S/V/C lower control arms S60/V70 2000>>

[Janspeed]

about 35kkm ago i decided to get brandnew control arms because i no longer truster the old ones. So i went and bought a pair of control arms from ProPartsSweden partnr. 61430182 DC12. Not OEM parts.

innitially all was well and the car steered and braked crisply
but 25kkm later the right side rear bushing rubber was torn to shreads...
so i put the old controlarm back in. I got a new replacement part from my supplier but held of installing it because i wanted to see how the left controlarm would hold up.
well... today after 30kkm the left side controlarm was f-ed as well, also the rear bushing rubber torn to shreads. Needless to say i again installed my old controlarm...

conclusion: do not buy new controlarms from propartssweden, the bushings in those are utter pieces of crap! simply not up to the job.

note: my car has new shocks. we do have many speedbumps where i live but i am of the opinion that a bushing should at least be able to hold together for 100kkm.

so, now i am left with 2 perfectly nice looking but unuseable controlarms...
maybe i'll get some IPD upgraded bushing and press those in. Any feedback on those?

 

[84B23F]

conclusion:

Seems, you are not alone...even the Bimmers have issues with OEM bushings.

I am not familiar with your front end, but on a 1993-944, I just replaced the Radius Arm Bushings and Sway Bar Links, and if these were not replaced, the other two control arm bushings would have failed before their expected time.

If traveling over bumpy roadways, one might re-examine tightness for that bolt/nut for holding the Radius Arm bushing, I assume.

 

[MasterBlaster]

25kkm later the right side rear bushing rubber was torn to shreads...
so i put the old controlarm back in. I got a new replacement part from my supplier but held of installing it because i wanted to see how the left controlarm would hold up.
well... today after 30kkm the left side controlarm was f-ed as well, also the rear bushing rubber torn to shreads. Needless to say i again installed my old controlarm...

Did you remember to tighten the bushing bolts at normal ride height?

That means either:

1 - Putting the car on the ground before tightening.

2 - Jacking up the outer end of the arm (without the car falling off the hoist/jackstands) before tightening (and hoping it's high enough).

or (the one I use in the shop with a hoist):
3 - Swinging the arm up to horizontal, tightening the bolts, then pulling it back down against the bushings' rubber-springiness and inserting the ball joint.

If you tightened everything with the wheel hanging at full droop, putting it on the ground will use up all the bushing's flexiness, and any further movement like speed bumps, "gettin' some air", or just regular driving will over-twist the bushings and rip them apart.

 

[hiperfauto]

^this

I use a set of 4, 12" tall, ?" thick plywood boxes that I lower the car down onto (after setting the parking brake). Then I bounce the car a few times on each corner, climb underneath and tighten the control arm bolts. This assures the car is at ride height with no binding in any of the bushings.

 

[Janspeed]

yes, i always follow this procedure on all chassis work on every car i work on .
it's only after 15-20kkm that the rubbers got tears in them.

 

[CEHepp]

There are new OE bushings that I have installed on my two S60s that are awesome. Beefier and the car doesn't dive as bad as before during hard cornering.

 

[vlvman]

MY S60 needs lower control arm front bushings. I think I am going to use Powerflex poly bushings. This thread is very helpful.
http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?166926-P2R-suspension-solved