12-12-14, 03:57 PM
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ProjectGS DIY: Inner Tie Rod Replacement. Possibly cure to your tirewear problems!
01-17-12, 01:47 AM
#61
I was about to give up on this car lol. I had replaced all the bushings (lower control arms, upper control arms, caster), then replaced all the balljoints(lower and upper), then did the inner and outer tie rods, and I also had steering rack bushings. After all that and my alignment was still drifting around. I was seriously contemplating getting rid of the car because this is my daily and I was going through tires every 3-4k miles!
01-17-12, 04:24 AM
#62
Lexus Test Driver
I did UCA's and LBJ's, just not inner and outer tie rods yet. Wasn't sure if I should think about replacing the lower control arms as well, which can be costly. They sell the camber bolt separately for $10 though.
Last edited by airahcaz; 01-17-12 at 07:16 AM.
07-26-12, 08:08 PM
#64
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Camber bolt @ $10 and Loctite 242
I know this thread had been posted for awhile now. For what it worth, LOL. Why don't you just use Loctite or thread locker during the alignment and order two spare camber as spare. I am sure it will keep the camber bolt in place.
07-27-12, 02:48 AM
#65
Locking it in with loctite will only stop the nut from loosening off the camber bolt. It will not prevent the bolt from physically shifting. With all of these lowered cars with stiff aftermarket suspension and ultra low profile tires, alignment shift is not a rare occurrence! The factory spec is designed with a stock suspension and with 50-60 profile tires. That provides extra dampening in case of hitting a bump or pothole. When everything is ultra stiff, that force of impact will be directly transferred to the control arms and bolts holding them in. It only takes a very small change to throw off the camber adjustments.
07-27-12, 05:41 AM
#66
I had the same inner tire wear problems and my car is only lowered a little over an inch, I have read responses on here that if your only 1" lowered the factory adjustments should allow to get the car back to spec but that wasn't the case, the cam bolts were maxed out. I had to install the Specialty Adjustable upper control arms and now my alignment is perfect. I was lucky enough to get these for wholesale through my business so the prices weren't bad at all for them.
06-26-13, 03:41 PM
#67
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so til this day, does anyone know the type of grease used to grease the inner tie rod joint? I just bought some moog inner tie rods, and I'm curious as to which type of grease to use. lol Thanks
edit: read that moly EP grease is good for ball joints under heavy load...
so hopefully this will help everyone else that doesn't know.. lol
edit: read that moly EP grease is good for ball joints under heavy load...
so hopefully this will help everyone else that doesn't know.. lol
Last edited by BlKTC; 06-26-13 at 03:48 PM.
07-09-13, 08:05 PM
#71
Yeah some come greased, some don't but include a little package of grease. The MOOG set I bought came with no grease on part, but little packet of it. If yours doesn't come with anything, just use any good quality axle grease and you'll be good to go.
12-29-13, 07:19 AM
#72
IMPORTANT UPDATE!
My alignment was a bit better after replacing inner the tie rod, but toe alignment would randomly drift out of spec after a while. I took it to my friend that works at Lexus and we put it up on the lift to check everything out. He even got a few of the senior techs out there to come to try and diagnose the problem. Well, turns out it was something extremely stupid. The camber adjustment eccentric bolt needs to be REALLY cranked down. The senior tech told him to get a 3ft long breaker bar and just lay into it.
I didn't want to bug my friend at Lexus because they usually have to stay after hours to work on personal cars or on cars not coming through the shop. So I had firestone do my alignment previously because I also have the lifetime alignment plan with them so it was free. Their(Firestone) problem was that they didn't crank the camber bolt down enough and it caused the camber to drift around every time I would hit a major bump. Some days the toe would be in and some days it would be out. They would set the camber and toe dead on according to the Hunter alignment machine, but I guess the tech didn't crank the bolt down tight enough. My friend cranked the bolt down, we threw it back on the alignment machine, and then dialed in all the settings to perfect. After that, I haven't had a single problem and I've been driving it hard for a while now since we've set the alignment.
