'11 LR4 lower contol arm drama...

[txfromwi]

Bolts more likely to be rusted tightly if you have road salt in the winter.
Mine are Houston vehicles, came out no problem - whew!
But do use anti-seize when reinstalling in preparation for next time..
Just keep it off the threads!!!

Another good diagnostic:
Find a 1.5" lip up from the main roadbed. In suburbia that's the lip on your driveway as you enter from the street.
Slowly cross that lip and there will be a clunk directly under the floorboards just front-wards from the middle of the driver seat. This is the lower front control arm rear bushing. Essentially if there is any sound that is not clearly coming from the tire as it crosses, then it's time.

And as they wear the whole thing will feel "loose". Because they wear gradually, you will understand what that means after you install the new bits and feel how much "tighter" it is.

Not sure exactly why, but the drivers side rear goes first - at least in my experience.

Those bushings are oil filled. You might look for oil due to a leaking bushing.
I never did see any oil, BUT when I took it out, then it started dripping.. go figure.

My video above has more than you ever wanted to know... If you can handle the length and stay awake...

 

[ugmw177]

On ours, they began to clonk a bit when coming in the driveway over a small lip. The gradually became worse then when you applied the brake at fairly slow speeds, they began to knock and the steering wheeil began to shimmy a bit. They were the originals and car now has 98k miles on it. THe rubber of the bushings had kind of become soft and i think the oil had completely leaked out. Had the alignment done this morning. Drive home was fantastic; it feels very solid and sure footed now but of course when they were doing the alignment one of the tie rod ends was frozen. mechanic heated it up with a torch to free it up but that really destroyed the joint. had to add a new outer tie rod to the day as well.

 

[ktm525]

How do you know if your lower front control arms are going out? I understand it is a common problem. I haven't heard anything major. No crunching or cracking sound. The only thing I've noticed recently is the suspension doesn't absorb minor road imperfections very well, expansion cracks, manhole covers, small potholes, and the like. You feel them. It's like the LR4 has a stiff suspension, which is fine if that is the way it's supposed to be. I just wonder if it should ride a lot differently and I don't even know it.

The ride should be cushy. What tires? Size and pressure?

 

[BigBriDogGuy]

@ktm525 Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac 37 psi (front and back) 19" wheels.

I think I'm probably good. This is what I could see from the outside in off-road height (Lt and Rt). I believe those orange parts indicate that the front control arms aren't original. Looking at the condition of them, they look pretty clean compared to the rest of the undercarriage. I've only had the vehicle since March, so maybe they were replaced not long before I took ownership.

 

[djkaosone]

LCA noise comes from worn out bad bushings. Those orange poly bushings will not flex much. So, whatever noise you're hearing is not the LCAs.

 

[BigBriDogGuy]

@djkaosone Thanks, that's a relief. Not hearing any noise particularly, but the ride feels pretty stiff over road imperfections. Perhaps the poly bushings would explain that. If so, I'm fine with it. Just wasn't sure what a "normal" ride should feel like.

 

[ugmw177]

yep, the poly bushings will trasmit more road imperfections and vibrations to the steering wheel; will feel more stiff than the stock oil filled rubber bushings but will last longer and are easier to replace without replacing the complete arms

 

[ktm525]

poly = stiff.
stock fluid = magic carpet ride.

meyle HD somewhere in between.

 

[ugmw177]

poly = stiff.
stock fluid = magic carpet ride.

meyle HD somewhere in between.

exactly