Gooday all i have a series 3 diesel safari and a 2003 disco just added a one owner LR4 to the stable.................i was warned about lower arm bushings before purchase but got it at a very decent price,,,,anyway have to do these are people staying with the oem or going to poly read a couple of posts about poly in the rear causing problems with extreme off road which we wont be doing..thanks all in advance

 

The ultimate issue is separation of the bushing material from the metal insert, not necessarily the rubber material itself. How long will poly hold its bond to the metal insert? Not sure myself. Rubber is softer and poly generally stiffer. This also means that rubber will absorb and deform more reducing stress on the connecting points with the frame. Poly will transfer more stress. This is why poly is never a good idea for off-road or heavy vehicles. For a sports car where people want a firm ride, poly is good. But the price it sometimes frame damage (this is documented enough). Personally I would rather just go with OEM rubber for ride quality and safety.

 

Thanks kinda what i was thinkin

 

yeah so now down to picking a lower arm see parts geek has beck arnley and see various others ort should we stick with oem thanks

 

I always prefer OEM or the original maker for LR with critical stuff. Unless there is a known after-market brand that is superior. Sometimes you can find brands that repackage OEM. Moog seems to do this with LR but then change 3x over OEM prices anyway, cant really figure that one out. The reason I prefer OEM for suspension is reliability. If you go OEM you should expect another 70k miles or more without issue. Some of the other brands may fail much sooner. So if you plan to keep it, OEM. If you are fixing it to sell do what the cheap used car dealers do and toss on the lowest priced one. Alternatively you can replace just the bushings if you wish. I am not certain who was OEM for LR with these, but Lemforder is probably a good bet. Whenever I can use Lemforder for suspension parts, I do. They dont make the entire arm but they do make bushings for the arms. I also wonder if one can disconnect the arm at both points on the frame and press in new bushings without all the fuss of removing everything else. Food for thought.