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Lower Control Arm Bushings
Had the PT in for oil and filter change, using my own Amsoil 5W30 and Amsoil filter.
The Service Manager came out to say the lower control arm bushings had ruptured and were almost metal to metal. He said it was fairly common on PT's and Neons. He showed me a new bushing and then showed me the car. No doubt about it, they are almost toast. He said that once the vehicle starts making a metallic clunk in the front end, they are absolute junk. The car is 5 weeks out of calendar warranty, but 6K under on mileage. The manager said he will contact the zone office and see if he can get it covered. He knows I am a steady customer and have the maintenance on both my Megacab and the PT performed at this dealership. The bushings are $65 each and the labor is $210. I am keeping my fingers crossed. If only I had been in for an oil change before May 15th! |
#2
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The bushings on my '03 PT are bad. I checked around for prices & they were about $ 40. for both sides. I hope they warantee them for you. they sell complete lower control arms on Ebay for about $70. per side which include the bushings & new ball joint. I'm going to do them my self. By the way how many miles do you have on your PT ?
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#3
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Quote:
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#4
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They are aftermarket (probably chinese). I plan to get some new bushings installed in my arms.
They make better quality then the OEM ones which obviously are junk (yours only went 30 K ?) I'am checking into Energy Suspension bushings possibly urathane. They wanted $ 65. for each side? was that all of the bushings or just one for $65. that seems pretty high. The labor price isn't bad. I know a Chrysler dealer mechanic who will do them for $200. labor (at his home). |
#5
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That was $65 each, two required.
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#6
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Energy Suspension bushings on Ebay are $37 for the whole set (both sides, uppers & lowers) $9.95 shipping.
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#7
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I checked their on line catalog. The bushing sets are for 2001 to 2005. My PT is an '06. I don't know if there is any difference, but here it is with the 2009 model and the catalog hasn't been updated.
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#8
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The dealer called today. Chrysler has authorized replacement under warranty, even though the car is 5 weeks out.
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#9
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That's great news! It probably would have cost you at least $200 or more if you had to pay out of pocket.
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#10
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The bushings are $65 each and the labor was quoted as 3 hrs @ $70/hr, so it would have been up there.
This is a prime example of the possible benefits of having a car serviced at a dealer on a regular basis. If you have a track record with them, they will go to bat for you with the zone office if necessary. In my case, I have all the oil changes and tire rotations done there. I furnish the Amsoil and filters, so the oil changes are only $8 and change and they don't make a ton of money, but I am a regular service customer. As a result, I am able to get a warranty repair when the car is technically out of warranty. |
#11
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Maybe you might want to furnish them w/ some better quality bushings (urathane?) this way when the lousy OEM ones go bad you might avoid the problem croping up again, when you will be paying for the repair.
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#12
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How did you fare with the new bushings ? My wifes '07 has over 100k miles on it and had been at the dealer for some other warranty work (front wheel bearing). When we picked it up they said they replaced the control arm bushings also. That was around 30k miles. At around 80k miles I had them replaced again. I think I'm going to give those bushings another thorough check. . |
#13
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No problem but there only about 8,000 miles on the replacements.
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#14
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#15
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Well, like clockwork, the PT needs lower control arm bushings again. I guess 3 yrs/30K miles is all they are good for.
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#16
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Actually, it may be worse on the newer PT's (if that's even possible). My wife had an '07 bought new. Those stupid bushings went out 3 times over the 116k miles we owned it. But other than that, the car was fine. I replaced the front brake pads twice (rotors once) and rear shoes once. Really no complaints for a car driven daily in this part of the country (salt covered roads in the winter !). When the PT was on it's way out in 2010, we got an unreal deal on one of the last of them. That car is now 2 years old and I'm starting to think maybe it was a mistake. At it's first MV inspection (1 year) the CE light was on. The dealer cleared it but told me the right front lower control arm bushing was ruptured and would soon be gone completely. That was kind of a surprise because the car had slightly less than 17k miles on it ! They replaced both right and left sides under warranty. So at this rate, I'll likely get another pair of replacements before the end of the 36k mile warranty mark. I guess after that I'm on my own. If the car is otherwise decent, the first time I have to replace those goofy bushings myself I'm going to go with something like the Energy Suspension Polyurethane bushings. There's a couple guys in my car club with PT's and they've used those bushings and say that will put an end to that problem. However, this 2010 has disc brakes on the rear and now those are proving to be a problem. I've had the left rear disc brake caliper hanging up twice in 28k miles. I disassembled it the first time and cleaned and lubed everything and it seemed fine. The second time I didn't catch it until the inner pad was gone and scored the rotor. It looks like the rubbing contact surfaces are crazy quick to corrode and probably are going to require attention at least two or three times a year. The opposite rear pads were also pretty much gone but hadn't damaged the rotor. . |
#17
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I have been checking around for better bushings and am wondering if just replacing the entire control arm with a new aftermarket one would be better. I found Moog control arms complete with bushings and greasable ball joints for around 80 dollars each. They have a lifetime warranty. Probably a bit less labor to install them than repair the old ones.
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#18
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I don't know Dick. I've had more than one discussion on these bushings and I'm told that no bushing made of rubber will last because of the design of these control arms (shared with the old Neon). It's always that rear vertically oriented bushing that blows out. Looks like a bad design feature. . |
#19
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I checked the Energy Suspension site and they only go up to 2005 and I have a 2006. I sent an email to them asking if the 2006 is available.
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#20
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The chart here shows all the years as one big group, 2001 thru 2010. From Summit on their Ebay site : http://www.ebay.com/itm/Energy-Suspe...&forceRpt=true Note that I have also seen vendors who will sell individual components (ie : just the vertical rear pieces). I believe there are some listed on Ebay. But personally I would replace the vertical and horizontal bushings all at once. . |
#21
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I sent an email to Energy Suspension and here is the reply I received. Not very helpful.
"We have only tested up to 05 at this time you may try to cross reference factory part numbers THANK YOU" Interesting to read that Summit seems to know more about the applications than the manufacturer. |
#22
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Well, I took a chance and ordered the set. At that price and free shipping, you can't go wrong. I hope one set does both sides!
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#23
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That kit will do both sides. I looked up the stock Moog Front Control Arm Bushings (p/n K7471) and their chart shows that one p/n will cover all years of PT's. It seems that the bushings never changed thru the years. Let me know how your install goes. . |
#24
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I'm going to have the dealer do it. Too big a job for me to tackle. I am wondering if I should pick up some Moog greasable ball joints too, since they may require replacement soon, if not already.
Any advice? |
#25
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Gosh, I'd nearly forgotten this thread. I was wondering how you made out with the new control arm bushings ? Also, how did the ball joints look ? . |
#26
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Actually, nothing has happened since I bought the urethane bushing kit. It is in my closet until the car starts to clunk. Therefore, I don't have a report on the ball joints, but I will post as soon as that info is available.
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