Hey Guys,
As usual this forum has prooved to be a wealth of information!

Symptom:
started getting nasty rubbing/grinding noise coming from back passenger side when turning corners (Right).
Investigated and found wheel looking like it was coming off!!



Driver side looks a bit iffy too but not so bad:


looked about on the forum and seems to be pointing to rear trailing arm?
what do you guys think?
From what i have seen here it would appear to be wise to buy whole arm as opposed to new bushes ?

I will not be fitting myself so don't really care how tricky it is.... just how much it will cost to have done

................don't get me wrong, i will have a go at some things but i prefer to get my hands dirty with paint!

Cheers guys.
'Steve the artist'

Steve,

Definitely rear swing arms. The wheels on my 2003 JTD are leaning a bit but not as bad as yours. I was quoted approx 3 hrs labour per side maybe 4, plus the arms which costs about £140 each.

Jim

Like Jim says, definitely the rear swing arms. There's no problem to just change the bushes, it's rarely needed to change the whole swing arm. I recently changed both swing arms, but that was because I didn't realize how easy it was to change just the bushes.

Concerning the time, I would use 1, max 2 hours on each side. I did both in around 3,5 hours, and that was the first time I ever did the job.

I am very surprised to hear you say it is an easy job to change the bushes (do you mean the bearing unit in arm?). You must be more skilled than the average DIY mechanic. I have read of people on this forum and even a local mechanic saying it is a laborious job. One of my local mechanics estimated up to 4 hrs per side.

hi all not been on in a while and this was the exact post i was going to do. my drivers side rear wheel its very wonky. will a bush repair kit sort it or will i need a whole new arm. also are the arms the same as the marea?
my mot is due next month and this is just one of many jobs, drop links bushes tyres etc. having a nightmare at the moment lol

Done them on a Tipo (same parts) and it was a bit tricky, but nowhere near 4 hours. Suggest you find a competent mechanic.

Remove wheel, ARB and brake lines.
Undo nut and extract bolt.
Knock bush out.
Knock bearings out with drift from each side.
Clean up surfaces.
Knock new bearing in (use old one as block to prevent damage).
Put in plastic insert + plenty of grease.
Knock in other bearing
Knock bush into outer bearing and assemble with another outer bearing on the other end.
Press together.
Re assemble onto car.

Cheers guys.
Anyone know of best/ cheapest place to get replacement bush/bearing set, &/or complete arm?
and how much we talkin for each?

cheers

Just call your local motor factor and quote your reg number, or go on GSF or Euro car parts website.

Shepherd said:

I am very surprised to hear you say it is an easy job to change the bushes (do you mean the bearing unit in arm?). You must be more skilled than the average DIY mechanic. I have read of people on this forum and even a local mechanic saying it is a laborious job. One of my local mechanics estimated up to 4 hrs per side.

Click to expand...

Sorry if my English isn't perfect, it's not my language. I changed the entire unit, see picture below.

4 hours per side is very much on the safe side for the mechanic. I'm no mechanic, but since I own a Multipla I have touched a spanner before.

I found a couple of things a bit tricky;
-The bolt that goes through the bearing that is broken is most likely severely corroded. I managed to knock it out using a long piece of steel that I put on the bolt, and hitting the steel pipe with a sledgehammer from the other side of the car. You need a helper to do this, but I got the bolts out. The other way to get it of is using a 1mm cutting disc(correct name?). If you do so, watch out for the fuel tank and abs-sensors.
-The wheel bearing is tricky to get off the suspension arm. On both sides mine came off without the inner half of the bearing. I had to heat it gently, then it came off easy. Just be very careful so you don't get dirt in it, put it back together, and re-use.
-The abs-sensor was a bit tricky to get out of the suspension arm, but by twisting it around while applying lots of CRC it was ok to get it off without using much force.

It was the first time I did such a job, and it took about 3,5 hours. I would say it was an easy job if you know your way around a car. There will always be some bolts that are stuck, no matter what you're trying to do.

