This is normal these are heavy cars. There aren’t actually any upper control arms. Any wear is usually the lower ones and you can hear it in your normal day to day driving. I think most after market parts are Chinese anyway and are just packaged or re packaged as German or European manufactured or whatever. You will get a couple of years out of the cheaper bits if they are properly fitted.

 

There's a couple levels of quality of all these parts with lots of debate about which ones are best. I try to buy the best ones so I don't have to do it again as soon and have good steering in the process. Steering parts are not the place I would buy the cheapest version. But do whatever you feel comfortable with.

 

Second on @NorCal RR - Do it right the first time and you will get 6-10 years of trouble free service. Don't forget tie-rods (inner and outer) while you are there. I am increasingly becoming a fan of Lemfoerder suspension parts. AutohausAZ seems to have the best prices on them, they look to be cheaper than the ones you are looking at. Autohaus's website is a bit odd, some of the parts you need to search for using a web browser like google, you can't find them from within their own website, at least that was my experience. Below is a full list from a recent purchase.

	Lemfoerder Control Arm; Front Right Upper P/N: LF-LR018343 $116.99
	Lemfoerder Control Arm; Front Left Upper P/N: LF-LR018344 $114.99
	Lemfoerder Stabilizer/Sway Bar Link; Front P/N: LF-LR030047 2x $35.99
	Lemfoerder Stabilizer/Sway Bar Link; Rear P/N: LF-LR030048 2x $24.39
	Lemfoerder Ball Joint; Rear Lower; Left/Right P/N: LF-LR032644 2x $41.99
	Lemfoerder Rack & Pinion Boot Kit; Left/Right P/N: LF-QFW000010 2x $10.89
	Lemfoerder Tie Rod End; Left/Right Outer P/N: LF-QJB500050 2x $44.99
	Lemfoerder Tie Rod End; Inner Left/Right P/N: LF-QJB500060 2x $25.99
	Lemfoerder Control Arm; Front Lower P/N: LF-RBJ500920 2x $66.99
	Lemfoerder Ball Joint; Front P/N: LF-RBK500210 2x $28.99
	Lemfoerder Ball Joint; Rear Right Upper P/N: LF-RHF000260 2x $27.99
	Lemfoerder Lateral Arm P/N: RGD500180 2x $XX

 

Second on @NorCal RR - Do it right the first time and you will get 6-10 years of trouble free service. Don't forget tie-rods (inner and outer) while you are there. I am increasingly becoming a fan of Lemfoerder suspension parts. AutohausAZ seems to have the best prices on them, they look to be cheaper than the ones you are looking at. Autohaus's website is a bit odd, some of the parts you need to search for using a web browser like google, you can't find them from within their own website, at least that was my experience. Below is a full list from a recent purchase.

	Lemfoerder Control Arm; Front Right Upper P/N: LF-LR018343 $116.99
	Lemfoerder Control Arm; Front Left Upper P/N: LF-LR018344 $114.99
	Lemfoerder Stabilizer/Sway Bar Link; Front P/N: LF-LR030047 2x $35.99
	Lemfoerder Stabilizer/Sway Bar Link; Rear P/N: LF-LR030048 2x $24.39
	Lemfoerder Ball Joint; Rear Lower; Left/Right P/N: LF-LR032644 2x $41.99
	Lemfoerder Rack & Pinion Boot Kit; Left/Right P/N: LF-QFW000010 2x $10.89
	Lemfoerder Tie Rod End; Left/Right Outer P/N: LF-QJB500050 2x $44.99
	Lemfoerder Tie Rod End; Inner Left/Right P/N: LF-QJB500060 2x $25.99
	Lemfoerder Control Arm; Front Lower P/N: LF-RBJ500920 2x $66.99
	Lemfoerder Ball Joint; Front P/N: LF-RBK500210 2x $28.99
	Lemfoerder Ball Joint; Rear Right Upper P/N: LF-RHF000260 2x $27.99
	Lemfoerder Lateral Arm P/N: RGD500180 2x $XX

Wow - lots of great advice. Thanks everyone. I see that the Lemfoerder options add up to at least $800 which is USD and there would be shipping and CDN tax on top. The China option is about a quarter of that which makes the possible replacement after a couple of years more palatable. I'm going to sleep on it but suspect I will take the easy way out. Thanks again!

 

Having done this very repair, I can say I was amazed at the results, it was like a new car.

You should get an alignment done after doing this.

 

Looks like it costs $256 then another $300 for shipping.

