2010 Altima - Front LCA Bushing Failure @ 45K.

[The Critic]

The control arms have been replaced.

With 2 people, the passenger side arm can be done without any significant disassembly.

The driver side required the level of disassembly that was specified in the repair manual - which is removing the knuckle.

It is incredible how much better the car drives with new arms. I think new bushings can make as much difference as struts/shocks. Bumps are more isolated and steering feel is more precise.

 

[PandaBear]

Interesting. I always though the orientation of the bushing in the inner side of control arm should be front back instead of top bottom. Why do they do that? That's definitely going to "bend" it enough to crack it over time.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted by PandaBear
Interesting. I always though the orientation of the bushing in the inner side of control arm should be front back instead of top bottom. Why do they do that? That's definitely going to "bend" it enough to crack it over time.

Many cars use this design (most Toyota and Honda), but this is the first application (for me) where the horizontal bushing is fluid-filled.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by bbhero
Well... 248kiles... And no issues with mine like that... Maybe something happened here... And it could possibly be something other than a part failure. Not saying that is the case in this instance. But it could be..

Agreed. I tried searching on the Altima forums and did not find anything. My parts guy also msaid he keeps multiple pairs in stock and sells them quite regularly, so...


Nice you could do that for them, you saved them a lot of money. If the parts dept is carrying multiple pairs then its a common failure without a doubt.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted by Trav
Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by bbhero
Well... 248kiles... And no issues with mine like that... Maybe something happened here... And it could possibly be something other than a part failure. Not saying that is the case in this instance. But it could be..

Agreed. I tried searching on the Altima forums and did not find anything. My parts guy also msaid he keeps multiple pairs in stock and sells them quite regularly, so...


Nice you could do that for them, you saved them a lot of money. If the parts dept is carrying multiple pairs then its a common failure without a doubt.



For sure.

What do you figure it would cost to have a shop do this, $1200?

Off topic, but oh how I wish my 2016 Nissan product looked as clean as that 2010..

 

[bbhero]

Maybe because people can't drive worth a you know what.... That's why they have them on hand... Many people like running over curbs, trees and drive like Ray Charles in general...

 

[Trav]

Try driving in MA, its worse than a third world he.. hole. You have to maneuver like a drunken sailor on a high sea to avoid them.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted by JTK
Originally Posted by Trav
Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by bbhero
Well... 248kiles... And no issues with mine like that... Maybe something happened here... And it could possibly be something other than a part failure. Not saying that is the case in this instance. But it could be..

Agreed. I tried searching on the Altima forums and did not find anything. My parts guy also msaid he keeps multiple pairs in stock and sells them quite regularly, so...


Nice you could do that for them, you saved them a lot of money. If the parts dept is carrying multiple pairs then its a common failure without a doubt.



For sure.

What do you figure it would cost to have a shop do this, $1200?

Off topic, but oh how I wish my 2016 Nissan product looked as clean as that 2010..


ProDemand shows 4.2 hours for both sides or 2.3 hr for one side. Alignment is additional. MSRP for one arm was $260.47 and $268.30 for the other.

Probably $1250 + tax, minimum. Most dealers and shops are at least 1/3 over MSRP for OEM parts, so $1400-$1500 is more realistic.

Then again, most folks may elect to only replace one arm with aftermarket (which may/may not contain fluid filled bushings). For example, my local wholesale supplier shows a Mevotech Supreme Control Arm in stock for $112, so even with a 50% parts mark up, alignment and 2 hours of labor, then job can be done for about $500.

 

[Doc8404]

Thanks for the info.
Almost motivated enough to do it myself.

Is there a test to see if they are shot?

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted by rsylvstr
Thanks for the info.
Almost motivated enough to do it myself.

Is there a test to see if they are shot?

Check for fluid leakage from the rear bushing, and deep tears on the center bushing.

 

[bbhero]

Yeah I'm have no doubt you are right in that

Amazingly I ran over a decent sized tree in the road shortly after I got my car.. and it didn't mess up too much other than a fog light on the right side. I was following a world champion who must have either had sorry headlights or they were Ray Charles... By the time that world champion swerved to the left going 35 moh... I was there... It was quite a rough hit... I got out very shortly afterwards and did my redneck checklist... No fluids leaking .. check. No tire rubbing with anything else... Check.... Nothing dragging under the car... Check... Drove it on home with no problem. Next day did a more thorough inspection... Found the fog light was jacked up.. taped it in place with some Gorilla tape.. funny but true story... I found that hospital tape with the fabric in it held much much better than any duct tape or Gorilla tape.. That hospital tape lasted a whole year... And we sometimes use that on people's skin

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted by The Critic
Then again, most folks may elect to only replace one arm with aftermarket (which may/may not contain fluid filled bushings). For example, my local wholesale supplier shows a Mevotech Supreme Control Arm in stock for $112, so even with a 50% parts mark up, alignment and 2 hours of labor, then job can be done for about $500.


That's likely what most people will do, or ignore it as long as it pass smog and the wheel didn't fall off. By the time it hit 100k it would be passed down to the bottom of the market and limp till the CVT fail.

 

[CBR.worm]

I'm not sure what to think about the fluid-filled bushings and mounts. My first experience with them was when the rear differential bushing started leaking on the FX. I went to a shop for an alignment and they said my rear diff bushing was leaking - they could fix it for $800 (I think). My initial reaction was that they were on drugs - how could a rubber bushing be leaking. Sure enough, it just had a drip on it, within a week it was oozing black goo all over the diff cover. I replaced it with a non-fluid filled bushing. Not more than a few months later, the same bushing on my G35 started leaking - I haven't replaced it yet.

I guess they probably offer better isolation, but it seems like there are simpler substances that can provide sufficient isolation and last longer.