Thread: Lower Control Arm replacement - Notes & what the manual misses out...

Update, it didnt help my problems, oh well, not a big loss as now just have a spare set of LCA. Going to look into brakes and wheel alignment and general research.

Here are some photos of things not mentioned in manual.

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getting front discs skimmed for $50 total fixed fixed the wobble !!

Hi,

I'd be really keen to hear a bit more about this topic. I'm now on my third set of LCAs (ca. 160k km) since I bought the car and the wobbling is reappearing though the current LCAs have done only about 15k km yet. Leaving aside that it is concerning when this happens on the highway, it also is an expensive exercise when you need the workshop to do it.

Last fix include new LCA plus new brake discs and pads.

What is the expected lifetime> I drive 90%+ highway kilometres. Very little city driving. I saw 80k km+, sone stating close to 200k km.

Is there anything else that might contribute to the LCAs wearing out? I read in another post about sway bars?

Also, what products are favoured? The genuine parts or are the better quality aftermarket parts?

Appreciate any thoughts and advice on this topic.

Regards
Sascha

Originally Posted by haydent

getting front discs skimmed for $50 total fixed fixed the wobble !!

this came back several times, and went away with skimming, so decided the pad must still not be retracting fully on one side, (which did appear to have noticeable more dust buildup on rim) , or there is something soft about discs (less likely)

so i put on new pads and discs, and second hand callipers, so far hasnt come back

Originally Posted by Sascha

Hi,

I'd be really keen to hear a bit more about this topic. I'm now on my third set of LCAs (ca. 160k km) since I bought the car and the wobbling is reappearing though the current LCAs have done only about 15k km yet. Leaving aside that it is concerning when this happens on the highway, it also is an expensive exercise when you need the workshop to do it.

Last fix include new LCA plus new brake discs and pads.

What is the expected lifetime> I drive 90%+ highway kilometres. Very little city driving. I saw 80k km+, sone stating close to 200k km.

Is there anything else that might contribute to the LCAs wearing out? I read in another post about sway bars?

Also, what products are favoured? The genuine parts or are the better quality aftermarket parts?

Appreciate any thoughts and advice on this topic.

Regards
Sascha

id be surprised that they would wear out that quick, even thinking maybe a miss diagnosis, what symptoms and how often would they occur ?

Originally Posted by haydent

this came back several times, and went away with skimming, so decided the pad must still not be retracting fully on one side, (which did appear to have noticeable more dust buildup on rim) , or there is something soft about discs (less likely)

so i put on new pads and discs, and second hand callipers, so far hasnt come back

I had that previously, new brakes/discs, machined them, still there. The mechanic explained that the wobbly control arms impact the brake discs and they need to be replaced together.

id be surprised that they would wear out that quick, even thinking maybe a miss diagnosis, what symptoms and how often would they occur ?

Yes, can't believe it myself. Symptom is steering wheel wobble when braking, most pronounced at speeds above 80km/h. Wheel balancing and alignment didn't fix it either, usually try that first.

that is not lca, ive been through all this replacing them too. its a warped disc from over heating, as mentioned earlier most likely the calliper is not retracting enough possibly from sticking guide pins or other calliper problems. there are service kits which i tried first but that didnt work, so i picked up some used front callipers.

you can get a disc skimmed for under $100 and it will go away proving the point.

another less likely culprit is that the disc material is too soft and not up to the heat generated via normal use, but this is just a theory and untested, as i didnt want to test brand new discs on my old calipers to find out so just swapped pads/callipers and discs

Originally Posted by haydent

this came back several times, and went away with skimming, so decided the pad must still not be retracting fully on one side, (which did appear to have noticeable more dust buildup on rim) , or there is something soft about discs (less likely)

so i put on new pads and discs, and second hand callipers, so far hasnt come back

Different car, but my Volvo 740 was prone to a shudder under braking. A new set of front bushes ($50 and half an hour) fixed it for a while till they were shagged out again. It turned out to be a sticky caliper. A good dismantle, clean, new seals and it was good until I sold it. It did take me 2 years and 3 sets of bushes before I actually fixed it.

Uneven braking load on a front end can cause all sorts of issues that look like (or cause) something else. Now, If I'd had the forethought to go for a long drive and put the IR thermometer on each disc, I'd have picked it up earlier. The caliper at fault resulted in a noticeably warmer disc on that side. Not cooking enough to smell, but about 25% warmer.

ah yes i forgot that too, i do carry an ir thermo now in my car, as use it for checking the car and caravan brakes