If you only change the bushes (which is the only reason your suspension has this camber), I wouldn't be surprised if the left one falls out by it self. The normal way to get them out is to knock them out with a hammer and something suitable when the bush goes through the suspension arm. Make sure that you have removed all the rust around the area where the bearing comes out, this could be a bit tight. Also make sure that you hit the bearing it self. To put the new bearing in place, use a hammer and the outer part of the old bearing to knock them in.

Hope this helps.

steverich said:

Cheers guys.
Anyone know of best/ cheapest place to get replacement bush/bearing set, &/or complete arm?
and how much we talkin for each?

cheers

Click to expand...

http://www.shop4parts.co.uk/?name=store&op=Details&ProdID=897&sku=2837

£22.73 plus delivery.

Sorry but ive been told it CAN be a pig of a job getting the old bolts out, cutting it with a disk is the way to go and then remove the bits easily.
If you can find them cheap enough say on ebay id buy the arms but there is a big difference in labour time to changing the arms and just replacing the bushes, myself ill be doing the bushes when its time.

Hey guys.

Update:

Got the arms from "Leamoco" In Leamington spa about £47 each (£50 surcharge which is refunded when you bring old ones back)

Decided to do the whole arm replacement ......sounded easier (only like £20 difference between whole arm and just bushes!)

Took it to a friends workshop and we were able to do the job WITHOUT disconnecting the break lines etc!

We did hhowever have a pig of a job getting the ABS sensor off !!!! ended up breaking one somehow? the back kind of came away ??/
(£57 + vat for new one!! BUT couldn't figure out how to change it anyway so left it.... I think it will be fine without it??

Anyhooo, yeah we did it thanks to you guys!!:slayer:

Thats cheap for arms , they are usually only around that price for non abs ones.

i fitted the bush kit over the last 2 days. i had a nightmare, i had to cut the nut off as it was totally rusted then i couldn't get the damn arm off.
the brake line broke both ends again due to rust.
i could only get on new bearing pressed in so as the car only had 3 wheels i had to cycle 3 miles with the whole arm in my backpack to a local garage who pressed it in and made a new brake line for a fiver.
took an age to get the damn thing back in as it was slightly too big due to rust on the inside where it fits go had to grind that all back. all done now and just in time the tyre had started to melt the plastic inner arch and the tyre was bald. i think i'll get someone else to do the job in future.
every time i attempt a job on the multi it takes me ages lol

This job can be so nice and also a living hell...

I was following a Multi' a few weeks ago, nearside rear was tilted at an alarming angle!

Now it looks like mine's well on the way to needing doing too.

I've seen posts on here about the job, but never really paid too much attention (until now obviously), and assumed the 'bushes' mentioned were just that, bushes, not bearings.
Taper-rollers should last the life of the vehicle pretty-much, think how long wheel bearings last, and they do millions of revolutions (8,123,000 per 10,000 miles for an average size tyre) not just pivot a few degrees back and forth.
Are they not lubed from new?
I'll be putting a grease nipple in my arms for sure

Today I had the bearings replaced in the passenger side arm and the mechanic said it was a nightmare of a job to do. He charged me 4 hrs labour. Now the ABS light is on. I am due to take it back on Monday to get it sorted.

Did the bushes on my 54 plate nosejob on monday and it was a pig. Used a friends 2 poster ramp and workshop with all the necessary tools but still an awful job due to

snapped off 1 bolt that secures the ARB clamp onto the arm (had to tap a new thread to solve that).

Shoes were knackered so replaced them at the same time.

Drums had a huge lip on them so that needed to be removed by grinder

NS wheel cylinder was seized so had to remove that and free it up

Both ABS sensors were seized in so added half an hour each side to get them out.

Both brake pipes snapped and twisted.

Whole job was about 8.5 hours on the ramp.

Also found the NS bump stop had fallen off due to corrosion in the upper spring seat.

I would not attempt again without proper workshop facilities due to the unknown "extras" that i found along the way.

Not what I wanted to hear...
Was going to do this soon as I detect a small amount of lean on passenger rear wheel..and thought that for the sake of a £20 repair kit, that ill do it before it fails totally!
I know only too well that the smallest jobs turn into a full blown restoration...

Also what do people mean by the abs sensor seizing?? Not the first time I've heard someone break them....