BobN54

I've had trouble with the rubber in the boots cracking and failing within 2-3 years on aftermarket suspension parts that are made in China. I would be wary of any China made ball joint, regardless of brand name.

j2b4o

Just an update for anyone looking in the future.

Bought a Doorman control arm for the driver side on a 90 after being very disappointed with the B/A arm.
the Doorman arm looks like a factory toyota replacement. it has the correct ball joint and looked top notch all around. if your in the market and don't want to spend 500$ on a new one from the dealer, get the Doorman hands down(191$).

curepunx

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the update! I've been keeping that brand in mind. I looked them up at PartsGeek and the part number listed was Dorman OE 520-459 + 520-460 for about $352 shipped. Keep us informed on time/mileage on these. Thanks!

TRDMan

Just a heads up but for anyone interested in getting the Dorman UCA, so far the cheapest place I found for BOTH arms (520-459 & 520-460) is Advance Auto Parts. They are $130.00 each and since Advanced Auto almost always have the $50 off $150 promotion code the arms come out to be $210 shipped. Head over to Slickdeals or Dealnews and you should be able to find the promotional code easily.

OU303

Does Dorman not make this part for the 95 LS400? Or does the part you mentioned above not fit the 95? I am not finding any Dorman control arms for the 95 LS400

EDIT Damn the bad luck I think I just figured out the answer to my own question. It doesn't look like Dorman makes control arms for the gen2 LS400.

Anyone have any suggestions for a QUALITY front upper control arm for the gen2 LS400? Looks like Moog makes one. I remember years ago at Carquest they had Moog parts (maybe still do) but I can't remember if they were good or not. Even if they were good back then, doesn't mean they haven't gone downhill since. Thoughts on buying a Moog front upper control arm?

FYI if anyone needs parts from Advance Auto Parts it looks like there is a $40 off $100 code floating around. Not sure what the forum rules are about posting links like that or else I would post it.

OU303

Looks like Dorman 521-069 and 521-070 are the Dorman part #s for 95-2000. When I Googled the part # it doesn't look to be sold at any etailers but only on EBay and Amazon. Anyone know if this was something that wasn't a good product and was discontinued? Or maybe it was a good product but they quit making it for some other reason?

OU303

Didn't find my answer to the question above so if someone knows the answer that would be great!

However I did find something to report...

I am not familiar with the brand but I spoke with my old boss at CarQuest and they sell Mevotech for the front upper control arms. He said they are OE for a lot of manufacturers. He was working so we didn't get into depth on what OE meant in this case but he did say the company is based out of Canada. These come with a Lifetime Warranty. Maybe someone else can chime in on the quality.

I think he was giving me a slight break over retail at $263.90 but I am not sure since they had to come from a third parts parts house, so maybe not. They come from Wil-Pac (sp), which is a large parts house that CarQuest, Napa, etc use for things they don't carry.

It looks like the same Front Upper L, Front Upper R Control arms are $400 total for the set on EBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-MEVOTECH-L...afe6e0&vxp=mtr

RA010623

iTrader: (1)

a lot of these OE parts are manufactured by aftermarket companies made to OE spec. They are not lexus / toyota factory made part.
just remember on ebay you get what you pay for. Sometimes don't buy the cheapest .

OU303

Yes I realize they are not OE parts, but I was told they DO actually MAKE actual OE parts for the car companies. I don't know about this particular company, but car makers a lot of times farm out the smaller parts to existing companies. For instance Bilstein shocks are actual OE on a lot of vehicles. Just because it is a Lexus part doesn't mean it is made in an actual Lexus factory literally by Lexus.

When I worked at CarQuest and even after, as long as I bought their best line possible, I rarely had problems. And I bought A LOT of parts. Electrical parts, steering parts, suspension parts, fuel system parts, TONS of gaskets and seals, etc. Only ever had to return one pair of brake pads because of squeeling and one plug wire (in the set) went out after about 7 years on some lifetime plug wires I got. That is on my old Camry since I've had that one for 10 years. Many parts were bought 5+ years ago and haven't had a single one break. Doesn't mean it isn't possible, just that my extensive experience with CarQuest has always been good.

I have nothing to gain from telling you about my good experiences with CarQuest and I would prefer 100% genuine Lexus parts if possible, but for my money it isn't worth $460 each for Lexus control arms. Nor is it gonna be worth it for a lot of things. If they are made well, by a reputable company, and fit right, I have no problem going aftermarket on ANY car I own.

jbh1957

Not disagreeing that the aftermarket parts are worse than OEM. However...

I replaced one of my UCAs with an Arnott about four years ago. It just now needs replacing. I figured when I bought it that I could replace about six to eight of the Arnott's for the price of a genuine OEM part. So as long as the OEMs don't last more than 24 years at about 15,000 miles a year, I think I'm doing okay.

jbh1957

Great call, $50 less than Amazon, which was the next best price I found.

Live4brew

I had to replace my Arnott arms within one year...they charged my credit card $200 (because, of course I'M the one who'd be ripping THEM off...), and told me I'd get it back when I returned the old arms. They never refunded my money and I've been fighting them ever since.

Horrible part, horrible customer service.

sam12345

iTrader: (1)

You can get moog UCA at rock auto for $164 each




I ordered a front drivers side will update when installed

Question: should I have replaced the passengers side or wait till it goes bad?