Worn front control arm bushes

[carvesdodo]

Originally Posted by 08crd

Hi carvesdodo, the jap brands may have the "reliabillity"tag. But it was interesting to read in the latest Överlander"magazine they say the 200 series has issues with chassis cracking when a factory bullbar is fitted. Also the V8 diesel is getting a bit of a reputation for burning oil (and I can vouch for that).

Hence the reason my highlighting the word "reliability" ...

Probably should have been ...... "reliability"



The "accepted" 4wd brands in Aust are certainly not the vehicles they once were. I suspect that after cutting their teeth and proving themselves in Aust for so many years ... they are now just pandering to the soft roader and bigger Euro / U.S. market ... something I've noticed happening since the mid 80's.

Its why my last new ... and last toyota ... was HJ 75 series ... and I should have kept the HJ47.

If Fed Govt restrictions hadnt prevented XJs being produced / sold here back in about 1984 ... Lots of vehicle strength issues on Jeeps might not be the problem they are today ... I always considered it convenient that Toyota was able to release their new range of models in Aust. at about the same time... without the competition of the XJ utes and wagons.

[08crd]

Hi carvesdodo. Again all good points and it is up to Jeep to do something about it. There is no chance of any manufacturer getting over Toyota 70 series in the mining game. But in the mainstream they have lost the plot and it is up to other manufacturers to jump in and take the initiative. The only one doing so at the moment is Land Rover, the Discovery 3 kicks a Land Cruiser 100 series arse. Now the Land Rover 4 is comming out with a 200Kw/ 600Nm 3litre diesel. It also has the same air suspension as the Land Rover 3 which has selectable 4" lift and can go to 7" if sensors detect underbody scraping.
Now I know it sounds like trumping up the L/R but what I am getting at is the Land Cruiser and Prado have lost their way.
The Land Cruiser 200 diesel: A friend of mine has bought one to tow a Coromal Princeton 7.5m(it is bloody huge) and he is not happy with it. He went for a run in my Commander and recons it is more powerfull.
The Prado: toyota have lowered it another 15mm and it was low before.
Jeep Australia needs to adapt the Commander to make it a terrific all round vehicle. They have the basics, just need to tailor it to Australian needs.

[Blue C]

I couldn't agree more 08CRD. If the Commander was able to be ordered with an Outback option pack including 2 inch lift, long range tank, wheel carrier, bullbar, snorkel & decent offroad LT tyres- my bet is they would have people lined up to put in their orders- especially if it was factory endorsed (eg: ESP) & warranty covered. We already know the drivetrain & Quadradrive 2 is excellent (brilliant even!). It puzzles me that marketing people ignore us. I tried to tell my Jeep dealer that 2 yrs ago!!

[08crd]

Bluec you are right on the money, if only the lazy sods at jeep Australia could be bothered to get off their arses and push the parent company for permission. NO THAT WOULD BE TOO BLOODY HARD.

[08crd]

Jeez you have really got me going. Why do I have to go out and source rims to fit "normal tyres" because the rims that Jeep put on can only take tyres you can't get easily in Australia. Try finding a 245 X 65 X17 in a capital city let alone the outback. If Jeep Australia gave a S#!T they would ask the parent company for permission to adapt the vehicle to local conditions. Then maybe they would have a seller. That would be novel.

[Blue C]

Ok here are some pictures. The bushes are actually quite complex to make. The original rubber bushes have an outer (fairly thin) steel casing with rubber bush bonded to it & an inner steel sleeve also bonded to the rubber. Thus any suspension movement results in a rotational force applied to the rubber bush which flexes (& over time wears out- in my case just 47,000kms- I guess I can blame the French Line & Finke Desert Tracks in part!). In the photos one of OEM bushes has a sizeable dent- that was during removal- as Chrysler didn't intend for them to be removed. You are supposed to buy all new control arms instead!

These new Nolathane bushes have a very heavy duty steel casing ('carved' out of solid steel blocks actually) with an inner steel sleeve & custom steel pins made to fit each sleeve- these rotate "freely" around their respective pins. The Nolathane is alittle stiffer but the weight of Commander means that I haven't noticed any deterioration in ride.

Initially I was getting "bindup" of the Nolathane in upper control arms & so another 0.1mm was reemed off- now it's perfect!
When you see the OEM bushes you realise just how well the new ones have been engineered. I was quite surprised when I first looked at & held them. The workmanship astounded me.
I look forward to reporting back after Flinders Ranges workout next week

[08crd]

Great writee up, keep us informed.