Super Loaded LR3 Control Arm Questions

tdhunter13

Observer
Yeah, I asked him twice and mentioned multiple times it was a LR3 and $125 was his answer. I guess they are banking on it either it being all 'new' parts and an easy alignment or being so far out that they have to replace parts. In which case the alignment would only be a small fraction of the total cost. Or that is just one of the few perks of living in Tulsa.

In other news, Atlantic British priced matched Genuine LR RRS arms from landrovermerriamparts.com which is pretty awesome. I can't guarantee they will in all instances, but you can see the price difference between the two which is pretty decent.
 

jymmiejamz

Adventurer
Most dealers usually charge the customers less than what they would pay the technician. For example, one LR dealer I worked for charged $199 for an alignment but paid the technician 3 hours of labor. Every dealer is different in how they charge for most jobs.
 

rjl

Ryan
Also, have any of you used this site to purchase parts? They have pretty reasonable prices, at least at the items I am considering, but I am not finding a lot of information on them.
"Land Rover Merriam Parts and Accessories"
https://landrovermerriamparts.com/
For example Front Right Lower Control Arm for $270 and it's "Genuine".

This is my local Land Rover dealer in the Kansas City area. They go by Land Rover Merriam, but are mostly known as Aristocrat Motors.
 

A.J.M

Explorer
RRS rear lowers?

Never heard of that one, rear uppers yes, as i'm 3 years into running them, but never lowers.

I changed my rear lowers as well. Honestly, no idea if they had play but since i was junking all the arms, they got done for peace of mind.
For the bolt, never changed mine and it's 12 years old. Has been on 3 sets of arms.
That alignment rate is superb!
 

tdhunter13

Observer
This is my local Land Rover dealer in the Kansas City area. They go by Land Rover Merriam, but are mostly known as Aristocrat Motors.

I was wondering if that was the case. When I clicked through all their social media options everything I got took me to Aristocrat Motors. Then I started putting it together. Either way, I got genuine RRS arms for a great price.

Update: I replaced the front LCAs yesterday, doing about 80% of the work by myself and then getting some help from a friend when he was available. Had I had ll the necessary tools to start with I would have finished about an hour or two faster (was missing a 24mm deep impact and a universal impact). As was expected, both rear bush bolts were totally seized. Though I did find that my electric impact was able to remove them both after 20-30min of alternating forward/backward. Both rear bushes had significant tears in them and the ball joints moved as easy as an Xbox controller thumbstick. It is headed to a local, well regarded, wheel/tire shop for a rotation/balance/alignment this afternoon. All in all, with the proper tools and a second set of hands, it is a totally doable job.

I have decided not to do a full write up as there are at least 3 very good youtube videos, HERE / HERE / HERE, of the job that are much better than I could ever explain. Although, I will offer a few tips/tricks for anyone that stumbles upon this thread in hopes to find some useful information.

With the wheel, hub nut removed, and a second set of hands, knock the spindle all the way out of the hub and zip tie it up out of the way. Completely removing it from the hub will make pulling out/putting in the balljoint HELLACIOUSLY easier.

Use a white or bright colored paint pen to mark the cam locations. Let it dry and then soak the nuts with WD-40.

A heavy duty impact or a cheapy electric one from harbor freight will break loose a seized bolt, you just have to be patient and not over heat your impact or the socket.

The first and second videos both reference putting the vehicle at ride height(albeit from two different methods) and torquing down the bolts from there. I used the method in the second video I listed.

Lastly, I can't stress this enough, a second (capable) set of hands will cut the time down tremendously.

Here is really the only pic I took during the process as it was raining on me off and on.

50152850486__63E3278A-4625-4C31-8E85-814C3CFFA77F.jpg

*The jack is carrying little to no load fyi.
 
Great write up. Did you call AB direct and tell them about the price match? I have to order just about everything here in Hawaii so I pay for shipping but with the cost of those RRS control arms, it still makes the shipping worth it.

I ordered just about all of my parts from AB and Lucky8 when I had to rebuild my front end from the crash. Great service from AB and they really worked with me on the shipping issues to Hawaii.

Do you have a parts list of things you needed to replace while you were under there? I think it might be worth ordering the bolts for me since I have shipping times to deal with. Nothing worse than getting it apart and finding out I need more parts...hahaha

To this day, LR Honolulu gets zero business from this guy! I order everything online from the good ole Mainland where customer service means something.
 

tdhunter13

Observer
Great write up. Did you call AB direct and tell them about the price match?...

...Great service from AB and they really worked with me on the shipping issues to Hawaii.

Do you have a parts list of things you needed to replace while you were under there?... Nothing worse than getting it apart and finding out I need more parts...hahaha

Thank you!
I did not, I emailed them and they list very plainly on their price match page how to price match and order online. In hindsight, calling probably would have saved a solid half-day in terms of processing. Because I had 4-5 back/forth emails with the sales rep.

ABs service is great and the shipping time was really quick for std shipping.

I jacked it up twice before I went to order parts and checked the play on various items. Then cross referenced that and the noises I had been hearing with other sources on the forums. I made my list from that. I guess I am not a 100% sure on what you are asking.
 

jymmiejamz

Adventurer
I recommend against marking the cam bolts to their original positions. I have found that most of these vehicles have had an alignment done with worn out bushings, so when you install new bushings the alignment will be off. I put the bolts in the approximate same position that they come from the factory and most of the time they require no adjustment.
 
@ TDHunter13 That answers all questions. I was just referring to what parts you ended up replacing after it was all said and done.

@ JymmieJamz I think he is referring to marking the cams for a "good enough" until you get to the alignment shop for an initial starting point.
 

tdhunter13

Observer
@ TDHunter13 That answers all questions. I was just referring to what parts you ended up replacing after it was all said and done.

Ah... I see. I ended up with RRS LCAs, bushing nuts/bolts/cams, and the ball joint nut. Nothing else was ordered per what I diagnosed and advice on here and other places. There was no corrosion nor any issue removing the shock bolt or the hub nut. The hub nut is the only thing that I would have considered ordering with everything else, but mine looked fine and had never been removed.

@ JymmieJamz Yeah, It was just the initial marking until I could get over to the alignment shop yesterday.
 

ColoDisco

Explorer
The third video was from JC's. Worked there for 2 1/2 years. Good people. My bay was the third on the right of the front of the shop. I have never had to cut out a bolt thankfully. Air hammer has always been able to drive out the cam bolts.
 

jymmiejamz

Adventurer
I have never had to cut out a bolt thankfully. Air hammer has always been able to drive out the cam bolts.

Do they not use salt on the roads in Colorado? I've had the bolts snap on two occasions when trying to remove the nuts. If the front bolt has to be cut out I replace the arm.
 

ColoDisco

Explorer
They do not. Having said that mine did start its life in Ohio and I have run into a few seized bolts on my rig. Nothing some Oxy-acetylene wasn't able to help along.
 

srschick

Adventurer
Besides Zelatore, Does anyone else have experience with the full polybush kit?
I'm thinking of changing out all the bushings that come with the full kit available for the LR3.
 

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