Hello everybody, thanks for joining us today! This is Rishi with Zev Centric, and we hope today’s video brings awareness to owners of Model 3s about rapid bushing failure on the front lower control arms. Let’s get started!
For those of you who don’t know, we have four front lower control arms, two on each side, each containing one bushing. Tesla calls these the front lower lateral link and the front lower compression link. We have witnessed these bushings starting to tear as early as 10,000 miles and completely ripping out between 25,000 to 50,000 miles. This is just a small fraction of the ones we have had to replace.
Another issue we have found is that these 21-millimeter bolts will wiggle themselves out of the subframe. So now, we’re going to show you some solutions we have. When you get your bushings inspected and potentially replaced with a new lower control arm, we highly advise you to tell your technician to put some blue Loctite on the bolts before they run them back through the subframe.
If you want to further improve your steering feel, you can upgrade to Mountain Pass sealed spherical bearings that also include a sleeve to prevent excessive movement. Here’s an example of a compliance link that we’ve removed from a Model 3. We’ve also extracted one so that you can see exactly how torn this bushing is.
Here’s an example of a replacement compliance link that we keep in stock. If you want to replace the whole assembly, we can do that. If you don’t, we can replace just the bushing for you or show you some upgraded options. The first upgrade we have are these inserts which go inside the factory rubber bushing to reduce deflection. The second upgrade completely eliminates deflection by replacing the rubber bushing with a sealed spherical bearing by Mountain Pass Performance.
For more details on these products, please visit our website at zevcentric.com.
Thank you for watching and stay tuned for more tips and tricks on maintaining your Model 3. Remember, prevention is key when it comes to ensuring the longevity of your vehicle. Don’t wait until it’s too late to address potential issues with your front lower control arms. Stay safe on the road and happy driving!
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