CX lower control arm bushes

palyasm

palyasm

Member
Fellow Frogger
Tadpole
Tadpole
Joined
May 5, 2011
Messages
248
Location
Adelaide Hills, SA
Hi All, Just by way of introduction (re-introduction?) I'm Steve and live in SA, I have owned and maintained my collection of 4 x DSs, an SM and 2 x 2CVs for many years and have very recently returned to CX ownership after 30 years, in the form of a series 2 GTI Turbo.

The new arrival needs lower control arm bushes (they are really really really worn). I know they are available from UK reconditioned, but I am hoping someone can describe the process of rebuilding them, by turning up new inner poly (nylon?) bushes. Or is there a reasonably priced source somewhere I haven't discovered yet?

Cheers,
Steve
 
two second google search :)

www.chevronics.co.uk

Lower Arm Bush CX -REMANUFACTURED - Citroen Part No: 95634653 - The Chevronic Centre

Remanufactured by Chevronics. Citroen CX Lower Arm Bush
www.chevronics.co.uk

They are simple enough to change if the big bolt easily comes out. I've had to cut the lower arm bolt twice now to get the arms out. the expanding tool to hold the bushes firmly in will make getting the shims back in on re-assembly much easier.

Oh, we were reference here on the 1st page of the 2 second google search too :)

Citroen CX lower arm pre-loading

Hi Guys, does anyone have a lower arm bush special tool that could measure up ?? I'd like to make one so I can get the lower arms into my car and pre-loaded correctly. The old girl has start wandering a little lately. I'm going to try and pre-load the lower arms perfectly.... It feels weird...
www.aussiefrogs.com

I didn't realise the lower arm bushes were NLA. While you are there you might as well replace the top ball joint and top arm bearings. The lower balljoint seems to last forever, as do the droplinks. The inner tie-rod joints are well worth checking.


seeya,
Shane L.
 
Oh, and post some piccies of your car :dance: CX's of any type are a pretty rare thing these days!
 
Thanks Shane,

Yes, I found those too, pretty pricey once landed here - that's why I thought I could try re-building myself and wondering if there is anyone who has done this...

I just drove the car from Noosa to Adelaide over the weekend which involved one major overheating episode coming up the hill into Toowoomba, random engine cut-out (at night in the Mallee...) accompanied by the ABS light coming on (dry solder joint in ABS relay repaired bush-mechanic way by squashing the solder blob with pliers...) and of course loads of steering wander due to bushes and loose track joint. Other than that it was a nostalgic return to CX driving - my Citroen passion all started with a CX2400 when I was 18.

The car is overall quite sound, but needs lots of tidying up. It is registered as a 1987, but has no intercooler? I can't find the ORGA number.

Cheers,
Steve
 
Sounds like a Turbo 1. There was Series 1 turbo 1s (any metal bumper turbo is this). Series II turbo 1s (easily picked by the metal intake pipe upto the inlet manifold and plastic bumpers). Turbo II, Series II -- non-metal intake hose and singe flywheel sensor.

It was probably 10years ago I last bought lower suspension bushes. From memory they were about $80 each. So $100aud (50quid) is quite a lot of money (as we need four of them, but certainly not unreasonable IMO :) ). I doubt you would be able to make your own for this sort of money. You can't "strip" the rubber from the old bush (and the nylon bearing does wear even though it will probably still be tight).

CX basis may have original lower arm bushes (the postage costs of enormous though)...... actually I'll check.

Buchse für Querlenker CX unten - Vorderachse - Fahrwerk - Online-Shop - CX-Basis - Der Spezialist für Citroen CX

<span style="" >Silentblock für unterer Querlenker Citroen CX. Für eine Fahrzeugseite werden 2 Stück benötigt.<br/><br/>Ø1 Gummi 51 mm<br/>Ø2 Gummi 38 mm<br/>Ø3 Außenachse 23 mm<br/>Ø4 Innenachse 16 mm<br/>L Gummi: 62 mm<br/>L insgesamt: 77 mm</span>
www.cx-basis.de www.cx-basis.de

They can't be serious surely :eek: $350 each plus postage + gst. I'm guessing they will be keeping there stock "forever". there postage costs are just huge! Still I guess anything is better than "not available"!

