Thread: Weird; How can this be?

Originally Posted by GregMilner

Okay, at m local indy this afternoon, after having them replace the front disc pads with ceramic jobbies, they tell me the front LCAs are flogged out. lots of play etc.
I'm not doubting them, I'm just curious. They replaced the front LCAs in May last year with brand new ones - the whole thing, not just the bushes - with OEM parts from Rovacraft in Perth. s
Now, after less than 25,000km, those same LCAs are buggered. No off-road work, just normal highway kms, perfect alignment etc etc. Is this normal? The original ones lasted 75,000kmh, including a fair slab of gnarly work. These ones? Not so much.

I'm not doubting the Indy's assessment at all. It's the second complaint they've had about Discos in the past couple of weeks. What's it about?
They are calling Rovacraft in the morning to to find out if there's any warranty on these things...

But I'm damned if I can accept less than 30,000kms of easy "nanny driving" from these parts...

Anyone else have this experience?

My experience is that the LCA's had to be replaced after 4 years and 37,000 kms from new. The dealer got it through under the extended warranty after an initial rejection by the warranty people. I have only driven mainly suburban short drives in the 5 to 10 km range with an occasional highway round trip of about 180kms . Virtually no off road driving (Don't ask )

I was surprised too. Maybe it's something to do with roundabouts and speed slowing rubbish we get in the city. Doesn't explain your highway mileage but nonetheless similar kms.

Martin

I would say that is crap - my car is on its original LCAs and now done 200,000km - mix of onroad and offroad work - yes they need replacing now but still OK on the highway - just rattle when driving over gutters - but speed bumps are fine - the type of kms you guys have done indicates someone is pulling the ........

I average 80,000 from a set, I push in genuine bushes. I did use new arms once to save time I didn't have.. Was a waste. They only lasted 40,000k. The arms I got were supposed to be OEM..

When I rebushed the while car, I used a mix of genuine or lemforder or Delphi bushes. Mainly genuine.

The lowers on mine were completely shagged at 80 000 Km,which is pretty normal.

The uppers were starting to go as well,but still just OK.

Something is not right if they are going at the lower mileages,although the OEM ones seem to be the better quality.

Everyone is referring to OEM. This can mean virtually anything these days. Are you all referring to Genuine Landrover or aftermarket? My guess is that the failures are aftermarket and the longevity is from Genuine. Aggressive driving, lots of raising and lowering the car when stationary, aggressive off road driving (i.e. too fast) and to a lesser extent towing will accelerate the wear on all suspension components. Remember, the lower rear bushes are sacrificial components.
When off road, I drive the D4 at the same speed I'd drive a series leaf sprung Landrover.

Its possible when the LCAs were replaced that they were torqued up when the car wasn't at the correct height and this has led to premature failure.

Originally Posted by Geedublya

Its possible when the LCAs were replaced that they were torqued up when the car wasn't at the correct height and this has led to premature failure.

Good point. But you'd have to go out of your way to stuff this job up. It's clearly documented in the manual. It's not rocket surgery! And any amateur with the skills and tools should have no problem working their way through it. The trick is finding a wheel alignment place that knows how to do the alignment properly.

Originally Posted by 101RRS

I would say that is crap - my car is on its original LCAs and now done 200,000km - mix of onroad and offroad work - yes they need replacing now but still OK on the highway - just rattle when driving over gutters - but speed bumps are fine - the type of kms you guys have done indicates someone is pulling the ........

I take your point but this was the dealer I bought it from new. Their advice was to change them. Didn't cost me anything as it was done under warranty. As I said, I was surprised when they said they needed replacing. Looking at the service receipt it says that they were checked following my mentioning a problem. Can't remember what it was but obviously some problem. Original equipment can fail. That's what warranties as for. Just bad luck if you ask me.

Martin