Do I need to replace this?

musicman100

Hi,

Had an MOT recently and they found this

Nearside suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement

It passed . I asked the garage who does my servicing do i need to replace this he said there is a small crack in it.

How quick do you need to replace this and how much roughly does it cost?

Is it causing damage if i do not get it done?

Thanks

harveybobbles

Easier to replace the arm, but do both sides as my view is if one is one its way out, the other will be close behind..

musicman100

Thansk for that - how much does it cost to replace an arm ( or 2 in this case). Its for a Kia sorento.

Thanks

Joe_Horner

Strictly speaking, no you don't "need" to replace it. If you did, it would have been a fail instead of an advisory.

Suspension bushes are basically rubber tubes (usually - some are odd shapes) which act as pivot points for the suspension. They use rubber because it softens everything up a little and helps avoid vibration (which can be uncomfortable and damage other parts).

Rubber deteriorates over time, becomes softer, and breaks up. This is normally a gradual process so a bush that was fine last year but showing some deterioration this year is not likely to fail suddenly overnight. Even if it did, nothing's going to fall off or get damaged. All that happens is that the handling becomes more vague and you may get some odd clunking or creaking sounds over bumps / corners. You may also start to wear your tyres unevenly.

In terms of cost, most garages now will replace the entire suspension arm becase it's quicker / easier than removing the arm and replacing just the bush. Cost will depend on the car and the garage's labour rates but, to give an idea, I've just done one on my Pug 405 for its MOT.

The bush alone was £2.50 or about £60 for the arm. I chose to do the bush becase I don't charge myself labour, and it took about an hour to fit altogether - I would have saved maybe 30 minutes of that if I'd just swapped the arm.

So, it'll need doing sooner or later (hence the advisory) but it's nothing to panic over. The cost at a garage shouldn't be eye watering but best to get a quote or two to help you decide.

colino

As above, if its just an advisory, keep you eye (or ear) on it as it isn't worn out enough to even fail the MOT. Check out the prices though and shop around. Kia prices can be stupendous for relatively ordinary service parts.

forgotmyname

The rubber boot keeps the dirt and water out. The grease will get washed away and dirt will enter turning it into grinding paste.

It may last years, It may fail next years MOT on excessive play.

Sometimes buying a complete unit wont cost much more than just a single part.

£4 for a rubber boot or £6.99 for a complete new joint?

Sometimes the balljoints are costly. I did one some years back i said get the complete arm. But they bought the balljoint that needed to be pressed in. It saved them a massive £2.25. But took me over an hour because i didnt have a press so have to use a huge vice and chunks of steel to push it in.

Norman_Castle

^ Its a bush. Not a boot.

molerat

£80 - £130 for a wishbone depending on brand or £16 - £25 for a bush plus 1-2 hours labour.

forgotmyname

Norman_Castle wrote: »

^ Its a bush. Not a boot.

LOL how did i misread that.... I will sit in the corner quietly with the pointy D hat on