Doublebase

25 hours is insane, it should be 6 hours tops.

murphyinaz

Doublebase, that is what i figured too. I can't figure out how the dealer gets away charging over 5k for this repair even if the parts are 2k....seems like a complete racket....

Doublebase

I did mine four months ago on my back in my garage...no air tools, no torch, no lift...Christ I didn't even have any penetration oil. Took me maybe 5 hours total, and I also replaced a wheel bearing while I was at it (which really sucks without an air chisel).

It's not a big deal for an experienced tech. And I used aftermarket parts, it's been 10,000 miles, I'll take a picture of the bushings and post them (I don't think there's any cracks...at least there wasn't the last time I checked).

murphyinaz

Doublebase...how did you know your bushings were bad? I can't even tell when I drive I have a problem...the only thing I feel is a clunk when i have to brake hard...my mechanic did show me how there is some play in the front wheels when he applied the brakes at slow speed...hoping the brake clunking is also related to the control arm bushings and not something else....

Doublebase

A visual inspection would help. You can look right at the bushings and see if they're torn, also you can put a pry bar against the bushings and add a little pressure. If they move too much then they have torn all the way through.

When mine were bad they would give me a little clunk over bumps. I'm not sure they will get rid of the clunk you have during braking, it may help, it may get rid of it entirely, but I'm not sure on that.

I have a slight clunk during hard braking, replacing the front control arms didn't change that - then again I only replaced 6 of the 8 in the front. It may be the brake actuator, the caliper pins, or another bushing...or it may be your front control arms. I'm not sure. But the front control arms do fail on these cars.

pureshot

I was considering tackling the upper bushings on my 2010 LS460, only 30K miles. After reading this 2014 thread I don't know if the Problem Solving Bushings PSB used in this thread are the same as those being sold now.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221551167779?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Did they work or not? Seems Vvman may have not liked them, but I am confused as they were described as 2 piece and the new ones are not 2 piece??

To conclude has anyone used Lexus LS460 (07-16) Front Upper Control Arm Poly Bushing Kit - PSB 460 and liked the performance. If not what did you used? Thanks

mmorozov

When the car began "rattling" during braking, the problem was traced to the deteriorated bushings in the front control arms. Unwilling to pay thousands for replacement of the whole arms, I replaced just the bushings as it was suggested here. Total cost was around $600 with parts and labor.Thought it was a great deal, but it turned out to be a terrible decision. First of all, the ride was not as good and I could hear loud "creaking" at lower speeds. And the new bushings lasted less than a year before becoming a total mess.

Doublebase

It sounds like they were installed wrong from the very beginning, there's a good chance they tightened the bushings while the car was up in the air and not when it was settled with the weight of the vehicle on them. Which would cause premature failure, noise, etc. Either that or the bushings you purchased were low quality. Now what are you going to do? Have them replaced at the dealer and pay $4,000? Get the entire arms replaced with aftermarket parts at an independent for $1,200-$2,000? That stinks that this happened to you. I personally wouldn't advise just a bushing replacement because you aren't repeating the end that goes into the steering knuckle and that's a wear item that takes a lot of abuse as well. So people are changing just the bushings and forgetting that the other end of these control arms have heavy wear on them as well.

scotymac

Can anyone recommend a good shop or mechanic in the Phoenix area for pulling the arms off and replacing upper/lowers with the bushings only.
Prices from the dealer are crazy at $3900 for complete arm replacement , heck one independent even wanted 6K to do it.

UDel

Jesus, this is scaring me from considering a LS460, aren't these cars supposed to be very reliable, that repair and cost is really bad. Is this common on 08 or later models? Has anyone complained to corporate that they are having to spend $3000-$6000 to fix a hard to fix prematurely failing part, Lexus should extend the warranty for this and the brake actuator issue instead of owners forking the bill.

What should you really look for and listen for if buying a used LS460 when it comes to the upper and lower control are issues? Will going with a 09 or later be a smarter idea?

roadfrog

Didn't scare me at all. I mean I replaced my entire front end with aftermarket arms for about 1500 bucks inc labor and parts, Basically the cost of a new tires and a wheel alignment. Good for another 100k miles.No matter how "reliable" a car is, it's going to neeed bushings sooner or later. They're rubber and will wear out. I've had to replace them on Fords, Acura's, Jeeps and a BMW.

UDel

Maybe but it is disappointing seeing some here needing new ones before 100K miles especially when the dealerships charge so much for a known problem sounds like a tough job to do yourself too. I do most of my own maintenance. I looked up the LS460 in consumer reports and low and behold the 08, 09, 10 got all poor reliability marks for suspension which dragged down its overall ratings, I don't know if that is just for the air suspension though or also the control arm bushings, brakes were the only other poor reliability spot likely for the brake actuator. I have kept Honda's, Mitsubishi's, Acura's for over 100K miles including my GS430, family cars which are Acura's, Honda's, Toyota, and BMW's have been kept up to over 160K miles and none needed upper or lower control arms or had any issues with them.

Hopefully a pre inspection by a Lexus dealership will spot any possible issues with the control arms.

roadfrog

Those poor rating were in relation to air suspension. Time will tell if the rating drops further due to the control arms. My Acura needed bushings at 80k miles and my wife's X5 needed several front bushings and tie rod ends at 70k miles. My BMW 7 series needed numerous bushings especially at the rear but I never bothered becuse I had so many issues with that car, that I knew I'd be trading it in. My wife's Grand Cherokee also needed numerous suspension parts (can't remember which ones). My 88 Mustang GT Cobra also needed sway bar bushings, but I replaced them with poly ones, which squeaked worse than the originals.

Certainly, if I was shopping an LS, I'd make sure an inspection of the ca's was done as well as the water pump, as those are pretty much the only potential issues with the car. Brake actuators are covered by extended warranty, but unless you have trouble lights emitting over it, there wont be any coverage. FWIW, my 08 has about 120k miles and no issues with it so far. Hopefully if I DO have any issues with it, it'll be before the extended warranty expires. That said, replacements are getting cheaper and cheaper.

My LS so far is the most reliable vehicle we've ever owned by far. I'm surprised you had no issues with your BMW. Definitely must have been sprinkled with unicorn dust at the factory! lol

ibidu1

iTrader: (1)

Hey guys I have a 2010 LS460 that needs new bushings. Which one do you guys recommend to be the best aftermarket option? PSB? Febest?

UDel

I hope it was just for the air suspension models which I have been eliminating from my search, some painfully that were color combo/miles I liked and good deals.

I replaced the front and rear sway bar bushings in my GS with poly to tighten up the handling but that cost about $40 and took about 20 minutes, very easy