Hi there,

I'm trying to do a little bit of preemptive maintainance.

Was going to do a 4 wheel alignment after changing the frontmost of the left side front suspension arms. The local guy said that it could not be done because steering racks and rear bushes (upper and lower) are so tight there is no chance to make any adjustments. I did do a major Dinitrol rust prevention treatment last year and yes it works great - the did a 2 day job to get it properly done. The downside is that every bolt is covered with this paste and every bolt sits fairly tight.

The 4 wheel alignment guy had tried with gasheater and plenty of violence without any luck...

So, I thought well, I will get cracking and change steering rack on both sides and the rear bushes and so on.

Now I've been getting a few mixed messages from different shop that perhaps I should also change the lower suspension wishbone as well as the upper arm assembly - there is nothing wrong with these but I can imagine it is quite a crappy job to get the different bushes out and only change these.

The car drives well and I reckon it would only make it better by doing some preemptive maintainance - would you change the wishbone and the upper arm assembly or stick with just changing the upper/lower knuckle bushes (and rear anti roll bars etc)

The car has about 167000 miles on its clock now. It drives well apart. It needed a new frontmost of the left side front suspension arms and a 4 wheel alignment - how far would you go with starting to restore the suspension parts in the rear?

Long and messy post here but I hope you get what Im on about.

Cheers,
Gus Fuji White 2011, 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE

Hi Gus, I've just replaced both upper and lower arms complete along with both upper and lower knuckle bushes, anti roll bar links and track control rods.
The arm bushes were ok really but the rest were pretty 'loose' in comparison to the new parts.
I had advisories for perished bushes on the MOT even though I had no knocking or squeaks.
I just did the lot so I hopefully won't have any worries for the remaining life of the car.

Thanks Kevin,

I will do the same as you, change the lot. May I ask, where and what brand of rear suspension arms did you go for?

I live in Sweden and would order parts from the UK. I got a pretty crazy lower and upper suspension arm parts quote from an authorized Land Rover dealership here - the equivalent of about 4000 pounds just for the suspension arms and additionally about 500 pounds for bolts, washers etc.

I saw that Britparts make suspension arms that seem to be very cheap... Is the Land Rover original extremely overpriced or is the Britpart exceptionally ?

I saw LR parts.net had both makes. I guess Britparts was something like 100 pounds and LR original about 600 pounds.

Shipping and customs to Sweden is a bit but not much I can do about that now  Fuji White 2011, 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE

The cheap ones are for garages to get a car through the MOT, they last as long as you imagine they would at that price... If you like changing them then buy the cheap ones, if not, IMHO, you should only use genuine parts, message Duckworths our site sponsor and you will get the best price...  Pete

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2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
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Hi Gus, my receipt reads;
LR023714 ARM/LH £79.50 Britpart [lower]
LR023713 ARM/RH £79.50 Britpart [lower]
LR023712 ARM LH £141.09 Genuine [upper]
LR023711 ARM RH £141.09 Genuine. [upper]

I don't like using Britpart but due to family bereavements I had to use them to get the car back on the road. I was worried they were going to be and made of thin metal but they weighed the same as the originals. A genuine lower arm is £760.13!! All prices plus VAT.

Don't forget to order a couple of lower knuckle bush circlips if you do the knuckle bushes. RYV000010. £2.47 each.
I reused all nuts and bolts, which is debateable, but your choice.
Good luck, Kev.

i bought some bushes
some are febest, made in Germany i believe and some britparts i think
the twelve bushes cost ad$384.00
about 200 quid i think
how good they are i dont know RR 2005 4.4 petrol
Any spelling mistakes are the fault of spellchecker
Previous MG J2, CITROEN light 15 x 2 gone unfortunately
Present MERC 180e, RANGE ROVER L322, JAGUAR XJS, MERC 280SE, MG F, JAGUAR S-Type 6v 2003, jaguar s-type 8v 2004, Ford Cougar