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Replacing Front Drive Unit Clevis (motor) Mount

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Yes.

Not for me to say what brand of camber arms will suffice, but two points. These cars weigh over 5,500lbs, about 2,000 lbs more than the average ICE car. Aftermarket parts need to be made to a superior standard. And secondly, the factory toe arm has limited adjustment. After adjusting for camber to a spec that minimizes inner tire wear, it is likely that the toe adjustment cannot be brought into proper spec as the factory eccentric adjustment on the toe arm is very limited. In my view if one is doing this, you might has well do it right the first time and purchase adjustable toe arms at the same time if you hope to achieve the full benefit.

Buying the parts online is the easy part. What is not so easy is to find an alignment shop that will "work with you" to get the car into an alignment specification that fixes the tire wear problem. Most alignment shops use a red light/green light system. As soon as the alignment light turns green, they stop adjusting. The problem is that Tesla's rear camber adjustment, for example, is so wide, that even after installing adjustable arms, you could be back to the spec that doesn't improve anything. What good is that???? Before buying anything, I suggest finding an alignment shop that will align the car to a spec that fixes the issues and not rely on the computerized data in their equipment. Otherwise you have wasted your money and time.
My X5M and Harley Davidson F150 both weigh in around 5500lbs...$1600+ for 4 suspension bits is stupid. I've never heard of the Hardrace kit mentioned in this post but I'm gonna look into them.

For whatever it's worth, I've used Firestone and their lifetime alignments on 6 of our 9 vehicles and they've been fine. Only catch is nowadays they don't wanna honor lifetime adjustments on anything with "modified suspensions", so having mostly lowered vehicles means they're gonna have to refund the difference next time I bring them in.
 
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My X5M and Harley Davidson F150 both weigh in around 5500lbs...$1600+ for 4 suspension bits is stupid. I've never heard of the Hardrace kit mentioned in this post but I'm gonna look into them.

For whatever it's worth, I've used Firestone and their lifetime alignments on 6 of our 9 vehicles and they've been fine. Only catch is nowadays they don't wanna honor lifetime adjustments on anything with "modified suspensions", so having mostly lowered vehicles means they're gonna have to refund the difference next time I bring them in.
The hardrace stuff has been used on other chassis for YEARS. It’s no different than Whiteline or other non bargain basement brands.

The X isn’t some special car, aside from the complicated rear doors. It’s also not much heavier than an S Plaid. People need to chill a bit on thinking this thing is a special magical vehicle.
 
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Wow, something is not right here. If you car was manufactured in 9/2018 then it should have the old style clevis mount. Strangely enough, your service estimate specifically indicates your car has a Raven drive unit (started manufacture in June 2019 I believe) AND there is no clevis mount in the estimate. Oddly enough, there are no seals in the estimate either and I understand that they always replace the seals when replacing the half shafts. I followed the instruction in the service bulletin (quoted at the beginning of this thread) removed the front left tire, secured the car on jack stand and climbed underneath to confirm that I had the old style clevis. In my view that helped the conversation at the SC and I walked in with the Tech Bulletin in hand as well. Everything fell into place without argument. But that is just me. In addition, the part numbers for the half shafts are different than my invoice. Seems to me whoever wrote your service invoice/estimate hasn't got it right. You are gonna have to go back to the SC and ask does your car have the old style clevis since it was made prior to April 2019---yes or no. Why did they specify Raven drive unit, does that mean the wrong parts, and why no seals. Good luck!!!
More proof Tesla service centers are staffed to the brim with incompetency or poorly trained service writers and technicians. Bummer!
 
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Took my model s in today to the SF service center and they gave the standard “this is normal wear and tear”

I referenced the toolkit number, but fell for the line “the Clevis Mount only exists on model x”

A closer look at the service bulletin showed this isn’t true, it clearly says model s and x. I just made another appointment at a different SC

Hope this helps someone. If you own a model s, don’t fall for the same lie I did!

 
Took my model s in today to the SF service center and they gave the standard “this is normal wear and tear”

I referenced the toolkit number, but fell for the line “the Clevis Mount only exists on model x”

A closer look at the service bulletin showed this isn’t true, it clearly says model s and x. I just made another appointment at a different SC

Hope this helps someone. If you own a model s, don’t fall for the same lie I did!

Don’t feel bad. They got me with the ‘we only price this cheaper for cars under warranty’ line.
 
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Folks: Apparently if your X is made before Apr 24 2019, the clevis mount (frequently referred to as the motor mount) on the front drive unit is a major cause of shudder problems. as it does not secure the drive unit properly. See: https://cdn.motor1.com/pdf-files/sb-21-39-001-replace-front-drive-unit-halfshafts.pdf and the explanation on page 4 showing how to determine what version of the clevis mount your X has. Although I have no issues with shudder (I drive mostly in Low), I intend to do the upgrade to the new clevis mount version to keep my car current and hopefully avoid future problems. I do a lot of maintenance on my cars myself. I have two questions:
1. Has anyone changed the clevis mount themselves and what is the degree of difficulty? Among other things one has to support the drive unit while R&R the mount.
2. Is it absolutely necessary to change the drive half shafts (CV axles)? Mine are just fine so I don't see the point.​
Thanks in advance to all that respond.​
Bob X​
Revise old thread, I end up add some custom mount inserts and seal it up. Because instructions say drop hv main battery, remove half shaft
20231130_124443.jpg
and steering shaft to get access to clevis mount bolts in order to remove it.