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I went in for an an alignment and was refused service because they said my lower control arm bushings are toast. I have a 1997 xj6L j went to the Ford dealership because I live very isolated and that’s the only dealership in my town they said it would be easier to order the entire control are assembly but I can’t find it online and my jag is destroying tires in the inside. Like I bought new tires and put 4000 miles and need new ones again asap tomorrow it’s going into the shop but my mechanic can’t find the entire assembly either and wants $1004 to change the bushings can anyone provide a link to an assembly.
Change the shop, they have absolutely no idea what they were talking about and I doubt they even looked under the car. X300 is not a new car with steel pressed wishbones, where you often replace the whole thing but has proper old school cast iron suspension and you only replace the bushes. I also very much doubt lower wishbones are that knackered to prevent doing alignment, I've seen many X300 with completely shot all suspension bushes and they normally split and allow a bit movement back and forth but are still functional and you need a lot of force to actually get play in them.
Yours would have to be so worn out that the wheel would flop around when lifted of the ground to prevent alignment and I'm guessing you'd notice all sorts of bad knocking by now plus normally before lower bushes are shot the upper are completely destroyed.
Your toe is out if its inner edge, any decent shop should be able to sort it out for you in under half hour, toe adjustment is quick and easy with the right tools.
If you do need to refurb suspension its going to be major job, if you cant do it yourself, time to start looking for a good garage that can.
As Katar83 says, there is no complete control arm assembly to buy, as your mechanic has found.
Also as Katar83 says, for the bushes (which are a recognised wear item) to be so badly worn as to be affecting alignment to this extent, there would be an assortment of play and noise when driving which should be fairly obvious.
Allowing for our collective cynicism about mechanics trying to fleece us for bogus repairs, there must have been something which deflected your guy from the simple alignment job it was put in for. It is the simplest of jobs, and would have taken him 20 minutes. Ruining a tyre in 4000 miles suggests that something is seriously to whack, and needs sorted. For it to simply be tracking, I would wonder how it has come to be so far out. Have you hit anything, or had new track rod ends fitted recently? Or a new rack?
In any event, if you are out of options, it sounds like you need to talk it through with your Ford guy. 2 minutes looking at the suspension with the wheel off will make it obvious what we are saying about the control arm ( admittedly raising the question why he suggested a "whole" replacement in the first place), and should make it easy for him to show you the play he is talking about.
I just finished replacing the front control arm bushings,ball joints and inner & outer bearings and seals. Not a terrible job to do, looks worse than it is. First off , the Jaguar tool #JD115 is around $600. I made mine using some examples on the thread "JD115 front spring compressor". As far as the bushings are concerned, I pressed mine in and out using a Harbor Freight 20ton press, $250, and all the big sockets in my tool chest....You'll need a grinder too, for the front lower bushing as it has a shoulder that covers the surface you'll use to press out the old one. Also its easier to cut off the extra rubber off both the lower bushings so as to get a better purchase. The uppers are a bit tricky pressing back in as you have to make a plate to engage the bushing at the pressing surface. I made mine using a piece of bed frame. Next, its easier to press the arm onto the lower bushing by using a bored out flat washer to support the bushing. Once you look at all your bushings it'll become clear. You can look at the pictures on the various suppliers websites also.
Now for the spring compressor. I used a length 3/4" threaded rod from Home Depot, along with a coupling nut and some washers, a 5/16-3" grade 8 bolt. I started by double nutting the threaded rod then center punching the nut and drilling it 5/16" about an inch from the end. I then welded in the 1 3/8' long shank. With that being done I got the biggest hitch ball Harbor Freight had and bored a 3/4" hole in it and cut it in half. Then I welded two pieces of rebar to the coupler nut. I also ground two flats to either side of the end. These help in determining where the pins are when the tool is inserted
Taking it all apart is always easier than putting back together. Once you get to the point where you're ready to use the tool, A WORD OF CAUTION!!! The spring is under extreme tension. Use a lot of grease on the threads and between the thrust washers. It is possible for the threaded rod to turn out of the sub frame and launch. (You ask how I know that) That being said, should you feel any resistance while turning the coupler use a wrench on the flats to insure that it doesn't unseat. When initial installation of the tool I lock nutted the coupler so that the turning bars were inline with the pin at the top and makes for easier handling.
Of course I didn't take any pictures of the procedure otherwise I'd still be out there....Sorry But i did take pictures of the tool
compressor tool, after completion of job (no sense showing a tool that doesn't work) awl is for aligning bottom plate and tube w/ grip is for some leverage details of the assembly pin is at an angle so it looks shorter than it really is besides the bunch of sockets I used, I needed to make these to facilitate the pressing
Lower control arm bushing
