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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Hi All,
My 2012 is starting to develop a slight steering sloppiness on certain pavement surfaces. I'm at 72K and I don't believe any previous work has been done to the front suspension wear items, only the front bags have been replaced at 62k. So looking at the diagram in the manual, it looks like the following are the wear parts:
Left and right, front lower control arms
Left and right, rear lower control arms (oddly called tie rods on the drawing)
Left and right stabilizer bar link
Not shown on this diagram is the steering tie rods, assuming only the outers.
So I'm curious if most of you just bite the bullet and replace all 4 control arms, stabilizer bar links, and tie rod outers all at once? Of course this will be followed with an alignment so possibly better to do it all rather than piece meal and multiple alignments. Or do some of these parts have a much longer life? Anything else to do while replacing parts?
Thanks for any thought you may have.
2006-2009 Range Rover MkIII / L322
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1,440 Posts
Theres a separate ball joint that connects to the rear lower control arm (the one going towards the firewall (they have some screwed up names for stuff on these vehicles). It bolts to the wheel hub with 2 torx head bolts, and then has to be beaten out of the control arm with an air hammer because they get rusted in place inside the bore they are mounted in.
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Not sure which diagram you are referring to, but there are 3 different parts that bolt to the hub. The forwardmost is the outer tie rod, the middle one (I believe) is what they refer to the upper control arm, and the rear one (either I'm correct or vice versa, I just call it the rear one) is the lower control arm. Each of those will also have an associated ball joint that goes with it too. My car came from the desert so I haven't had enough New England winters to corrode everything yet, but a pickle fork is great for removing the ball joint portions. You're replacing them anyways so just kill 'em while you're there! You then also have the sway bar links and you could try for the sway bar bushings (but kinda hard to get at).
I do remember this being a several hundred dollar job for parts, plus alignment, but it's worth it to do all at once. Was very easy and straightforward.
L322 - 2005, 2006 na, 2012 sc
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Agree with your line of thought and @THEmailman to change at once. I changed mine at around 60k miles on my daily and the 'upper control arm' was deteriorated. It was not clunking yet but the rubber was perished. The upper control arm mounts to the bottom of the steering knuckle and goes toward the firewall. From what I can gather, it stabilizes the wheel from moving front to back. If you feel a clunk when you stop/start or while braking in the front, generally this is it. It's the sacrificial part of the suspension. The lower control arm is far easier to replace with the upper control arm out. There is one ball joint on each side that is serviceable, it holds the upper ball joint to the knuckle. This is the one that @MARK_C was referring to that must be pounded out. Air hammer works great but I have seen a video where someone used a press. These get pretty corroded as they are recessed where water can sit on top and work it's way in. The trick I found was to support the bottom of the knuckle on a jack or stand so the strut can not absorb the blow to it. Amazing how much faster it comes out. Pound it a few times with a chisel and dead blow. Then use a chisel on one of the ears to try to get it to turn in the bore. Alternate between pounding down on it and trying to turn. Once it starts turning it will come out. For leverage you can re-attach the upper control arm you are replacing and use a dead blow on that since it's just going to go in the trash.
New ball joints come with hex head bolts. The original torx ones need patience to not strip the heads. Use a punch to loosen them up. Some of the moog ones I've bought were loose but the last set I got were snug. Not a fan of Moog anymore.
Note in the picture below, the bushings are replaceable. I did try to replace the upper control arm bushings once and did not have the right cup to push the old bush all the way out. I ended up having a machine shop do it for roughly the same price as new ones. It just makes so much more sense to buy them complete. I've had great luck with ACDelco Pro line suspension parts with lifetime warranty from RockAuto. I was not terribly impressed with the moog control arms.
If you get really OCD about it, you can change out the upper and lower rear bushings using Laser bush tools. In my experience, these are the ones that develop that squeak when you go over bumps.
Finally, coat all bolts inside the bushings in copper anti-seize. New bolts are called for but I've never followed that.
Here's what you need.
2x Link - Stabilize Land-Rover (LR073340)
2x Lower Control Arm - Land-Rover (RBJ500920)
2x Upper Ball Joint - Land-Rover (RBK500210)
4x BOLT (M14 X 103MM) KYG000043
4x NUT (M14) RYH000061
1x Left Upper Control Arm - Land-Rover (LR018344)
1x Right Upper Control Arm - Land-Rover (LR018343)
2006-2009 Range Rover MkIII / L322
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Oh yeah, and every bolt that passes thru a bushing will be rusted to the steel sleeve inside the bushing, do yourself a favor and order new nuts and bolts so that when you have to cut them out you can reassemble on the same day. All suspension bolts are supposed to be replaced anyway whenever you loosen them anyways.
