanic in NY area or maybe between NY and MA?

Thanks!

 

[ryanjl]

Hardly anyone will just replace the bushing. It takes enough longer to do versus just replacing the whole control arm that the increase labor costs eat up much of what you save by just buying the bushing. In addition, you get new bushings all around and a new ball joint.

 

[PaulLR3]

I can't help you with the mechanic referral, but buy the control arms from Atlantic British. No need to buy OEM control arms from the dealer.

If over 100K mikes, check out your rear upper control arm bushings too. I just replaced my upper rear control arms at 130K miles. Definitely improved handling and ride quality on rough roads.

 

[DaytonaRS7]

I'd have recommended the control arms from fcpeuro. Lifetime warranty. On "consumables" such as lr4 control arms, if you intend to keep the truck another 50k miles, it'll be worth it.

 

[jlach993]

Where in nyc are you located? I’m in Queens. I know a few shops. Get the entire arm from atlantic british like what the above comment says. It costs $400 at the place i went to install it. It’s a royal pain in the ass to get those bolts out because of the rust. They had to torch mine and bang at it, then saw it off. It’s really not a lot of work for the lower control arms, but since it can be a pain to remove those bolts, the labor cost goes up.

 

[jjvd21]

Advanced Factors sells a HD front lower arm kit that comes with a 4 year warranty. It’s essentially the same arm that is in the Sport, which comes with an uprated bushing. I’ve owned my D3 for 16 years and replaced the front lower control arms 3x. The last time I used the Advanced Factors kit and it’s easily the best. When I bought the LR4 I put the same kit in. My LR dealer told me they were so impressed with the quality they were going to order a few and offer as an option for people who didn’t want to pay for the oem prices. Who knows if they actually did it.

https://www.advancedfactors.co.uk/k...ear-warranty-lr073367--lr073369-1366312-p.asp

Also, I’d steer clear of polybushes or hard replacements unless you don’t mind losing the magic carpet ride the D3 and D4 offers

 

[mflecklr3]

If you plan to keep your vehicle, pay the extra money for the control arms pre-loaded with the poly bushings. It's not a difficult job to do yourself even if you have to cut the bolts. I bet your bolts aren't seized since a) you were in CA and b) your mechanic probably wiped copper grease when he installed the new LCA. Make sure to get alignment done after.

 

[sandythedisco]

@chrisp how, exactly, do you know the CAs are going? I am beginning to get a very slight steering wheel wobble during braking from medium speed (super slight right now). Curious if that's a CA sign or i should be looking into my rotors?

 

[ryanjl]

Could be a control arm bushing sign. It was for me.

The rearmost control arm bushings in the front control arms are also fluid-filled.
You can look at them and see any sign of them puking their guts out.