texas008

[update 2/14/2018]
just checked at a Lexus dealer,
after 2 years and 30k miles the 8 front control arms are still in good shape.
road noise caused by loose stabilizer link,
noise gone after tighten the links.

[old post:]
all 8 front control arms were replaced 15 months or 22k miles ago.
noticed some slight clunking noise when applying brakes just recently,
checked the control arms, seems that there are some ruptures on the rubber boot of the lower control arms as shown in the photos.

Wonder if these lower control arms are going out again, they last just enough to pass the 12-month warranty,
I bought them on ebay, wonder if a Lexus OEM part would last significantly longer?
or maybe this failure is caused by improper installation of the control arms?
thanks,

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Wow, that's not good. I'm sure the Lexus/Toyota parts would have fared better than that. I guess we need to keep track of which aftermarket parts are holding up. What brand were the bushings/arms?

johnnyg66

Who made these?

texas008

i bought those from ebay: MacAutopartsdiscounts, with brand name of MAC

dlbuckls10

Each to his own but I've always been hesitant about aftermarket parts. I learned the hard way after owning a Audi and MB that many aftermarket parts were not up to par with OEM. Never use any on my LS.

Kennyr44

That is the original ball joint that's pressed into the hub assembly that's bad. That was never changed because it did not come with any of your new control arms.

texas008

thanks a lot for pointing it out,
i remember the indi shop that replaced the control arms was pretty brutal when removing the old control arms, probably they damaged the ball joints.
now i probably need to replace the ball joints.

Kennyr44

Has anyone changed them or do you have to buy a whole knuckle sub assembly?

roadfrog

Not properly indexing or pre-loading the arms before tightening the bolts, would cause early failure. It's an important step, that they may not have done.

You can just replace the ball joint, but you will need to remove the knuckle to do so. I will be doing them and my control arms in the coming days if the weather holds up. I'll post my DIY.

Doublebase

As kenny44 stated, that's not your aftermarket control arms, that's your ball joint. When they replaced the lower control arm they destroyed your ball joint, which happens 90% of the time, but 90% of the time you just replace the ball joint...those guys didn't. The good news is a ball joint isn't expensive, the bad news is to replace it is.

joedaddy1

iTrader: (1)

you like to toy with people's feelings.. lol

PlatES300

iTrader: (1)

highly doubt the ball joint is bad...see if there is any play in it. If not, then just replace the boot because they probably destroyed the original boot when trying to get the control arm off. Just trying to save yourself the headache of replacing the entire ball joint because I did it and it was not an easy task.

roadfrog

Uhhh really? Can you see it in the pic? Looks pretty shot to me. Looks like mine and I need a new one.

texas008

thanks a lot for the note, i jacked up the car, grab and push the tire around, did not feel any play. and the suspension feels fine during cruising.
only during a hard brake there is a clunk noise.
will have it checked and see what's need to be replaced.

texas008

looking forward to your post on this diy...