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Discussion Starter · #6 ·
You guys are awesome, thanks so much! Would be nice if there was a kit with all the parts but at least the parts pricing doesn't look too bad. I'm in the west so usually don't suffer much corrosion but we will see. I'm seeing Delphi, Moog, and AC Delco. Any more thoughts on brands?
2006 Range Rover Supercharged L322
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253 Posts
Delphi or AC Delco, Moog is getting a pretty bad rep around the interwebs car forums lately. I just replaced the sway links on my 06 yesterday and the difference it made was HUGE. No more little clunks and knocks out of the front end at low speed! The ones that came out were garbage, the ball joints were plastic and one on each side had fallen apart and just fell out when the other side was released. I used Sidem parts (from Belgium) and the quality appeared to be really good, definitely on par with Delphi and the price was surprisingly good on Amazon. The other parts you need, like the control arms, are available from this brand and I don't think I'll hesitate to use them when the time comes.
Just a thought, have you checked the front tires? A few psi low or an issue with a sidewall would make the front end feel "wrong".
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Discussion Starter · #8 ·
Just a thought, have you checked the front tires? A few psi low or an issue with a sidewall would make the front end feel "wrong".
There is a drive I make on a regular basis with two places where I feel the vagueness in the steering I mention. The first couple times I noticed it were on my previous set of tires. Changed them to go to an AT type tire and found no real change. The issue is actually super minor and I could easily ignore it for awhile. But like I said, the Range Rover is our road trip vehicle and I don't want it to get worse while up in Oregon or Idaho. Plus, this is step one, got to order parts and find the time to install, might be a couple months till I get it done. And I love the L322 steering, don't want it to deteriorate.
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Discussion Starter · #9 ·
Just a follow up to this. Installed all of the parts today. The pressed in ball point wasn't too bad, I beat it out using a BFH and about a foot long piece of black iron pipe as a punch. The hardest parts was torquing the bolts to 121 ft.-lbs + 90 deg while sitting on the ground. I used a Lemdorder kit from FCP Euro. I've had good luck with their control arms on Audi so tried them on the RR. None of the arms or ball joint were obviously bad so I don't know if it will address the minor issue I have. Good to replace them at 74k anyway
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My lower control arm bushings were trashed at 59K--glad you didn't see that deterioration on yours but good preventive work nonetheless. Interested on your post drive results for steering and ride feel
2006 Range Rover Supercharged L322
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253 Posts
Just a follow up to this. Installed all of the parts today. The pressed in ball point wasn't too bad, I beat it out using a BFH and about a foot long piece of black iron pipe as a punch. The hardest parts was torquing the bolts to 121 ft.-lbs + 90 deg while sitting on the ground. I used a Lemdorder kit from FCP Euro. I've had good luck with their control arms on Audi so tried them on the RR. None of the arms or ball joint were obviously bad so I don't know if it will address the minor issue I have. Good to replace them at 74k anyway
That's the kit that's about $500? I was looking at that and thinking it was a good deal for good parts. Let us know how you like it.
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Discussion Starter · #12 ·
That's the kit that's about $500? I was looking at that and thinking it was a good deal for good parts. Let us know how you like it.
Yah, that kit. So far feels great but I haven't driven much. Going to the alignment shop tomorrow them off on a road trip Sunday, that will be the true test.
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Discussion Starter · #13 ·
Just a quick follow-up. The Lemforder kit seemed really good quality on installation and definitely tightened up the steering. I had not had a gross failure yet but on further inspection, much of the rubber bushing on the inner joint of the rear arm had separated from the metal. Looked like a few hard impacts could cause it to fail. I'm happy to replace all of this when I did. I put about 1k miles on over Thanksgiving and all is well. So far this seems like a great kit. Thanks all for the direction. Lenlo's diagram was perfect to help confirm I was purchasing all the correct parts.
2006 Range Rover Supercharged L322
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253 Posts
Good to know. $$ is tight right now so I only have the two front lower (Lemforder) arms to do so far, looking forward to the upcoming warm weather on Monday to get it done. Were there any good videos that you watched before you did it?
2006 Range Rover Supercharged L322
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253 Posts
Oh yeah, and every bolt that passes thru a bushing will be rusted to the steel sleeve inside the bushing, do yourself a favor and order new nuts and bolts so that when you have to cut them out you can reassemble on the same day. All suspension bolts are supposed to be replaced anyway whenever you loosen them anyways.