ABS: wiring under the spare wheel ... but most likely a fractured wire to a wheel sensor
Overheating: Check fan operation. It is series/parallel, you should have two fans run on slow speed at 86 degrees and both flick to high speed at 92degrees ( the LCD display is very accurate). If you only have one fan running on high speed, there is a wiring issue.

Wiring issues ... Yay! ... OK:
-pull the spare ok ... remove the metal shrowd from beneath. Either replace or remove the wiring plugs to the engine harness as they will be intermittant. Chop and and splice new wire in if you find copper rot.
-clean the earth point above the battery
-boil the flywheel sensors in some water, if any go open circuit as they get hot .... that is the reason the car is cutting out when there is heat soak under the bonnet.
-all the wiring connectors across the head, unplug and either clean and replace the connectors.
-fan wiring and relays around the battery and AEI unit .... clean and replace all the relay connectors and wiring connectors as required.
-"big blue" ... this is the tachometric relay under the drivers side headlight (turbo 1). I needed to replace all of the wiring connectors around this. the relay beside the tachometric relay powers the injectors/coil. so it needs to be clean as well.


This is all fun, once you get through the wiring issues, they are quite reliable :)
 
So it is a long time ago that I last replaced the lower bushes - I thought the outer rubber (cast onto the outer casing) is a 'press fit' into the arm and doesn't wear, unless contaminated with LHM so it disintegrates? Isn't it the nylon bearing (the moving part) which wears out? I thought this part could be turned up on a lathe and reassembled. I haven't removed them yet but up on the hoist I can move the wheel through about 2 inches, all in the lower bushes..

The relay I had trouble with was the 'long' one with standard 4 terminal base up in the group of 3 relays and harness connectors on the upper crossmember behind engine. This relay has a diode and another component with a heatsink. From what I could tell from the manual it is related to the ABS - ABS light comes on and the engine dies, tacho still reading rpm, so I assume the relay also knocks out the fuel pump. Anyhow I re-soldered the dry joint when I got home and all good now.

The tachometric blue relay is under the headlight just hanging there by its wires along with its friend...
 
my experience in the lower bushes wear, nothing to do with LHM weapage on the cars I've looked at. Its all in the rubber. I remember pulling the bearing apart and they were all tight, however the new ones were much tighter. I think the dimples must wear.

Having said that, why not try? I'm betting any wear in the bearing isn't even measurable :confused: You could completelly turn the rubber off the bearing tube, then you would just need to re-bond something to them.

I'm thinking the rubber is only there for vibration and sound suppression. Could you hard mount it like the top mount? This is how its done in a DS (that does suffer noisy suspension and vibration .... the reason for the heavy foam backed carpet).
 
It’s a bit of a long shot, but have a read through this thread about engine mounts and take a look at the link I posted within it for a company in Ukraine that I have dealt with. I have the feeling that a Ukrainian CX owner had asked them about manufacturing these suspension arm bushings as well?

Citroen CX engine mount replacement

Remind me..... How do you fit the RHS (engine) mount? I managed to get the remains of the old mount out, but don't have enough space to fit the new mount.... Do I need to remove the driveshaft to allow the engine to be raised enough to get the mount into place?? I've done this years ago...
www.aussiefrogs.com
 
cresco750 said:
It’s a bit of a long shot, but have a read through this thread about engine mounts and take a look at the link I posted within it for a company in Ukraine that I have dealt with. I have the feeling that a Ukrainian CX owner had asked them about manufacturing these suspension arm bushings as well?

Citroen CX engine mount replacement

Remind me..... How do you fit the RHS (engine) mount? I managed to get the remains of the old mount out, but don't have enough space to fit the new mount.... Do I need to remove the driveshaft to allow the engine to be raised enough to get the mount into place?? I've done this years ago...
www.aussiefrogs.com
Click to expand...

I thought of that too.... but could they be cheaper than 50quid .... hmmm.... :) Fingers crossed they do inner tie-rod joints
 
I’ve just been in touch with the CX owner in Ukraine who initially commissioned the Polypro company to make the first set of CX engine mounts, and he did ask them about control arm bushes but they said the tooling / dies would cost about US$1000 and they needed a NOS bush to copy, so at this stage they have not been able to reproduce them. If there was enough demand I’m sure they would? The engine mount bushes that they supplied appear to be very well made, and by comparison were quite inexpensive. The risk if course is that Ukraine is currently in the midst of a war and so my order took six months to turn up.
 
