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Rear arm bushes gone

100K views 253 replies 81 participants last post by  gaskell71 
#1 ·
Had a service yesterday at a Ford dealer and got them to look at the knocking sound I was getting when hitting dips in the road - seems the rear arm bushes have split and they have marked it as *DANGEROUS* (this is on a 1.8 TDCi 07). All in price to fit new ones £627 ! Is this a job any garage can do?

They also quoted me 294 to replace the front discs and pads now I am certain I can get that cheaper!
 
#2 ·
if you can do it yourself find some decent discs and pads on ebay, and if you're up for it the rear arm bushes too. £627!!??? gold plated ones?
 
#4 ·
it is very, very expensive but apparently you cannot just replace the bushes - they come as part of the rear arm assembly and have to replaced as a whole unit! I have 67000 miles on the clock and get a knock when going over dips in the ground and it might well be what causes the back end to slide out when going around tight roundabouts?
 
#6 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have 67000 miles on the clock and get a knock when going over dips in the ground and it might well be what causes the back end to slide out when going around tight roundabouts?
I haven't got any knocking but will get the bushes checked just in case as I've had the back end slide a couple of times at tight roundabouts.
 
#7 ·
I have a mk4 2008 (57 plate) 1.8 tdci (100bhp) estate. It has about 108,000 miles on it and has been a taxi since September 2011. I was warned by the taxi MOT mechanic that the same bushes are wearing and splitting from the metal/rubber. What can I do ??? Don't want to pay £600 + ????? Any advice would be appreciated. Surely there are other bush manufacturers out there that have started to manufacture bushes fror these suspension arms........obviously there is demand for them !!!
 
#9 ·
Just a heads up guys, I had an 08 1.6 petrol mk4 in today to replace the tyres and found the trailing ARM bushes separated. This worries me as the car has only 19k on the clock. The bushes do not come separate and the trailing arms cost £142 + vat each. They look pretty mean to change too. You can visually check your bushes fairly easy without removing your wheels. A tell tale sign they are on the way is rust all around the rubber bush. Had a few of these now but mines ok, just checked....
 
#13 ·
nearly £700! Je'us Christ! I need mine replacing too, was hoping it would be somewhere around the £200 mark! As for the brakes, I got quote a similar amount as you have, approximately £300 per axle. I can do the whole lot for £300 if I do it myself, I just want it done by a main garage with Ford official parts!
 
#14 ·
#15 ·
They arent the problem bushes Siruncle, the problem ones are the ones on the trailing arms that face towards the front of the car.
One BIG bush that Ford dont sell and nor does anyone else grrrr
 
#16 ·
#18 ·
Just paid £166 for a nearside radius arma ssembly from Ford as no aftermarket sections or bushes are currently available.

Two hours and some heavy working saw a change of the complete section and despite my initial feelings the change in ride was easily noticeable.
Smoother and firmer without any noticeable drift or it was simply just much more stable.

Well worth making the effort to change the whole thing if it shows signs of the rubber parting from the bush as it is held so closely the movement is not easily seen but it makes so much difference.
 
#19 ·
well I still havent had this job done, went in for MOT yesterday and guess what - no mention of the problem. The Ford dealer reckoned it would probably fail the MOT when they told me about the "DANGEROUS" split bushes in February but not even an advisory came up in the MOT. (having said that my badly pitted front brake discs that got me an advisory last year werent bad enough to mention this year either - must have smoothed them out over the year
)
 
#24 · (Edited by Moderator)
Mine failed on one, and the other was an advisory.

Bought a pair from REMOCO for £77.

Pain in the proverbial to fit. Getting the arms off was a chore, but not technically different. Cutting the old bush outer involved a hacksaw, but pushing them in (even with a 15 ton press was really difficult due to the shape of the bushes.

We had to make up a 'tool' to press the arm onto the bush. Took the whole day, but fingers crossed for the retest tomorrow!

The point of no return!


The bush that failed came was completely separate and just fell out!



All back together...

 
#25 ·
Got an advisory that mine were starting to split during the 75,000 mile service (08 plate TitX). Rates swapped them out for me the next week (as well as a few other bits).

Supply and fit of both rear arms, key fob battery, reset the dash (went nuts on the way to the dealer), supply and fit bonnet rubber bumper block, floor mat clips. All for £667 inc the VAT.
 
#27 ·
Of that £667, the arms came in at £158.39 +VAT each (£190) and labour was £147.97 + VAT (£177.56). Alignment will also have been checked after the work was carried out.

Parts fitted were Knuckle and hub assembly (1566837 and 1566810) - that's the complete arm not just the bush.

The remaining money went on the few other little bits I had done at the same time.
 
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