I am once again in need of LCA's for my 06 LR3. Like the first time I went out to the online stores to shop around and discovered that there is significant disparity in pricing from $275 to $115 each side.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-Land-Ro...IAAOSwuuRarXlv

2005-2009 LR3 Control Arm - Left Front - Lower

Do you get what you pay for with the lower priced arms ? And/or are the higher priced arms worth the price?

Thoughts?

 

I went with these you can save a few more bucks if you don't need the hardware. I needed it

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F291178680472

 

Was your first set OEM? How long did they last? OEM seem to last about 70-100k miles from all the reading I did. For a critical part like this, I would only go OEM. I have had bad luck with aftermarket suspension parts. And really when I do end up replacing mine, I will probably keep the old and rebuild them - press in OEM or poly bushings and new ball joint.

 

I don't know if the ones I pulled were original or not. I'm not the first owner

 

Okay, I am sorry. I read "I am once again in need of..." meaning you did it once, and now you will be doing it again.

 

I replaced both lower control arms with aftermarket after 60K. So I'd assume OEM replacements would last only as long. I considered purchasing bushings and having them pressed in but it seemed that the consensus on the forums was that it was more trouble than it was worth. How big a deal is it really?

 

I haven't done LR control arms.
But, if you've never pressed bushings in or out, you'll need a press, and they can be a pain in the azz.

 

If you are going to press in new bushings I would also do the ball joint as well

 

I am in the middle of a lower control arms, wheel bearings, and inner/outer tie rod project on my LR3 I am using lower control arms off ebay. They look 100% identical to the OEM ones I pulled off. Metal thicknesses are the same. All the holes, bump stops, etc are the same. Not a metallurgist, so can't confirm the steel quality, but form, fit, and function seem to be the same.

 

Well here is my take/concern on suspension components. Typically two things fail. The ball joints or the bushings. The main body of the component, such as a lower control arm, really fail. I have yet to see an OEM part fail and while I have seen aftermarket parts bend, its pretty darn rare. So the metalworks are not typically a concern/Issue. What is an issue is the longevity and durability of the wear parts put into the component. Its seems the heavy LR3 eats up suspension parts. Form what I have read, 70,000 miles it pretty much the time to start thinking about replacing front end lower arms. Uppers around 100,000 miles. Obviously how they are driven and wear are a big factor. But still, what you are really replacing is the ball-joint and bushing. One just gets the complete arm for ease of install. So if the part is inexpensive, will it last as long as OEM?

Case in point. I can not fine Lemforder front stabilizer/sway bar links. So I went AC Delco. Decent brand, right? GM used to own them (still do??) and they are OEM. Within a week or so, one failed. It developed major play at the upper ball joint and I again had front end noise. So I put the original, with 105,000 miles, back in on that side. A couple weeks ago I was doing an oil change and noticed the boots on the other were cracked badly. Looked like a 50 year old part! I dont think it had play, but again I put the original back in. So now they are back in their box and soon in the trash bin. Not worth returning. The originals where still good (its why I keep old parts sometimes). I bought new for a clunk that turned out to simply be one of the links not being tightened down!

Now onto the BMW E32. A very heavy 7-Series saloon. I needed a lower control arm quickly. I put on a Dorman. It failed within a month. The bushing came apart. I hoped for a year out of the part. Now that car has Lemforder arms.

So thats why I prefer OEM or to purchase the part form the private label of the OEM maker as it cheaper with the actual vehicle branding. Since I also like to save money, I often do as much research to figure out who really make the original OEM part. Lemforder seems pretty common as a high quality OEM producer. And sometimes third party products are just fine. With the older vehicles I work on, those brands are know. Which to buy, which to avoid. But being older vehicles the pool of DIY repairs is pretty high. Seems with the LR3 that pool is not terribly large yet and experience with third party parts is not well established. If I am budget conscious, I ask if the third party part is cheap and easy to replace. If so, I will try it out. If it something critical, difficult to replace. I dont see any value in the risk. Replacing a part twice sometimes ends up costing as much as OEM - less having the extra labor.