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a bit confused.
in the first attached photo, the problem seems to be:
1. excessive rubber wear on the rubber boot marked with the Red Circle,
2. some blue ring part flipping out of rubber boot (in the green circle)
are they both ball joints? the rubber boot in the red circle and the green circle,
another attached photo shows the 2 lower control arms. the black one on the top has a rubber boot at the root of the castle nut bolt, does it mean that the control arm comes with a ball joint on it?
thanks a lot for the help,
showed the photos to an auto repair professional, he basically said that for this multi-link suspension, this ball joint does not see too much wear even without the rubber boot.
and that the process of the ball joint degradation is a long process, the ball joint will make loud noise for over a year before the it fails.
I don't know if this works the same on the 460 but with my 430 if you take the car to a parking lot and turn the wheel as sharp as you can while turning in a circle you can hear the tires "pushing" a bit on the concrete while making this turn. Replacing the lower ball joints fixed this issue for me.
Well mine makes no noise, but it's definitely shot. I'm willing to bet that when you remove that joint, it will move around without much resistance. Im getting all my front control arms, struts/shocks and ball joints replaced on Wednesday.... about 7-9 hundred dollars total labor.
Gees, these control are issues will most likely be the reason why I keep my perfect 2007 GS350. If I got a 2008-2010 Ls460, I'd probably have to immediately shell out several $100s to do the control arms. This problem seems similar to the weak 2GS lower ball joint, except the wheel would collapse upon failure.
Gees, these control are issues will most likely be the reason why I keep my perfect 2007 GS350. If I got a 2008-2010 Ls460, I'd probably have to immediately shell out several $100s to do the control arms. This problem seems similar to the weak 2GS lower ball joint, except the wheel would collapse upon failure.
Brother you are missing out. And bear in mind that this was a worst case example using non OEM parts. Not that your GS is not a fine automobile. Knocking on wood (literally), but mine just hit 90,000 miles and the control arms are doing just fine. I would think the car never seeing anything in the way of snow and generally good roads as there is much less stress on the roads in the South as it often is above freezing even at night which in turn keeps the interstate and secondary roads from being a nightmare of potholes.
Gees, these control are issues will most likely be the reason why I keep my perfect 2007 GS350. If I got a 2008-2010 Ls460, I'd probably have to immediately shell out several $100s to do the control arms. This problem seems similar to the weak 2GS lower ball joint, except the wheel would collapse upon failure.
Keep in mind that only one control arm and one ball joint were bad on my car. I only chose to replace everything as a preventative measure. I also have 130k miles on my car, so a total of 1500 dollars is pocket change considering how reliable the car has been. People here spend thousands on wheels and tires without blinking an eye. If I was to have replaced just the bad joint and control arm, it may have only cost me a couple hundred.
Indeed. Moreover, it is to be expected at around 100,000 miles that major suspension components should be replaced regardless. However, many seem to either forget or ignore this. While replacing the control arms is certainly not cheap if done at the dealer, we are talking about a luxury car that even in 2007 most cost around $70,000 and the non nav base was around $60,000.
The change to a multilink setup was an advancement and certainly a more complex arrangement. While I do not yet need to do the control arms and my car rides great, I will be replacing all four shocks probably at the next oil change interval. It is both awesome and amazing what a difference new shocks make.
Indeed. Moreover, it is to be expected at around 100,000 miles that major suspension components should be replaced regardless. However, many seem to either forget or ignore this. While replacing the control arms is certainly not cheap if done at the dealer, we are talking about a luxury car that even in 2007 most cost around $70,000 and the non nav base was around $60,000.
The change to a multilink setup was an advancement and certainly a more complex arrangement. While I do not yet need to do the control arms and my car rides great, I will be replacing all four shocks probably at the next oil change interval. It is both awesome and amazing what a difference new shocks make.
Yes, shocks wear at such a gradual rate that the ride degradation can go unnoticed. Once new shocks are installed, an immediate difference is realized. Same with control arms which can "tighten" things up noticeably. I'm looking forward to the change and bringing things to a "like new" ride.
Those indeed look like they just prematurely wore out.
Im not saying aftermarket parts are bad, but they tend to be more of a crap shoot than OEM imo. However, the cost savings are often enough to warrant the extra risk, especially to those that can do the work themselves.
Maybe the extra expense in OEM might be worth it the second time around.
Those indeed look like they just prematurely wore out.
Im not saying aftermarket parts are bad, but they tend to be more of a crap shoot than OEM imo. However, the cost savings are often enough to warrant the extra risk, especially to those that can do the work themselves.
Maybe the extra expense in OEM might be worth it the second time around.
You took the words right out of my mouth!. Have being saying the same many times in the past when some vouched ebay control arms to be better quality than even defective OEM control arm. Without going into details, ebay based manufacturer (non OEM) can't compete against companies such as Toyotas / GM etc in R&D, material sourcing, tooling etc. That being said, are OEM parts be cheap, no. We get what we pay for. If one is willing to replace every 10k miles, every year etc, may to ebay parts worth a shot. However, for a longer term ownership economics may dictate cost of OEM may be cheaper than non-OEM part.
Most, if not all "Ebay control arms" are known manufacturers - Beck Arnley, Moog etc....same as you'd buy from Autozone, etc. My Ebay shocks which I just installed last week, seemed as good as OEM. I pd 40 dollars each vs OEM at 500+ each....so I could replace them more than ten times before losing money. As for my control arms, we'll see. They're a mix of Beck Arnley and MAS from Rock Auto, which happened to be less expensive than Ebay. I could have purchased KYB's from Ebay which ARE OE. I'm a cheap SOB (which is why I was able to afford an LS), and am willing to give cheap Chinese Ebay parts a try. In the 15-20 years of DIY and using these cheap parts, I can't recall ever being disappointed....except the HID bulbs I got...which cost me 5 or 6 bucks...failed after a couple of weeks. You're results may vary.
Got my LS460 checked at Lexus dealer this morning, because of the rattle noise whenever the car goes over a uneven spot on local roads.
SA said that the control arms appears new and in good shape.
noise could come from stabilizer links.
Dealer tightened the links and now the noise is 80% gone.
The new control arms are still in good shape after 2 year and 30k miles.
Back in the penniless high school days - I had a FORD Taurus.
The heater core started to leak - the dealer wanted something like $75 for a new core...and like a million $$$ to replace.
Bought a Chinese part - borrowed a car repair book - Spent all Saturday removing the ENTIRE DASH -to get to it.
Damn I was proud afterwards - saved like $1,150 for 15-1-20 (or more) hours of labor.
Topped off the coolant - went around the block -
LEAK!!
Went to bed dejected -
Sunday pre-dawn - at it agin.
The aftermarket core had a pinhole leak (should have checked!)
Tossed it in the trash - waited for Monday to roll around and went to FORD -
The parts guy felt so sorry for my sorry *** he gave it to me at cost.
01-31-17, 04:46 AM
