I installed poly bushings in my LCAs and I'm interested in seeing how long they hold up for. I wonder if the reported LCA failures aren't due to the poly bushings but a combination of sawing into the metal of the LCA bushing housing while trying to remove the original bushing (I'm guilty of this, but I filled the cut with some metal epoxy, hopefully it helps) and tightening the LCA bolts without a load on the arm assembly. I recall the service manual mentioned needing to make sure the distance from the axle and the bottom of the fender needed to be around 18-19" before tightening the LCA bolts. If mine fail I'll be sure to report back.

 

No. In fact in two cases on the UK forums the old bushings were pressed out of new OEM arms. I think in a third they were aftermarket arms ordered with no bushings in the first place. A cut in the metal can certainly cause a weak point, epoxy will not hold with the stresses involved. But the arms actually tend to fail along the weld lines - as if the arm is ripped from the truck. The service manual does not apply to polly bushings because polly bushings are not the same as the originals which hav a metal sleeve, are pressed in and end up having a home position. Polly bushings thus do not twist like OEM bushings and have no home position. It simply comes down to the truck being too heavy and poly bushings not absorbing the stresses, therefore the stresses and sent outwards to the arms and frame. If you have a mall crawler though, I dont expect issues. Seems most people that have had them fail have hit the trails, if only even on one trip. I think side to side stress is the biggest cause.