I'm down to the final piece of the jigsaw on my focus. I know that it needed a new control arm bushing, but when he put it up on the lift yesterday, it was clear when he pried it with the bar that the right side was well worn to the point that it needs replacing and the left side rubber has started to deteriorate to the point where he can get slight movement with the pry bar. Also from driving it, I'm finding that it doesn't sound right when it runs over little bumps or rough tar spots on the road and its handling is a little bit sloppy.  I don't think that there should be any movement in it at all? So he has ordered the 2 of them in and will replace them tomorrow. 

This is my first ford. There is 100k miles on it. Previously I had a Renault Grand Scenic which needed control arm bushings at 100k miles and again at 200k miles. Previous to that I had a toyota Auris which never needed a bushing or any part for that matter in the 250k miles that I drove it. 

What would be the normal life of one of these bushes in your experience? They appear to be a relatively easy and cheap fix in comparison to the Renault

 

 

Done loads of these now, at varying age/miles. Generally most will replace the complete arm not the bush. 

Just checked, last one I done was a 2009 1.6 petrol with 88k on the clock.

Mines went around 70k depends on the roads and how much you thrash it.