I think i have a rocker arm - or both - gone/going bad. the steering wheel shakes a little just when driving straight down the road and when you hit the brakes it really shakes and makes a knocking sound from the front end. anyone ever replaced these themselves? could this be a different issue entirley?
i have a 2008 LR3

thank you for any advice!

 

Sounds like lower control arm bushings to me...

 

This:
https://www.roverparts.com/steering/kits/LR025159POLYO/

?
is that a easy level fix or would you say advanced. ive never done this one.

i had a 95 4runner before this beast and it was pretty easy to work on. this land rover is a temperamental computer on wheels...

 

I'm not much of a Mechanic...better at diagnosing from 16+ years of ownership. Someone here will advise though.

 

Rock arms are in the engine.

Dont ever go with poly bushings. They add stress to the suspension components and cause breakages. Bushings are designed to absorb stress, poly do not.

I agree, sounds like lower control arm bushings. You will also want to check the sway bar links. The links can be checked visually with someone bouncing the vehicle, look at the two ball joint areas on each and if they are worn you will see movement where it should not exist. The lower arms can be checked visually, the arm will be off-centered in the frame attachment point and you may even see that the bushing is damaged. You can put a pry bar in there and move the arm to further investigate for movement.

Replacing the links is really easy, best to do both at the same time, makes inserting the links easier if both are removed together and then installed together. Having a second set of hands to guide them in place helps too. I bought "cheap" Delphi brand links are they are holding up great, the AC Delco ones I bought failed right away. Lemforder is the best option though. For the arm bushings, usually replacing the entire arm is easier from a DIY perspective. Otherwise you need a sawsall, a press and some skill to remove and install them. I always go OEM for suspension parts, but right now one can get at least one from lower arm for cheap from Rock Auto at $60 / Moog part. Not a huge fan of Moog, but generally better than some of the other cheap aftermarket stuff. Comes with a new ball joint too. The problem with lower arms is removal, which must be done no matter what path you take. Usually the bolts have to be cut off. So you will need to hardware too.

I replaced my entire suspension system on my truck excluding the struts. Every bolt, arm, etc. Front lower arms were Mevotech, which use OEM bushings. The rest were all OEM arms and mostly OEM bolts, etc. A few aftermarket bolts from Britpart. I did my own work over a few days here and there. Truck handles incredibly different after the overhaul. Like riding on rails. Lots of work but I know I am good for a long time now. And I used marine anti-seize on the bolts, so with any luck on the next round I won't have to cut them off - that was the only difficult part of the job, those dang rusty bolts....

I have done suspension work on several LR3s, so if you go ahead with repair and have more questions, ask. I have all the part numbers on hand.

 

That's good to know about the Mevotech arms DakotaTravler. That's what I used for my last lower control arm replacement. How did you find out they use OEM bushings?

 

And are you referring to their "Supreme" or "Original Grade" options? Anyone know the difference? https://www.mevotech.com/parts-resul...over&model=LR3

 

Supreme use OEM bushings. At least the ones I had did, there were not stamped LR but they had Lemforder logos and I am pretty sure Lemforder was OEM for LR on those bushings. Also I did toss a few coats of paint on mine just to hopefully keep em in good shape for a long time.