My alignment was a bit better after replacing inner the tie rod, but toe alignment would randomly drift out of spec after a while. I took it to my friend that works at Lexus and we put it up on the lift to check everything out. He even got a few of the senior techs out there to come to try and diagnose the problem. Well, turns out it was something extremely stupid. The camber adjustment eccentric bolt needs to be REALLY cranked down. The senior tech told him to get a 3ft long breaker bar and just lay into it.
I didn't want to bug my friend at Lexus because they usually have to stay after hours to work on personal cars or on cars not coming through the shop. So I had firestone do my alignment previously because I also have the lifetime alignment plan with them so it was free. Their(Firestone) problem was that they didn't crank the camber bolt down enough and it caused the camber to drift around every time I would hit a major bump. Some days the toe would be in and some days it would be out. They would set the camber and toe dead on according to the Hunter alignment machine, but I guess the tech didn't crank the bolt down tight enough. My friend cranked the bolt down, we threw it back on the alignment machine, and then dialed in all the settings to perfect. After that, I haven't had a single problem and I've been driving it hard for a while now since we've set the alignment.
I was expecting some change in driving characteristics from lowering a car with unequal length double wishbone but didn't think the GS will react this much... It's as if there is an awkward disconnect between the front suspension / cabin / rear suspension and sometimes feel like the car is experiencing hunting oscillation when changing lanes on a highway... I can't put my finger on exactly what, but simply lowering a GS will result in a car that isn't the most confidence inspiring car.
I figured it's mostly because the age/miles, low chassis rigidity, and crappy driver
. But I went ahead and changed almost all bushings to minimize unwanted alignment change, added chassis braces/bars so the stiffer coilover won't overpower the low rigidity of the chassis and allow the suspension to move as intended, adjusted roll center in an attempt to fix the bump steer, and etc. And I probably should have thought about scrub radius when putting wider and lower offset wheels and stickier tires. ...but if the eccentric bolt are shifting around, no wonder its causing a lot of us headaches. Time for me to ask my friend if I can borrow his lift and find a bigass breaker bar.
Jeff >> Any idea on the torque spec of the bolt/nut in question? I imagine its a grade 8 and not something I can easily snap off but figured I'd ask. And is the alignment on your GS (GSs?) holding the dialed in alignment after you tightened down that eccentric bolt?
12-29-13, 05:37 PM
#73
Yes it's been holding for over a year now since we last dialed it in up at Lexus where my friend works. Toyota uses like Grade 12 bolts for anything large. I assume the eccentric camber bolt is probably a grade 10 or 12, I wouldn't be afraid of it snapping lol. We used a huge 3 or 4 foot long breaker bar and just laid into it. Maybe like 150-200ft/lbs approx? I know it's higher than factory spec but when these cars are lowered with stiff suspension, the lower ft/lb spec will cause the eccentric bolt to shift around.
12-29-13, 11:23 PM
#74
Yes it's been holding for over a year now since we last dialed it in up at Lexus where my friend works. Toyota uses like Grade 12 bolts for anything large. I assume the eccentric camber bolt is probably a grade 10 or 12, I wouldn't be afraid of it snapping lol. We used a huge 3 or 4 foot long breaker bar and just laid into it. Maybe like 150-200ft/lbs approx? I know it's higher than factory spec but when these cars are lowered with stiff suspension, the lower ft/lb spec will cause the eccentric bolt to shift around.
The last time I put that much torque was when I put on wheels on a dually...but yeah, youre right, that eccentric bolt probably does see a lot more force than stock with a tighter suspension.
Now to find a time/place to raise my car that high off the ground or a very clicky torque wrench...
01-07-14, 10:35 PM
#75
Lexus Test Driver
Man this is an excellent DIY!!!! Priceless to the average Joe who isn't "inclined" in doing this type of stuff. When I do this to my car, I will bring this DIY up for reference DEFINITELY!!!! Thank you my friend!