Yes, I can see why the tooling would be a bit more complex than mounts or a normal car's suspension bushes as the CX / GS ones are designed to rotate smoothly like a bearing rather than merely allow flex.

I'll pull them out and have a think about what could be done, I just need to familiarise myself with what section fails. Clearly Chevronics have worked out how to refurbish them (and their price probably reflects the cost of doing it), Citroen Classics do them for about 85 pounds and may source from the same place

My Turbo is missing a couple of exterior trim parts like the 'T' badge on the bonnet and the black plastic / rubber trim along the lower edge of the bootlid, in case anyone has one laying around?
 
Can't use urethane? You can buy a bar of it from Nolathane and turn it in a lathe, although that is a little different to turning other materials.
 
Yes, that is what I thought if it is the inner moving bush which fails, but if it is the rubber on the outside that may need to be removed and then cast
 
I pulled the left arm out which thankfully came apart very easily with no rust at all on the bolt. The outer shell which is held in the arm bore with the outer cast rubber is still tightly in place, whereas the inner bearing tubes just fell straight out with very little of the 'waffled' nylon / urethane bearing remaining one one, and none at all on the other.. most of the material has turned into cheese and crumbled away

It looks like a fairly simple job to turn the new plastic bushes on the lathe, and the waffle indentations, which must be to retain grease and reduce friction, could be replicated by shallow drilling. Only thing is there is not enough material left to judge how thick to make the 'flange' section at each side to control preload... photos of a new one in pieces would be handy

Anyone know how many mm of compression you need to take up with new bushes prior to assembly with the shim washers?
 
that's interesting, have I always been wrong with my thinking that it is the rubber bush? I'd be tempted to fit a bronze bush (similar to traction avant suspension bearings). if this issue is wrong both sides.
 
The urethane bushing appears to have been cast onto the inner tube and fully encapsulating the outer flange. Looking at photos of the assembled new part it looks like the full encapsulation is mainly to incorporate a sealing surface within the larger diameter of the casing. If the new bush is turned on a lathe, it is the thickness of the urethane on the inside of the flange which will control preload/end thrust, and this could be machined so that the steel flange is recessed into the urethane flange to give the outer sealing rim.

As you said earlier Shane, I agree one of the 'improvements' in the CX design was adding some dampening to the lower arm pivot, so I reckon the urethane is worth trying.

I'll do some research, but surely it must be LHM contamination which degrades the urethane - similarly to what happens to the replacement urethane bumpstops on a D once they get soaked?
 

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palyasm said:
The urethane bushing appears to have been cast onto the inner tube and fully encapsulating the outer flange. Looking at photos of the assembled new part it looks like the full encapsulation is mainly to incorporate a sealing surface within the larger diameter of the casing. If the new bush is turned on a lathe, it is the thickness of the urethane on the inside of the flange which will control preload/end thrust, and this could be machined so that the steel flange is recessed into the urethane flange to give the outer sealing rim.

As you said earlier Shane, I agree one of the 'improvements' in the CX design was adding some dampening to the lower arm pivot, so I reckon the urethane is worth trying.

I'll do some research, but surely it must be LHM contamination which degrades the urethane - similarly to what happens to the replacement urethane bumpstops on a D once they get soaked?
Click to expand...

Aren't you going to need a bearing material for here? Bronze bush is expensive I guess. The waffle bearing material, is it nylon? It has a white paste/grease lubricating it when new. You would need to replace it with a material that will allow it to be a bearing. if there is friction there its going to try and rotate the rubber bush in the arm.
 
I bought suspension strut top mount ( rebuilt) for a xantia from Lithuanian company with polyurethane whatever and the damn thing literally disintegrated. Not sure if it was related to heat and humidity extremes but absolutely hopeless. I put the original one back on. I do know I saved it just in time before it took the bonnet out!
 
Yeah good question - I think it is polyurethane but it could be nylon - need someone who knows plastics but I think urethane by the way it has deteriorated.

Sorry, when I mentioned turning a new bush I meant turning up a polyurethane sleeve to replace the original cast plastic bush, ie to fit over the steel inner spindle and within the outer steel casing
 
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