I intended to replace all my struts and control arms in my x-type. The ride is rough, the rear suspension squeeks, and the front grinds as I turn the wheel (only at low speeds and park). But a mechanic took me back in the garage to show me what i've taken a picture of. One side that piece is bent, the other it's got a small crack and making some contact with the tire. He called them control arms but I do believe these are actually my axle or hub carriers (this part... Jaguar HUB CARRIER CONTROL ARM LEFT REAR SUSPENSION - C2S49747) He said the labor cost would be about 4 hours in each side, 8 in total. He recommended maybe getting in touch with some salvage yards to get a pair off of a wrecked x-type to save some money. I intended to do the struts and arms myself. Is this part so much more difficult? I've never had to take apart a hub bearing before, and it appears i'll have to, to replace this part. Any information and instructionsals available would be appreciated (for both this, and for the rest of the suspension.) Mind you, i know these hubs can be tricky and require some special tools. might leave that bit to them and do the shocks and control arms myself.

 

Canard.
This is a relatively easy job for the DIY guy.
If you get the control arm from a scrap yard it should come with everything you need but I would recommend changing the bushings and the hub while its off the car I just changed the bushings on mine and it was fun with the arm still on the car.
I would also recommend installing adjustable upper control arms Thermo has a great posting on this.
the hardest part you will find is disconnecting the hand break cable.
most of the work can be done with a 15mm and 18mm socket if you want the instructions PM me your email and i will email you the PDF.
the busing part numbers are C2546380 and C2514740
the hub you can get from rockauto.com

 

Just for info, odds are, that bending occurred because someone tried to use that piece to jack the car up. That piece is not meant to be used other than to keep the rear wheel in relative alignment.

LIke was mentioned, you can get the parts from a wrecking yard and they will be just fine. Granted, option 2 is to use a pry bar and straighten the piece and then take the car to a weld shop and have them weld that crack up.

 

Suppose I know an engineer who owns welding equipment. How much would option 2 compromise the quality of the unit?

 

Personally and this is just my opinion the crack is just metal fatigue/stress that you can see. when it comes to suspension components I just wont take the risk.
I would straiten the arm and get it welded as a temporary solution until I could get replacement parts and change them myself. Saying that Thermo knows what he is talking about and If your not comfortable doing the work yourself I would go with option 2 and save your money. just remember to get an alignment aftar as your rear toe may be out.

 

I don't think that you should weld it. Welding is OK for parts that are not under a lot of stress. Welding changes the temper of the metal and can affect the strength in unknown ways. I notice a cut or a tear on the tire. Perhaps the car hit something hard and damaged the tire and caused that crack. I would look for a replacement at a junkyard. You should also check the tire.

Pete.

 

Normally I am not a fan of welding on suspension parts (for the reasons mentioned). But, if you look at how this part is built, it is not really taking any load. The control arms are what take all the load. This piece is really there just to aide in keeping the tire from pushing the arms sideways (ie, not allowing the tire to push forward under hard acceleration or backwards under extreme braking. If I remember right, you can put your hand on that piece and wiggle it back and forth.

 

I would repair it.
Diagnose suspension parts and replace bad ones, not all of them.

 

Well like I said, the ride is getting uncomfortable (struts), reach end squeeks (control arms), steering grinds (control arms again, would be best case scenario), and those hub carriers are visibly damaged. That seems like near the whole thing to me.

 

If its any cancellation I just replaced most of my suspension components except struts and shocks (next month)
Jaguar x Type Front Rear Control Arm Ball Joint Tie Rod Sway Bar Link Kit 14 | eBay

(i did not get this kit i got some from rock auto and some off this guy)
Also get the adjustable upper control arm

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MAZDA-FORD-VOLVO-REAR-UPPER-CONTROL-SUSPENSION-ADJUSTABLE-GOLD-CAMBER-ARM-KIT-/400398670890?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories &fits=Make%3AVolvo&hash=item5d399edc2a&vxp=mtr
in all probably cost me $600 an alignment and a long weekend the hardest job was replacing the bushings (part number in first post) as i did this on the car but as you are going to remove to replace/weld the arms should be easier (sockets borrowed from autozone and some threaded rod worked well for me.
having said I have 100k on the car and these bushings still looked good.
one thing I would suggest is compress the springs on the front struts for the lower control arm replacement will make the Job a lot easier, any parts store will have the spring compressors in the lone a tool program.
while i had all the suspension out I also changed inner and outer tie rod ends $50 (rock auto)
now Front sway bar bushings you will need to drop the subframe passanger side only about 50mm drivers side can be done with a ratchet wrench that has a swivel head. sounds hard but if you can use basic tools and take your time its quite easy.
I did all this on my drive with jack stands and basic tools
and I can tell you she drives like a dream now no clunks no bangs and she corners like she is on rails very fun to drive plus I have the satisfaction that I did the work and saved a lot of coin.

 

Pardon the length of time to reply. THis is all very helpful so far. Please let me know which year models should have compatible hub carriers to mine.

My only concern is how long this might take me. You said a whole weekend. My concept of a "day off" is maybe one day a week that I get home before 5. I've lost the concept of a "weekend."

 

IMO, Just wanted to mention that it would be a good to be careful with some aftermarket parts as the materials are often inferior and have shorter lifespan, although OEM parts do cost significantly more