So the M14x103mm bolt and nut on the lower control arm are just standard hardware or specific to this? I'm about to do mine and your hint is well taken 
L322 - 2005, 2006 na, 2012 sc
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The bolt head is just a normal hex with washer integrated into bolt head. The bolts seem to have an anti-corrosion treatment. I don't know if I would just get any other bolt. I would not fee confident selecting proper grade and what the torque spec would be for that grade to achieve the same clamping force required. According to rave, the torque spec is 120 ft. lbs. and an additional 90 degree torque to yield. Personally I think it's garbage that LR calls for a TTY disposable bolt. Many full size trucks have 120-140 ft. lb. torque specs for their control arm bolts with no requirement to replace the bolts.
If you figure it out, by all means share what you find. The other issue with that front upper (rear) control arm is that it is very difficult to get a torque wrench in that space.
Like @MARK_C said, if you live in a high corrosion area, they can be really difficult to remove. I had a rear upper ball joint bolt that would not budge. I ended up using oxy-mapp gas torch to heat it up to glowing red and hitting it with an air hammer before it finally released. Highly recommend coating them with anti-seize before installing.
I don't know how I stumbled across this video but an entertaining take on replacing LR suspension components in high corrosion areas.
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Discussion Starter · #17 ·
I didn't replace the bolts but kinda felt I should have considering how much torque they need. I would buy them from LR to make sure the grade of bolt is correct. I am not in a high corrosion area so no problem getting anything apart other than how tight it is. Since you have to torque it sitting at normal height, I put a 6" block under the front wheels for access. I would have been easier with a second person to hold the nut with a end wrench while I torqued it. I did use anti-seize on the bolts for re-install. That video is really funny and really well done.
2006 Range Rover Supercharged L322
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253 Posts
Now you guys got me all worried, I was hoping to just bang it out on Monday while the weather is good because it may be the last time like that for a while. I didn't think mine look that rusty, certainly nothing a few hours drenched in PB wouldn't handle so I was getting visions of an easy cruise through it. I'm dreaming aren't I? 🤷♂️
LR wants silly money for the nuts and bolts, there's got to be a better way although in a way that simplifies things, just cut the buggers off. That and my local dealer is a complete ****show, absolutely and thoroughly embarrassing and I really don't like the idea of giving them my money. My rear joints are totally shot, sounds like a creaky old bedspring, so those are next on the list but I'm having a hard time finding the replacement upper bolts other than from a dealer. I guess I should do some more research before I take things apart huh...
2006-2009 Range Rover MkIII / L322
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The rose joint bolts that hold the upper and lower rear hubs on are almost guaranteed to be rusted solid to the steel portion of the joint, after 14 years (or even 8 or 9 years). I had to cut mine off just like in the video when I replaced mine. It was easier to just get a new hub have brand new joints installed and just cut the old bolts out and toss the whole hub in the trash (I did this on both rear hubs on my 06). If you go that way be aware that the parking brake cable also likes to rust itself into the back of the hub and is VERY hard to get out. If it breaks you have to snake a new cable (which isn't that expensive) all the way back to the hand brake in the console. Its a pain in the butt because it runs most of the way up above the silver insulation that is attached to the floor. People with the electronic parking brakes have to get access to the brake module and that may be more of a pain, but luckily the 06's don't have that system. I tied a string to the old one (yes mine broke on both sides trying to get them out) up in the console so I could pull the new cables back in without having to pull that insulation and driveshaft out. Front bushings are a peice of cake compared to the back unless you need to beat the front upper ball joints out of the front hubs. I really should be thinking about new rear control arms at 219K miles, but that just seems like a horror show to get at the bolts that hold the arms to the rear subframe, although I guess it I was replacing the whole thing I could just cut them into little peices and pull them out that way.
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2006 Range Rover Supercharged L322
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253 Posts
Heh, we should have a northeast wrenchin' get together. Who has a multiple car garage with a beer fridge?
@MARK_C have you seen the price of new rear lower control arms recently? ~$1500 each! Ouch.
Is there any place other than LR dealers to get some of the replacement hardware? I went into the local dealer last week and it took the flunky over a half hour to tell me that it would be 6 weeks and about $75 for the two rear ones and then the parts manager SCREAMED at me for being impatient.
Source: https://www.rangerovers.net/threads/front-suspension-wear-items.348418/
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