That annoying "gluk" - Part I: LCA bushing

It sucks when there are weird sounds coming from somewhere in the car. Its been 3 months since I took over ownership of this Nissan X-trail.  Currently I'm being plague by this "gluk-gluk-gluk" sound that keeps bugging me whenever i drive real slow. Observation over the weeks were summarized as below :-

• Happens when driving under 20kmh over uneven surface
• More obvious when only one side of the tyre hits bumpy roads
• Dampens and unaudible when 2 person sits in the car

Got sick of the sound went to TCEAS and had them jack up the car to check. The chief found both the lower control arm bushings cracked and the underside rear mount was also starting to go. WTF is a LCA ?

Left Side

Right Side

See the cracks on the rubber?

TCEAS and general spare parts shop don't stock the bushings. They sell the whole LCA assy which cost around RM700 ea excluding labour.

My search for parts ended at Double Champion (Sg Dua). Got my bushings and went to get them installed at Chang Soon in Sungai Ara. I would recommend them for alignment job but the installation job was pretty expensive @ RM45 per side. They also chopped me when they sent the LCA out to press @RM30/RM25 big/small when it cost about RM15. >_<

Both are labelled Made in Japan but the shop says they are local. Your guess is as good as mine.

• X-Trail Lower Control Arm Big Bushing - 2pcs @RM38 
• X-Trail Lower Control Arm Small Bushing -2pcs @RM28

By the time this ended, was almost 9pm. Everything was set. Drove around, didn't hear anything yet but will have to run this abit before the assy sit properly. Hopefully no more "gluk" "gluk"

Today's damage was about RM400+ vs RM1400 if I had replaced the LCA assy.