Kennyr44

I don't know about the air strut but removing the regular strut takes very little effort and time. Once the upper control arm ball joints are separated from the hub assembly all you have to do is push down on the assembly to move the strut bottom out of the way. Then just take off the 3 strut top nuts and it drops right out. It take a couple minutes to pull the strut out. Simple. I finished the left side. New upper and lower control arms and link and a KYB strut. $375 for the parts. The hardest part was separating the ball joints from the hub assembly. I used a puller on one bottom ball joint and had to use a air hammer with a flat bit pushing on a nut screwed on the other like the previous picture shows. The puller has nothing to grab onto on this bottom ball joint. Not to discourage anyone but this is not a job for everyone to take on. Any mechanic should be ok with it though. I would not do this job without new arms. This way you get new ball joints also, except for the one lower one that is part of the hub assembly. I still have the right side to do after I get back from my mom's 95th birthday party in Florida next week. Seriously at 90k if it was not all over this forum I never would have even thought to mess with these. Their not that bad. No noise or issues.

M3dicDO

Of course the ride is much stiffer, but in comparison to the replaced bushings that were totally shot. A proper comparison would be to brand new OEM replacements, which I don't know. OEMs are simply too expensive and don't have a lifetime warranty that there poly bushings come with. My car has a air suspension so I can simply switch from sport to normal, or normal to comfort mode if the ride feels too harsh. Any more than the comfort setting would be too bouncy, IMO. Hope this helps.

mdpresco

M3dicDO,
I recently had the upper fronts, lower front and lower arms replaced on my 2007 with OEM arms. They were not terribly worn but the dealer noted during an alignment that no adjustment was left unless suspension parts were replaced. The most noticeable difference was the turning radius in a parking lot. The steering tightened up as it was approaching hard right or hard left. Did you notice this with your replacement poly bushings?

traydeezy

Thinking about getting at 2010 LS 460. Was the control arms fixed in 2010+ LS 460's or do they have the same problems?

dwangyahoo

I'm interested to know if anyone has used ebay bushings such as these and if they are any good? http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/162262596170?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true
Has anyone who used the PSB polyurethane bushings have squeak/noise problems?

Does the polyurethan last longer than rubber bushings so it's a tradeoff we have to choose?

zracer31

I replaced all my bushings with ones similiar to the ones you are asking about from eBay. None were trashed yet (80K) on an 08L, but were starting to show fairly decent amount of cracking and tearing. Total for all 10 bushing was around $150 shipped. Took about 8 hours - 2 hours were spent getting the lower ball joint to release from the spindle - they were NOT wanting to let go. I used a 20 ton press that I had to remove and replace the bushings. I only have 6K miles on them now, so too early to know how they will hold up over long run.

dwangyahoo

Hi zracer31, Why did you have to replace the ball joint? Do you mean to remove the control arm you have to separate the ball joint from spindle? I think I misread and thought you used a 20 ton press to replace the ball joint. How did you finally separate the ball joint? For the bushings, do you think a cheap 6 ton A frame press would do the job?

zracer31

I didn't replace the lower ball joint - but in order to get the lower control arm disconnected from the spindle i had to seperate the two so I could press/remove/replace both bushings on that arm (one being the one for the lower strut mount the other the inner pivot to frame). The taper between the ball joint and the spindle would NOT just bust loose with a few whacks with a big hammer on the spindle. THat is normally all that is needed to get the two to seperate - I think Chester the torque wrench molester tightened it at the factory as I seriously doubt anybody has been in there before me. I had a 20 ton press already in my shop so that is what I used. To get the two large bushings to come out on the two lower control arms took at least 15 tons to get them to break loose - when they popped loose sounded like a gun went off an inch from my ear..... no joke.

dwangyahoo

Wow 15 tons to remove press out the bushings...I guess I need to find a friend with equiptment soon.
For the ball joint, did you hit the side of the spindle? I don't know why, but Eric The Car Guy always showed hitting the sides of tapered joints. See 6:30 into this video:

zracer31

Yep, hit it right on the side just like he did in video - the passenger side actually never broke the taper loose........the steel sleeve that is permanently installed in the aluminum arm actually came out and kept close company to the ball joint!! I know from experience that was NOT a good thing. But I put it back together and tightened the snot out of it and so far so good (knocks on wood). Not sure why the lower bushings took soo much pressure, as the upper ones pressed out with very little effort. Plus, you kind of have to lie on your side to swing directly at the lower spindle/ball joint and after giving it all I had for several minutes with a big a$$ hammer my old out of shape butt was toasted

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

I just wanted to thank the original poster. I used his guide to change out all four of my front upper control arms while I was in the process of swapping out all new front and rear rotors and pads. I chose to purchase Febest aftermarket arms instead of replacing just the bushings for the simple fact that the bushings were the same price as the arms. the cost of the arms was $123 to be exact. The aftermarket arm looked just like the factory arms with the exception of the actual bushing in the arms. This might or might not have something to the aftermarket arm cross referencing to the updated control arm part number. My factory arms did not look bad at all but the balljoints were definitely in need of replacing since I could move them around with no effort at all. So I'm glad I went with the arms instead of bushings.

MobbinVIP

iTrader: (16)

Great write up!
After searching on eBay & Amazon, I think I am also going to purchase one of the aftermarket arms.
Front Upper, lower, & ball joints just makes more sense to be for an extra $70-$100. Since you are buying the tool as well, its actually the same cost, but you also get the ball joints.
Now with that said, who really knows if those arms are going to get a good as the OEM arms with new bushings.

pureshot

I recently replaced the upper control arm bushings, on my 2010 LS460 using Figs replacement bushings($160.) I purchases a universal bushing removal tool and used an impact wrench to removed and install the bushings. I don't expect any further issues with the upper control arms. Figs has a better design and a better bushing. I still have my lexus arms installed. I also replaced one lower control arm using a new ebay purchased Lexus part . Both projects are something that can be done by a non expert. I also know if I have any further issues with the upper or lower control arms I will just buy the bushings. You need the car jacked up and pressure off the suspension arm you are working on. 2 jacks work better, one for the car and one to help move the suspension up and down. The posted about the upper removal are pretty accurate. The lower control arm is also doable and does not need to have the battery disconnected and the disk brakes removed. The steering does need to be turned away from the side you are changing before you start. I had so many mechanics and repair shops lie about the cost and issues involved. The last place I tried wanted to $2,000 for an over kill job. Total parts $160 for Figs upper bushings, $200 for new Ebay Lexus lower control arm, $100 for bushing replacement kit. Some hard work and sweating. I continue to be amazed at how the car repair industry is so dishonest. I have not had the car aligned yet. It tracks perfect without. I will get that done soon though. I don't like getting under my car. I don't like nicking my knuckles. But I absolutely hate over paying for work and parts that are not needed.

UDel

Good to know, the more DIY pics and videos for control arms/changing out suspension pieces in the LS the better, will hopefully save owners a lot of money who are willing to tackle it themselves.

Ado460L

So true, I tackled this in my garage last night, and just reading through this post beforehand was incredibly valuable. Huge thanks to OP for posting this as I actually was just going to replace the front left air strut, and ended up doing that plus the upper control arms on that side as well (since I had all the parts already). The bracket swivel was huge help. Here are my control arm bushings for reference on my 07 with 90k miles.