Green/Orange/Factory LCA Bushings from Atlantic British?

[zgpablo]

Hey I just got a 40k service on my 2014 LR4 and was told my LCA bushing was a little soft on one side and possibly should/could be replaced. Yes, way lower than the 70k most people report, but I did watch him lever the factory ones a bit and saw the movement. I know I could wait but I also think it is a little unsettling at speed on bouncy highways at times (to say the least). To get a slightly tighter ride would swapping out to the Atlantic British bushings and LCA do the job or are there other parts that might do a better job of tightening up the ride a bit?

Thanks in advance for any (constructive) banter.

 

[jwest]

are there other parts that might do a better job of tightening up the ride a bit?

Did he also check the sway bar bushings? Those make a huge difference and are pretty easy/cheap to have done. Actually there's no good way to easily test them on the car but you can feel when they are past due by a few road tests:
-at neighborhood speed rolling up to a stop there would be a noticeable shift/thunk feeling.
-over little bumps slower you can feel more of a knock

When it's time to do the lowers, it's usually also not a bad idea to at least thoroughly check the uppers and if you replace the sway bushings, then at same time do the sway bar end links.

I also just realized that the lr4 may have fluid filled lca bushings whereas my lr3 did not that i am aware of so maybe mine lasted longer but didn't ride as well when new.

 

[zgpablo]

Thanks jwest,

I just had winter tires put on after the first guy reported the LCA issue. The (different) mechanic did a test ride when I asked him what he thought about the first diagnosis. I didn't understand exactly what he did at the time but apparently he did the local stop and go test and heard no clunks and reported a clean bill of health on the front suspension. So it actually sounds like the sway bars may not be an issue, yet at least.

I guess it's just my personal preference and possible excessive wear on the lower bushing on my passenger side. I know this is not a RRS but I feel it's a little too soft at highway speeds. I was hoping those green replacement bushings would give me back some confidence, albeit to the tune of about $1,200 by the time I get them installed...

On a bright note, I am in the mountains in Colorado and just mounted a brand new set of studded Hakkapeliitta 9's and can't wait for some more snow.

 

[BrandonM7]

Thanks in advance for any (constructive) banter.

I thought we did that when we were calling each other assholes.

Yes, the poly bushings will firm it up a bit. The green ones are a bit stiffer, I consider them just right. Not offensively stiff or rough.

I also just realized that the lr4 may have fluid filled lca bushings whereas my lr3 did not that i am aware of so maybe mine lasted longer but didn't ride as well when new.

Yeah, that's why they fail so early on the LR4 and RRS - the rubber around the juice isn't very thick, and once it gets even a small crack the juice runs out. Once the juice has run out you have a lot less stuff to fill the hole than needs to be there -- **** starts moving around, eating itself up, everything has gone to crack in no time. To be honest I don't really think the 4 or rrs ride all that much better than the 3, anyway. Just a problematic bushing for no hugely great reason.

 

[ryanjl]

Yeah, mine started with a slight steering wobble when I was slowing down on the highway. I thought it was my rotors for a bit, until it started wobbling on acceleration, too. The clincher was when the passenger-side bushing puked its guts onto my driveway.

That's interesting that the LR3 bushings are not fluid-filled. No wonder my mechanic looked at me all puzzle-eyed when I told him that the fluid leaked out of mine--he told me he had done the job on LR3's before, but never on an LR4. I bought new control arms from Lucky8 and had him put them in, so I'm curious if I have the LR3 non-fluid-filled bushings now. I love the way it rides, so I hope they aren't fluid filled and will last longer.

 

[jwest]

I am in the mountains in Colorado and just mounted a brand new set of studded Hakkapeliitta 9's and can't wait for some more snow.

Nice! I have a separate set of wheels with Nokian LT2 studded - see avatar photo You probably know already but be sure yours are as narrow as reasonable as it's the key to best grip as well as tracking.

 

[jwest]

tune of about $1,200 by the time I get them installed...

If i were pulling that much apart, i'd definitely also do the sway bar parts seeing as the end link has to come off the lca and then the sway bar is loose.... perfect time to do that. However, it's the same when the uca are removed... which is a perfect time to put in new air struts, which is when you put in strut spacers LOL

I did all of it at once: 8 control arms, 4 struts, brake rotors carriers and pads, sway bar bushings, end links, rear toe. Also moved front air block higher into bumper and rerouted some lines.

Felt like a new vehicle again. Amazing really. Did it all myself.

 

[zgpablo]

I did all of it at once: 8 control arms, 4 struts, brake rotors carriers and pads, sway bar bushings, end links, rear toe. Also moved front air block higher into bumper and rerouted some lines.

Felt like a new vehicle again. Amazing really. Did it all myself.

Ok, now you are just showing off. But if you are in Colorado any time soon and feel like showing me "exactly" how you did all that yourself .

Is it me or does everything we all own seem to grow massively in scope as soon as you start thinking about a little nice to have upgrade? Sway bar bushings and LCA might be on the cards and I hope you will not think less of me if I stop there for a few more (40) thousand miles. And I was advised to wait until summer, nicer time to take things apart. Of course, unless jwest stops by for a cup of tea or 10...

Thanks for all the input, I am a serious convert to this forum now.

 

[BrandonM7]

The end links are connected to the upper control arms, not the lower. That's irrelevant information, though - once the wheel's out of the way they just unbolt on either end, easy-peasy. The swaybar bushings are kind of annoying, though, because the skid plate is in the way and it's heavy and has about seven-jillion bolts holding it on. I looked at mine with a flashlight and said "those look aight" and left the new bushings in the box over in the corner.

I recommend the Arnott struts if you have to replace those - hit up eBay you can save a shitload of money over the common rover shops. They have a lifetime warranty, a Continental manufactured air spring and supposedly a Bilstein manufactured struts (couldn't find any markings to verify that part,) but most importantly by a long shot -- a flat top. The factory strut has a big ass stud and nut sticking out of the top, which makes it nigh-on impossible to get to the nut on the back without having to take out some plastic bits in the engine bay and wiggle a shitload of extensions and wobbly adapters together to get there from the top. Once you put the Arnott with the flat top in place you just reach back there with a wrench like normal ****. It isn't difficult work, but as I said earlier - everything is heavy, overtorqued, some cross-threaded, and some corroded. You will do a LOT of cussing, and you're gonna need a sawzall and some Diablo blades to maintain sanity. The LCA bolts corrode in place so commonly that all of the sellers strongly recommend buying new bolts and all of their videos explicitly mention how common it is and the best tools for cutting them out.

 

[ryanjl]

I was planning on doing my LCA myself, but when when my mechanic quoted me around $260 for the job, I jumped all over it. I'd probably pay that even if I had a vehicle lift at home.