Rear upper suspension arm replacement

[johnnyb44]

Hi again.
My car is getting on a bit now and after 24 years of service I think it's time to get the rear upper suspension arms replaced.At the local garage I asked if we could get the car up on the ramps so that we could have a real look at them.On the face of it they didn't look to bad but on closer inspection they were showing signs of distress especially on the top were the spring goes into them.Also we spotted a hole on the top of the arm.There definitely in need of replacement.
I've already got the arms thanks to Dmgrs ,so it's a case of getting them into the car.
Now my mechanicing skills are not the greatest in the world so I will be entrusting the local garage to do the job.There obviously skilled and have all the right tools to do it.
So I was just wondering what sort of cost should I be expecting.They charge around £60 an hour but I can thankfully deduct to parts off the bill because I already have them.
Any thoughts on this because I don't even know how big a job it is.
Many thanks and all the very best.

[macafee2]

Originally Posted by johnnyb44

Hi again.
My car is getting on a bit now and after 24 years of service I think it's time to get the rear upper suspension arms replaced.At the local garage I asked if we could get the car up on the ramps so that we could have a real look at them.On the face of it they didn't look to bad but on closer inspection they were showing signs of distress especially on the top were the spring goes into them.Also we spotted a hole on the top of the arm.There definitely in need of replacement.
I've already got the arms thanks to Dmgrs ,so it's a case of getting them into the car.
Now my mechanicing skills are not the greatest in the world so I will be entrusting the local garage to do the job.There obviously skilled and have all the right tools to do it.
So I was just wondering what sort of cost should I be expecting.They charge around £60 an hour but I can thankfully deduct to parts off the bill because I already have them.
Any thoughts on this because I don't even know how big a job it is.
Many thanks and all the very best.

Alas water is your enemy. I have known the bolt from the upper arm to trailing arm seize solid. No amount of hammering would move the bolt. This involved cutting both ends of the bolt off and replacing the bush in the trailing arm as well as the bolt.
The captive nut holding the bolt for the upper arm to the middle of the sub frame can come free meaning the whole sub frame has to come off.

If you are lucky as I have been in the past, there will be no issues and all nuts and bolts will come undone and pull out without issue.

Perhaps at £60 an hour, not more then £240 labour if all goes well.


macafee2

[chicochapman]

I had this job done (both upper and lower) both sides last year by my local garage and they booked 8 hours. They said it was "challenging" job and not to darken their doors again!

I think they had to drop the entire rear suspension to remove the old arms but hopefully the arms will be good for another 20 years or so if the rest of the car lasts that long!


Malc

[Nantwich 75]

Contact Jules in Colwyn Bay.

[johnnyb44]

Thanks for all the replies.
My uneducated guess was around the £300 to £400 mark.The boss of the garage will be back in work tomorrow so I will have a more in-depth chat with him about it all.
I can imagine these can be the final death nail for these cars nowadays.
I do also rely on my trusty Rover for everyday commutes to work but I have got a week off in a couple of weeks.Hopefully I will be able to get the job done then when I don't need the car

[KWIL]

Why should this be considered as the death nell for our cars, for what it costs to replace the rear suspension, you would not get any other car.

[SD1too]

Originally Posted by KWIL

Why should this be considered as the death nell for our cars, for what it costs to replace the rear suspension, you would not get any other car.

Another consideration is that road tax and insurance are comparable expenses with the figure quoted above.

Simon

[JAYWHY 75]

When I did mine prior to the garage changing these I dowsed the nuts, the captive nuts and the bolts with good quality penetrating fluid. I kept doing this over a number of days. When it came to changing them the mechanic that did these told me that they came apart reasonably well - he showed me the original nuts and bolts and although they had been on the car about 17 years they could have been used again, although I replaced with new. The captive nuts are accessed via a hole in the subframe

I also made sure the new arms were well coated with wayoyl

[Arctic]

Captive nuts are square and reside in a pocket on the subframe, and as you point out are accessed through an hole.
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[JAYWHY 75]

Originally Posted by Arctic

Captive nuts are square and reside in a pocket on the subframe, and as you point out are accessed through an hole.
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Good pics Steve - tell the story about accessing them very well - was once told a picture often replaces a thousand words!