Front Lower Control arm Bushing Leaking Oil

[spitblood08]

I took my 2020 ST in to get the tires balanced and alignment checked and found several extremely worrying things.

1. Toe was off in front by over a degree on both sides. the car has 30k miles on it and i have never had an alignment done on it, however looking at the tie rods there were clear wrench marks on them like they had been adjusted. I had it in for the camera blue screen issues multiple times but there is no mention of an alignment being performed on any of the shop paperwork.
2. Front passenger side lower control arm is leaking Oil. from what i understand these are fluid filled to reduce NVH but there is zero reason why this should have failed with only 30k miles on the car.

I am still under 36k miles but just over the 3 years. has anyone gone through this with ford/ had these fail before? i know it was a big issue on the last gen but now im looking at having to replace a control arm on a barely 3 year old car with less than 40k miles.

 

[GearHead_1]

Never heard of a fluid-filled control arm bushing on an ST. I think I've read about Subaru and maybe Lexus using them. Gotta wonder if someone is pulling your leg. I'd wonder if someone had squirted it with oil to quiet a noise. Perhaps even more likely, what might be leaking above it?

 

[Cdubya]

Was this at the dealer or an independent? If not the dealer, I'd be highly suspicious. Say what you will about dealerships but some independent shops and especially chains are unscrupulous.

Also, I would never recommend getting an alignment "checked". It is not to their advantage to check it and tell you it's normal. Have an alignment done if you have abnormal tire wear, the handling is amiss, or you have suspension work done. That's it.

 

[spitblood08]

its not just the STs, its on all 6th gen explorers,

Was this at the dealer or an independent? If not the dealer, I'd be highly suspicious. Say what you will about dealerships but some independent shops and especially chains are unscrupulous.

Also, I would never recommend getting an alignment "checked". It is not to their advantage to check it and tell you it's normal. Have an alignment done if you have abnormal tire wear, the handling is amiss, or you have suspension work done. That's it.

I was getting some bad vibration at highway speed and was starting to notice some feathering on the front tires. that was what prompted me to go in for an alignment balance. It Was an independent shop i actually trust. they never try and push anything on me and i spent a good 15 mins out in the shop with the tech who had it up on the rack. I saw the screen before it was adjusted. factory spec is .2 degrees of toe and one side was at a full degree and the other at 1.2 degrees. I got under the car personally and felt for oil anywhere around the bushing and everything was dry as a bone. the oil is definitely coming out of the bushing. As far as the marks go on the tie rod ends, i thought for a second that he might have adjusted it at first before i came out to try and sell an alignment but the marks on both the rods from where a wrench would have been were definitely not fresh and had road film and dirt all on them.

Oil filled bushings are not something new, german automakers have been using them for some time now on LCAs and other suspension components to reduce NVH. Example link below.

Leaking Bushing on BMW, same drip pattern

I also did some digging and found the FSM procedure for removing and replacing the Lower Control arm should anybody stumble across this post in the future. its for a RWD but the suspension is the same up front, i just dont know if the Axle would get in the way of that lower ball joint being freed from the steering knuckle.

FSM Front LCA removal- 2020 RWD.