Mkent

Hey Guys,

I went to my mechanics and they said my Upper Control arms were shot and I needed a new set. The priced them out at nearly $500 per peice, just for the parts!!! Surely the arms aren't bent, so its just a matter of replacing the bushings, no?

I don't want to spend that kind of money on the car, but I'd love to hear what some of you have gone through in this instance. If it is only the bushings, where can I find new ones? Directly through Lexus?

Thanks!

Mike.

akxx

iTrader: (1)

If they're "shot" then it's either both upper bushings or the tie rod. There are 2 aftermarket replacement bushing options: 1) Daizen (polyurethane) which will give a stiffer ride and for many also results in creaks when going over slow bumps according to those who have truly done an accurate comparison and 2) Andrew Vlamos bushings (from Australia, and maintain the Lexus ride).

If the tie rod is shot, then replacing entire upper control arm is your only option. Check out Sewell Lexus--they have the UCA for $300 each.

Keep in mind that if you replace bushings, your tie rod may need replacing down the road anyway. It may be worth it to go ahead and replace the entire UCA so you don't have to do it again for a very long time.

Mkent

Thanks for the response - when you say tie rod, you're talking about the ball joint at the end of the control arm?

Upon further inspection, it seems to be this ball joint that is the culprit, and not the bushings. Is there any way I can simply replace the ball joint instead of the entire arm?

steveski

To my knowledge you cannot replace this ball joint or at least I have not found the part anywhere from anybody. I have a 95 with the same issue - ball joint going but bushings fine.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

simple answer:

2 reasons for replacing UCA:
-dead bushings (replaceable but labor intensive, still better than replacing the whole UCA)
-dead Upper Ball Joint (non-replaceable, find a good parts dealer)

akxx

iTrader: (1)

Sorry--yes: ball joint, not tie rod.

richonenz

Have a look at Arnotts website or check them out on E-Bay , they now stock LS400 upper control arms , price was $199.00 and looks like that is for the pair !!

Suneet

I've had my Daizen bushings on for about 20K now, and I haven't noticed ANY creaking. The car is however much stiffer-- but I like it.

akxx

iTrader: (1)

Suneet--you're also in California, land of the moderate climate. There are folks in colder climates, and even in California who complain of creaking Daizen's. Consider yourself lucky. Never heard of complaints from the Vlamos bushings, or from new UCA replacements (except for price!)

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

where can i obtain the Vlamos bushings, akxx? thanks.

EXE.UCF10

iTrader: (3)

Vlamos website:

http://vftbushes.com/

akxx

iTrader: (1)

I gotta tell you, I ran through the cost/benefits myself on UCA replacement for myself, and if my bushings needed to be replaced, I'd go ahead and by the entire UCA. Sure it's more expensive, but I am facing a season where I will have much less time to wrench on things myself, so I'd need to make sure it's done quickly and done right the first time.

When replacing bushings, you've got a lot more laborious process, as well as more downtime, esp if you have to take your UCAs to a machine shop to get the bushings pressed in, etc. Plus you may have to replace the UCA within a couple of years anyway if the ball joint goes bad.

Certainly when I was in college I would have gone the "replace just the bushings" route due to lower price and having much more free time.

For me though, with diminishing free time, I'd just replace the UCA with a discounted one from one of our Lexus dealer sponsors and be done with it for at least another 8-10 years.

richonenz

Try having a look at this link , complete new arms for $199.00 the pair !!
I'm 3/4 the way through modding up for ball joints and there's aguy over here now making bush's for them at around $280.00 for the front set !!
That's more than a complete pair of new arms , add in machining and the cost of the ball joint [ $90.00 ] why bother ??
I'
ll be getting some of these Arnotts units pronto .

http://www.arnottindustries.com/part...46_gid421.html

trukn1

You may want to go back and look at that site again, they are $199 each,, not a pair. I pulled it up myself, even though I have already replaced one side of my UCA and will be doing the other side soon. If you go to the shopping cart and put in a quantity of 2, the total will come to $398. They do kinda misrepresent it in saying that it is a kit and it includes both left and right, but trust me if you read a little further down and look in the quantity box, you will notice that the quantity is only 1 at $199(Kinda a small loophole in phrasing) I am a little leary of this place/manufacturer but cant slam them b/c I dont know anything about them. Kinda raises my red light alert, when most of what they have on their site is a remanufactured item. Even though they advertise these as new, I would I, personally, am still leary. For such an important suspension component, I would really go with the Lexus brand myself. I know they are expensive, however I woruld really have piece of mind knowing that such an important component came from the OEM manufacturer. Dont get me wrong, I agree if you can find the deals, then go for it but this is just my thing. Who knows, they may work out great, you may wind up replacing them next year,, only time will tell.

Also, I have had the Daizen bushing installed on my car for just over a year now, and I have had no problems at all. No squeaks, noise whatso ever. With ANY type of polyurethane product, you will occasionally have to do maintenance to them(grease) to keep them from squeaking because unlike rubber, polyurethane is not pourous like rubber so the grease does not get absorbed into the actual product over time. When you get the set, they even tell you that you may/ or it is a good idea to occasionally check them and regrease if squeaking occurs.

steveski

Good point Trukn1 as OEM has lasted really long on my car. I don't know the life expectancy on aftermarket CA's. I would imagine it is not as long. Maybe others have comments on this.