Wishbone replacement

[The Surveyor]

After doing some light service work on my 97 Chimaera over the break, i took the opertunity to do a visual check of the underside etc.

Whilst most of the underside is exactly as expected with light surface rust, and general cr*p, the upper nearside wishbone has a crack on the very top of the rear leg. The steel has corroded through, but the rest of the wishbones are all sound without any sign of anything more than surface dusting.

Questions are :-

1, Is this likely due to past accident damage or is this the way they normally go?
2, Can a single wishbone be replaced safely, or do they have to be replaced in pair / sets to retain the geomotry / handling?
3, With a 97 car, would it be prudent to have all the front wishbones done, and what would the likely cost be to have a single wishbone done, against having them all done?

Thanks in advance for any info..

Paul

[snorky]

front wishbones are about £50 each and come with the bushes already in them...

[The Surveyor]

Thanks John.

£50 was roughly what my local TVR dealer quoted as a supply item, plus fitting at just under one hour. I thought that was reasonable plus extra to set-up the suspension geometry.

Still not sure if there is likey to be any handling problems (not that i drive anywhere near the limit) with having new bushes on one side, and old on the other?

[GarryM]

I've just had the front wishbone bushes done on mine ('96). During the test drive after the work, they discovered that there was too much play in one wishbone (in technical terms: the round tube like bit that takes the bush had become ovalised) so just that one wishbone has been replaced.

If you have the original bushes I'd recommend getting all the front bushes done anyway. The original rubber ones get very hot being next to the exhaust and degrade. The steering feels tighter and more direct with new bushes. I used medium hard black poly bushes (as opposed to purple (soft) and red (v. hard))

HTH

[The Surveyor]

Dropped the car in at Hexham on Saturday to have at least one wishbone replaced.

Have asked them to have a good poke arround with a view to checking the other suspension and chassis with a view to giving it a full Waxoil.

I will let you know what they recommend.