Hi folks,

The nearside front control arm seems to have been packed in.. so I am in the market for some oem ones.

Seen some full kits on Fleabay for £125 that includes the ball joints and both control arms. There is a 2 year warranty but not sure how it works therefore wanted to get everyone's opinion to see what is the best option. As the single control arm from Delphi is around £35 ish.

Please advise Current:
- L560 Velar HSE R-Dynamic D180
- Peugeot 508 2011 - 2.2 HDi GT

Past:
- FFRR V 2010 - 3.6 TDV8
- Citroen C4 1.6i Petrol
- Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2 DID
- Peugeot 607 2.2 HDi
- Nissan Primera 1.8 SVE
- Honda Civic 1.6 VTEC

I personally find them a bit pot-luck really. Over the years i've bought various arms from the dealer, some from the long standing mail order companies and some from ebay. I couldn't say beyond all doubt that the dealer ones last significantly longer than the other ones - they do last a little longer i suppose, but not x10 times. That being said, I would say that I seem to have had better luck with buying from the mail order companies you find in magazines compared to the ebay ones. The mail order / online sites seem to be better quality than the ebay ones. i.e. get the delphi one imho.

I've also found that if the front lower arm ( the one with the ball joint in it ) is going, then its not going to be long before the curvy rear arm (upper) and its associated ball joint are on their way out. I reckon when 1 wears to the point of knocking that it accelerates wear in the other somehow. If you've got it apart, you may as well do it all type thing.

How tool savvy are you ? I have a number of simple tips / tricks regarding doing the job. (Some methods might get a bit of from some. )

The front lower arm is fairly easy - but i've found splitting the ball joint a destruction out method using ball joint splitter forks.
The rear upper arm is fairly easy - I use the power steering to split the joint.( ask later )
The upper arm ball joint in the hub is a PITA if its the first time you've done it. I replace the torx head bolts with normal M10 bolt headed bolts.

as an experiment, for the upper arm bush wearing out, I thought I would try and be even more cheap-skate the most recent time round and only replace the big bush on the arm. It worked a treat.

Oh and if you are wondering how to tighten the suspension up when it’s weighted on the ground..... I have no other use for a cracked 22" alloy!

^ good idea that..  ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

Unnecessary quote removed

Sound advice Fisha.. I have all the tools with exception of the ball joint splitter fork which I can get no bother..

Will look out for the mail order firms.. I also had a thought of getting the powerflex PU bushes but thinking what if one of the arm with ball joint is split..

Good shout about the torque.. I wasn't aware of this.. I understand that it can only be torqued up while on weight? Current:
- L560 Velar HSE R-Dynamic D180
- Peugeot 508 2011 - 2.2 HDi GT

Past:
- FFRR V 2010 - 3.6 TDV8
- Citroen C4 1.6i Petrol
- Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2 DID
- Peugeot 607 2.2 HDi
- Nissan Primera 1.8 SVE
- Honda Civic 1.6 VTEC

There are a number of places to order from ... island4x4, britishparts, advancedfactors, craddocks, paddocks, etc etc etc a search of relevant part numbers on google brings them all up. I tried just the bushes this time as it let me get the lemforder bushes which I think are original manufacturer parts. When putting the bush beside the old ebay sourced one, there was a definitie difference in rubber ... the ebay one seemed to have a bit less rubber in it. Almost like a lighterweight version ... which is probably why it didn't last as long.

As for tightening ... yeah ... the subframe bolts are meant to clamp down and prevent the inner part of the bush from rotating ... so it needs to be held in the normal height position for this with weight on. Other wise you tighten it up, lower it and run with the bushes permanently twisted .... leading to wrecked bushes in no time. ( I still dont understand why they rely on the movement to be taken up by the rubber ... its destined to fail even through normal use. ).


As for powerflex bushes ... nah ... opinion on BMW suspension ( which the L322 basically is ) is not to bother. If you can get the old bush out ... you may as well put a new normal bush in for a fraction of the cost. V8 or else ...

Thanks Fisha.. very useful.

The method I had in my mind was to simulate this was to measure the distance from hub to wheel arch then once the control arms were replaced, used a bottle jack to bring it to the right distance and torque it up.

Will this science work? Current:
- L560 Velar HSE R-Dynamic D180
- Peugeot 508 2011 - 2.2 HDi GT

Past:
- FFRR V 2010 - 3.6 TDV8
- Citroen C4 1.6i Petrol
- Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2 DID
- Peugeot 607 2.2 HDi
- Nissan Primera 1.8 SVE
- Honda Civic 1.6 VTEC

Kind of ... but no. The strut will start weight bearing and you end up supporting the weight at an angle which makes the suspension no level. That’s been my experience anyway.

Thepictured method or any derivative there off is better as the car is level all round. I’ve used bricks before to drive up and onto.

I fitted my arms and wheels back on then ran it to get the height settled again then drove up onto the supports. V8 or else ...

Brilliant

Will place the order today and wait for the next weekend as there is rain in the forecast. So will shout out for help.

What's the best practice.. change all of it or just the offending part? I mean the ball joints etc? As mine seems to be just the upper control arm. Current:
- L560 Velar HSE R-Dynamic D180
- Peugeot 508 2011 - 2.2 HDi GT

Past:
- FFRR V 2010 - 3.6 TDV8
- Citroen C4 1.6i Petrol
- Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2 DID
- Peugeot 607 2.2 HDi
- Nissan Primera 1.8 SVE
- Honda Civic 1.6 VTEC