 

Note that the list above includes several items from the rear suspension. Try RockAuto for the parts you need. Their shipping isn't always the cheapest but it won't be 300 dollars. Try to select items that come from the same shipping location when they are in placed in your shopping cart at Rock Auto. Always seems like if you buy 4 or 5 items they come from 2 or 3 different locations which increases your shipping cost. When you have multiple choices of a part from different manufacturers see where each of them come from. A part costing 5 or 10 bucks more but coming from a different location will pay for itself in save shipping. Also check their closeouts and sale items.

 

TorontoDee - I just figured that out last night. That'll teach me to read the details carefully. I have found an outfit in the UK called Island 4 x 4 who have everything I need. Since I will be in the UK I'll have them delivered there and then bring them back with me. Even if I have to pay duty, it'll be reasonable with the weak pound. I make it 269 pounds plus 20% VAT and free delivery in the UK. I'll visit the alignment shop today and have them confirm which parts I actually need before I fly out tomorrow.

Once again, thanks all!

 

You should be aware that these parts are quite heavy.

 

Will likely be doing this at some point over the next few weeks as well. I thought it drove great and don't hear anything but while having an oil change done, mechanic pointed out that with a sudden heavy tap on the brakes, the front wheels move a bit dramatically in a way that doesn't look like they should.
FCP has a Lemforder front kit for < $500 but, no tie rods...

Did anyone need to replace hardware? How much of a pain in the ass is it getting that outer ball joint out of the hub? Compress suspension to 18" from center of hub to fender arch? Tia.

 

Will likely be doing this at some point over the next few weeks as well. I thought it drove great and don't hear anything but while having an oil change done, mechanic pointed out that with a sudden heavy tap on the brakes, the front wheels move a bit dramatically in a way that doesn't look like they should.
FCP has a Lemforder front kit for < $500 but, no tie rods...

Did anyone need to replace hardware? How much of a pain in the ass is it getting that outer ball joint out of the hub? Compress suspension to 18" from center of hub to fender arch? Tia.

What do you mean by hardware? You should replace the bolts if that's what you mean.

 

Ended up buying all of the front end parts @lenlo posted, getting it up on stands and deciding best to pay someone to do this. This didn't seem like fun to do on my back with out all of the appropriate tools. Kudos to you guys that have. Truck feels much more sure of itself.

 

Just a final note on this thread. I picked up everything at my friend's house in the UK and brought it back to Canada. I needed an extra suitcase to spread the 22kg load around so we were under the limit for the airline. I had everything installed by the local shop who helped me order the parts and the truck drives great now.

 

Hah hah. Good for you on the weight distribution.!! I’ve used Island 4x4 for numerous parts and they also have things off list which you can get but sometimes a bit awkward to communicate. Shipping is becoming pricy from everywhere it seems.

 

Well you asked how I got on with the Island 4 x 4 parts and the bad news is that I have to replace the two lower control arms LR018344 and LR018343 after barely 20,000 km. Not too happy about it of course. I've ordered replacements from Wrench Monkey here in Canada for $300 the pair and will have them installed next week when they arrive. I can't believe that I did 180,000 km on the originals and just 20,000 on the replacements before the bushings fell out.

 

Did you replace them yourself?
If so, did you tighten them to the right torque before lowering the vehicle and putting weight on the wheels?

 

I had the work done by Tirecraft here on the Island. I'm assuming that they would know what they're doing much better than I. They did a four wheel alignment at the end of the install.

 

The usual reason for control arm bushings to fail early is that they aren't installed properly; and since there isn't much to them - that's pretty much the only reason.
Too often a suspension component is torqued with the suspension in a position it shouldn't be in when the bolts are torqued. This results in the bushing constantly being stressed in a position it shouldn't be at. That causes premature failure of the bushing.
As a customer we would always assume the shop we hire and everyone in it does the job 100% right.
Unfortunately that's not always the case.
And that's one primary reason why many of us do work like that ourselves.

 

I had a reply from the folks at Island 4 x 4 who have asked for photos of the damaged arms before discussing a refund. The new ones will be here in a week or so from Toronto and I'll advise what happens next.

 

I like Island 4x4 as well but they do sell multiple brands. Steer clear (pun intended) of Britpart which is usually the cheapest offered by Island 4x4. Which was the point of the beginning of the thread.

 

I can now write the final chapter on this saga. The manager of the local Tirecraft store installed the replacements this morning. He examined the failed parts and accepted responsibility for improper installation by a former employee. Island 4 x 4 are off the hook and I can confirm good customer service from them while we waited for evidence one way or the other. I'm out $300 for the replacements but at least there was no charge for installation and the car is sounding less like a haunted castle. C'est la vie.