rob22

Hey guys-

I'm planning on doing some front suspension work on my 97 LS400. I plan to replace upper control arms, (lower) ball joints, and tie rod ends. Couple of questions:

1. Do I need to remove the shock assemblies for this? According to lexls you're supposed to pull the shock assemblies but I don't see exactly why. Is it just for clearance, ie getting the torque wrench to the two bolts that hold the upper control arms to the car frame or something else? I remember my mechanic mentioning to me awhile back that the shocks don't need to come out...but don't think he was all that experienced with the LS.

2. Do I need to remove the lower control arms to replace the ball joint components, seems like I should be able to swap out the ball joints with the lower control arms on the vehicle.

3. I'm planning on not replacing the bushings on the lower control arms, mainly because I don't see a lot of people complaining about them wearing out. Is this a good strategy?

Thanks-
Rob

curepunx

iTrader: (3)

I don't know if you're familiar with this website but.........
i'm sure someone here will direct you to this...

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/

Lots of info! (If you have the 90-94 Gen 1LS)

Cheers!

rob22

Thanks, yes I'm familiar with the site. I'm working on my Gen2, but most of it applies.

I was just looking at a post on a Wheeler Dealers article on the LS which I found on youtube, they did the UCAs without pulling the shock assemblies so it looks do-able.

Rob

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

just pull the shocks, it's all of 4 extra bolts if you have to take the UCA out anyways.
even if you do manage to get the old UCA out with the strut in place, you prolly won't be able to torque it down properly.

you can do the LBJ without taking out the LCA

UCA/LCA arent really a big problem for the 2nd gen LS, but STRUT RODs are a very common problem.

rob22

Thanks for the advice guys.

Strut rods should be ok, I replaced (re-bushed) them about 10k miles ago. Looking forward to seeing how it drives after the new parts.