This is a long one but please read:

I have 239K+ miles on my TL. My car is a daily driver in the SF Bay Area with a 110+ mile round-trip commute. The car never sees snow or dirt roads and is generally driven gently. I always do my best to avoid potholes, I crawl over speed bumps, and am very aware of every road imperfection on my commute. I don't have any unusual wear on my front tires but I can swear that road feel has diminished recently. I can also hear a clunk sometimes when backing out of my driveway.

With the last couple of trips to the dealer for scheduled maintenance, I've been told that my compliance bushings are torn. Rather than spending $500+ to have them install new rubber bushings, I thought I'd go with something more "permanent" with the added benefit of improving the driving experience. So, I ordered a set of PCI spherical bearings from MrHeelToe.

I've had them sitting around for about a week and finally had a chance, today, to take the car to a shop. I was excited to get the bearings installed until I heard a couple of statements:

1. The installation was going to take about 5 hours (their rate is $90/hr)
2. The bearings are better suited on a car that doesn't see daily driving because dirt and other foreign matter will get inside and cause noise and other issues

I understand that more care must be taken with the installation but 5 hours? Is that being overly cautious?

The debris-related issue probably worries me more. Being that the bearings aren't sealed or shielded, it does seem possible that debris could be an issue. However, after doing quite a bit of searching I can't find any proof of that. The mechanic at the shop said that he's aware of people who've tried spherical bearings only to have issues and, 6 months later, wanted to replace them. I didn't ask for proof or more detail.

I left the shop ready to return the bearings but thought I'd do a little more research first to see if the mechanic's claims are valid.

I really had my heart set on installing the bearings and probably more for the improvements in the driving experience than the longevity of the rubber bushings (which have lasted me to this point). I've always felt the front suspension and steering lacked feedback so I was really excited about this upgrade. However, I also have to keep in mind how my car is used and I can't jeopardize reliability. I do consider myself an enthusiast (look at my signature) but I'm not a racer. I do appreciate a car that drives well and am critical of details.

I've already done quite a bit searching and have read the following threads:

• https://acurazine.com/forums/problem...d-look-707888/
• https://acurazine.com/forums/problem...ension-696480/
• https://acurazine.com/forums/problem...launch-860709/

What should I do? Find another shop or return the bearings and just go with OEM rubber bushings?

 

5 hours is overly cautious. I just had my compliance bushing pressed in yesterday.

According to alldata the labor guide to remove both front lower control arms are 2.5 hours for both and 0.2 hours to press the bushing out.

I was in a emergency and wanted to get it done asap thinking it would fix my clunking noise.

Shop #1 said $200 for 1 side
Shop #2 said $100 for 1 side
Shop #3 said $117 for 1 side

Shop #2 and #3 said they couldn't do it until Monday.

I was worried my LCA was going to rub a hole through my sub frame so waiting until Monday was not a option.

$200 is robbery for 1 side but I paid anyways. Upon removal of my LCA I finally saw what was actually causing the clunking noise and it wasn't my LCA hitting my sub frame (although my LCA WAS touching the sub frame)

The noise was coming from something else.

Next time I would just buy aftermarket LCA that comes with compliance bushings already in them for $100 and replace it myself.

 

Anybody else?

Can I expect noise issues based on the daily use of my car?

 

OP, do it yourself using the homemade tool I designed:

https://acurazine.com/forums/problem.../#post14334091

$450 is way too much money to do this.

Also, I'm confused why you're even worried about contamination issues after reading those threads. It would seem to me that MacKenzie001's reviews pretty much ruled that out.

 

I just wanted to be sure about the noise. You never know, maybe since that time somebody else has had a different experience.

I'm kind of reluctant to attempt the job myself. I just never seem to have good luck and something unexpected always happens. Although I did install my RSB pretty smoothly without jacking up the car.

 

PM MacKenzie001 and get him to post an update in this thread

 

This

 

Got rid off at the dealership replacing them for $540. Wish I checked more into this before.

 

If your not racing, go OEM.

 

These go anywhere from 60k - 80k, at best for a rather large portion of the 3G TL population. After your second set fails, you start looking for a more robust alternative.

 

Mine have started to rip and I plan on replacing it with OEM. These bushings are consumables in my opinion. I don't like how the fastline compliance's doesn't have a boot protecting the bearing surfaces from contamination, I don't think it would last long in year round driving in Wisconsin.

 

Jury's out until someone posts a long-term reliability test. FWIW: Heel Toe is doing themselves a mass disservice by not committing to this themselves.