What to replace at 75k+ ; frontend-wise, balljoints etc??

[franx]

I 'm feeling the car "searching" the road a bit when on full throttle , braking.

What would be good to replace on the front end , which rubbers ?

My balljoints are defo going to be replaced (had a bit of "play" with the plyers on them last time up on the bridge) ; what about for example wishbone-rubbers ? Or any other rubbers exposed to wear + tear in the front end ?

Please any tips greatly appreciated , it'll be on the ramp in 2 weeks and i want to know what to replace/order in advance.

Oh yeah, i'm staying OEM , the powerflex bushes have not convinced me over OEM..

 

[franx]

Any pro's online ?

 

[SkidMarx]

Depends how much money you've got to spend. If any balljoints have got play then they need replacing, this goes for lower arm, TRE and steering arm.

The main improvement tho at 75k would probably be the shocks, its amazing how much better a car can be on new OEM shocks.

Dont forget ARB bushes and top mounts too.

 

[Jay Payne]

Top mounts and Track rod ends.

Then anything else that is suspect. Steering rack mounts, lower arms etc

 

[SkidMarx]

Lower arm bushes are common when the cars wandering over the road, normally pulls one way when accelerating then the other way under braking.

 

[franx]

Cheers there Guys, my car is on H&R's which have done 7k, so those are not the ones needing checking up on. Forgot to mention that sorry.

Anti roll bar bushes, yeah ? These i would'nt expect but will be checked.

 

[franx]

Top mounts and Track rod ends.

Then anything else that is suspect. Steering rack mounts, lower arms etc

How much you think we're looking at with the rack mounts + lower arm bushes ? (as these are mentioned twice here ) ?

 

[shiyan]

Are top mounts where the dampers connect to the struts? And balljoints - are those the track rod ends?

 

[shiyan]

How much you think we're looking at with the rack mounts + lower arm bushes ? (as these are mentioned twice here ) ?

My Renault dealer quoted me 60 Euros for each lower triangle (which come pre fitted with rubber bushes), plus one hour of work per side to fit them

which comes out to around 220 Euros to replace both lower triangles

 

[Henry]

aye, top mounts sit on top of the spring in the strut assembly

rack bushes are expensive for what they are - £40/pair. they do come with new clamps and bolts/nuts though (whoop)

as said, wandering could well be bottom arm bushes

 

[franx]

Are top mounts where the dampers connect to the struts? And balljoints - are those the track rod ends?

yep ..

Hey that 60 euros per side is'nt that bad :approve:

 

[franx]

aye, top mounts sit on top of the spring in the strut assembly

rack bushes are expensive for what they are - £40/pair. they do come with new clamps and bolts/nuts though (whoop)

as said, wandering could well be bottom arm bushes

Rack bushes are for the steeringrack or ? And the bottom arms ; will changing the lower triangles include that ? (not sure on translation here )

 

[Henry]

yep, sorry - steering rack bushes

i'd just renew the bottom arms as it sounds as though they need doing anyway because of your balljoints (if you buy complete arms/triangles, they'll come with pre-installed inner bushes and an outer balljoint). there are quite a few other rubber bushes in the front end (think they're all listed here) and you're probably looking at adding quite a lot to the bill if you go through and do all of them, when it sounds as though the bottom arms are the prime suspect

 

[franx]

nice one Henry , cheers

 

[ditz]

nothing,,, you change things when they are worn out!!!

dont beleive some of the responses to this...


take it to a decent garage.. get them to check the car over, and replace parts as nesseceray!

no point changing track rod ends tie rods etc etc if they have no play!!

 

[shiyan]

If I plan to fit coilovers such as KW V2, do I still need the OEM topmounts?

I 'm feeling the car "searching" the road a bit when on full throttle , braking.

What would be good to replace on the front end , which rubbers ?

My balljoints are defo going to be replaced (had a bit of "play" with the plyers on them last time up on the bridge) ; what about for example wishbone-rubbers ? Or any other rubbers exposed to wear + tear in the front end ?

Please any tips greatly appreciated , it'll be on the ramp in 2 weeks and i want to know what to replace/order in advance.

Oh yeah, i'm staying OEM , the powerflex bushes have not convinced me over OEM..

I have Powerflex bushes on order, not sure whether I should fit them (I do plan to use the car for track driving quite often), what were your reasons against Powerflex? Will help me decide whether I should get them installed or not

Henry: are the steering rack bushes a lot of work to replace for a Renault garage? My current car is very high mileage and there seems to be some looseness in the front (compared to a lower mileage 172), but I don't know if I will solve it by changing the lower arms, fitting powerflex bushes and coilovers - perhaps I should get the steering rack bushes checked/changed while the mechanic changes the front lower arms?

 

[franx]

nothing,,, you change things when they are worn out!!!

dont beleive some of the responses to this...


take it to a decent garage.. get them to check the car over, and replace parts as nesseceray!

no point changing track rod ends tie rods etc etc if they have no play!!

yep i'm all for that really !

BUT my track rod ends did have play already a half year ago so these definately will need changing..