New Suspension Problem; HELP!

[Houm_WA]

I recently had a mishap while off-roading on Saturday. My swaybar end link snapped. Looking at it after it broke shows that it bent and broke. I think that it had been damaged on a trail run last month, but I couldn't see the problem until it was too late. This issue on Saturday didn't happen on any obstacle or anything. It was a spot that created some flex but it was easy...no biggie.

So with the link broken and me in the middle of the forest I had to drive out on the trails as slowly and carefully as I could. I heard a lot of bad sounds but I got out. The upper control arm struck the air shock about 3 times in my estimation. The geometry was all messed up. On the way home, my EAS crapped out and threw a red fault; and put me at bump stops (with 32" tires!) a few times and on the second such occurance we used the IIDTool to pump the suspension back up, and then pulled the fuses. Got home.

Fast-forward to today. The LR Dealer was really confused on how to proceed and wanted to throw all kinds of parts at it. They didn't really know where to start. We decided to replace the stuff we KNOW is broken first and then try to re-cal the EAS to see if things looked better. As it were the upper cotrol arm was still touching (or nearly touching) the shock and the shock seemed pressed against the frame.

After trying to install the end link, specifically while tightening up the bolts, the damn thing bent again. So clearly something is not conforming.

So my question, mainly to the techs that post here, is: what do you suppose the issue is? Bent or failed upper control arm? Bent or failed sway bar? Neither? Both?

The gameplan at this point is to replace the (bent) end link and the upper control arm. If anyone has other ideas, please share.

This sucks, and to me the worst thing (besides the cost) is not knowing and having to wait for parts (nearest upper control arm is in CA and nearest swaybar is in the UK!).

Please help. Thanks in advance.

 

[Trynian]

Same exact thing happened to me. The shock strut is bad, the internal stop inside the shock is broke. The upper control arm should not contact the shock even if the sway bar is disconnected. I went through all the same things. Even if you fix the sway bar you will probably get the same fault when getting up to speed.

Raising the car you should see the bad side dropping lower then the other.

 

[Houm_WA]

Do you mean that your swaybar end link also broke? Or just the result of having the control arm contacting your shock?

 

[blackforestham]

That's nutty, Houm?? I wish I had input for you - sorry. Keep us posted on the fix. I'm interested in Trynian's angle on the strut failure. Hope the fix is quick and cheap for you.

 

[RoverGuy7]

The upper arm should not touch the strut, you can drive this car with no front sway bar at all. With the link new link bending, and the arm touching the strut, the upper arm is bent.
But you may have further issues too.

 

[Houm_WA]

Dave, we'll start with the upper control arm because we can get the part sooner; apparently the air shocks and the sway bars would have to come from the UK! ...but I'm hoping the issue is limited to the upper control arm. Here is why I'm thinking that is the issue:

1. The upper control arm was touching the shock and the brake hoses coming down from it were touching the height sensor indicating that it was out of position. Granted this was with the sway bar link end missing, but as you said it should never touch.

2. The sway bar itself isn't as rigid as the control arm. Why would it bend? It's made to twist and rotate in its guides, right? Plus...it looked fine.

3. The strut has never shown any sign of an issue, nor has there been any prior contact with the upper control arm. Any and all contact with the control arm and shock happened after the sway bar end link had broken.

I understand that there could be further issues, but I'm crossing my fingers for now that the upper control arm allows us to get the end link on correctly, which would then allow us to calibrate the EAS and align the vehicle...and all to be well for a shade under $1000.

 

[RoverGuy7]

The sway bar is made for torsional bending, but not so much for lateral loads, and could bend that way. But again, if nothing else, the place to start is the upper arm.

 

[Houm_WA]

Yep...I agree with you, Dave. The bend in the link was indicating a fwd/aft load on the sway bar. It could happen, but with its shape and the way it's permitted to rotate I think it's less likely that it's the culprit; plus it passes the eyeball test.

...heck I'm just trying to make myself feel good with all this Hardy Boy turned Physicist speculating! I won't really know until we put on the upper control arm!

Thanks guys...

 

[Houm_WA]

Hey Dave one follow-up question....have you seen many (or any) bent upper control arms? How about bent sway bars?

Thanks.

 

[RoverGuy7]

A few control arms, but only after an accident or major impact of some kind, curb, pothole, and obviously some quality offroading. Never seen a bent sway bar, and even if it does get tweeked, it shouldn't cause much of an issue.