ATLs460

Anyone have a DIY on the job? Or has anyone done it that can give cliffs notes on the job?

My bushings are majorly dry rotted and I want to replace the ball joint while I'm at it.

Thanks in advance!

ATLs460

Anyone? LexMex...Salim...Hyper?

salimshah

I have not had the need to work on my RX suspension. So I have only generic suggestions that I can share with you.

Do your research about bushings. Lexus/Toyota may not provide you some bushings and you may be forced into buying the whole arm.

There may be after-market bushings and they have a tendency to squeak.

Similarly after market ball joints may be available with grease nipple. [Moog comes to mind as good A/M manufacturer.]

You may need access to hydraulic press to work out and in bushings.

Use liquid soap as a lubricant.

Be very careful with the speed sensor and its wire. Take the time to pull it out and tuck it away and protect the wire.

Mark and measure before removing things to help reassembly.

You will find it easier to work if both wheels (opposite sides) are lifted off the ground.

PB-Blaster (or equivalent) sprayed a day before wrenching would make your job easier.

Alignment is recommended after suspension work.

Salim

hypervish

I replaced both Lower control arms on my Sienna with a dorman replacement as it was much cheaper than going with OEM. However, it was clear that the part was no where near as well built as the OEM part.

I had trouble getting on the bolts on the back side of the Lower control arm, ended up having to loosen the subframe to get them in on both sides. Not sure if the RX will require you to do that as well, but just a tip.

ATLs460

Yea, I am not going to fuss with bushings. I'll be getting the whole arm. Just looking for info from someone who's done the job.

thomas1

here is a utube that shows some steps....I have done this and it is a pain.

thomas1

------------from Toyota forums for highlander, same part--------------------------------------------------------------------

This week I was successful in installing front Lower Control Arms on my 2002 Highlander 2WD. It went well. Previously I had been just a bit intimidated by the Toyota instructions for this procedure which started with “Remove engine and transmission from car…” – YIKES! This is because the left and right side engine mounts block access to the front control arm bolts, and Toyota says to remove engine/trans to get the motor mounts off the car. Then I read the Forum thread titled “Front lower control arm replacement” and the discussion between AVConsult and Bretski, so from that knew it could be done without the engine coming out.
Using that Thread as a starting point, here’s what I did to replace the arms…
I believed it would be helpful to have everything disconnected from the control arms (hubs/ball joints) first, before jacking the engine! Think about it - jacking the engine with everything still connected would have the engine pulling on the half-shaft connected to the hub connected to the control arm and fighting the resistance in the control arm bushings…! I was replacing the ball joint anyway, so undid it first. In fact, at 153K miles and since things were going to be apart, I decided to replace the axle half-shafts and hub bearings at the same time. And I was getting the sounds of a CV joint failing it made since to do it all, both sides, and be good for the next 153K miles. Now if I was to only do the Control Arms and Ball Joints, I would still have broken the ball joints first to get everything off the arms.
Below are the steps I took after disconnecting the ball joints, tie rods and removing the hubs:
a.Left side first…
-Loosened the nuts on the right engine mount to create slack
-Removed completely front engine mount top bolt (by radiator).
-Removed all nuts from the left engine mount.
-Removed completely the dog-leg stabilizer on top of the engine.
-Behind the air filter box I slipped both small hoses off their pipes coming up from the ABS unit.
-Did not do anything yet with the stabilizer unit behind/under the engine.
-Placed ram of bottle-jack on the head of one of the rear bolts on transmission pan close to the side frame. Was certain to pick a bolt that had solid casting above it and not one that was unsupported.
-Jacked the engine up until the engine mount could tip out.
[SIZE=] [/SIZE]-Unbolted, removed and replaced the left control arm.
-Reinstalled the engine mount and slowly lowered the engine while guiding it onto the mount.
-Reinstalled the engine mount nuts, keeping them loose for slack.
b.Right side…
-Replaced the top bolt on the front engine mount (needed to jostle the engine a bit). Only ran the bolt in maybe a quarter inch, keeping the head high. Having the bolt in place stabilized the engine during right-side jacking and the high slack was needed.
-Removed both nuts holding the mount for the behind/under the engine stabilizer. It was easier to do these under/thru-the-frame nuts and this way the whole unit just lifted with the engine.
-Placed a piece of 2x4 wood under the engine oil pan – front to rear, corner-to-corner near the frame rail and off of the drain plug and placed the ram of the bottle jack about mid-way.
-Removed all nuts from the right engine mount.
-Jacked the engine up until the engine mount could tip out… but as I was jacking I kept checking that the top bolt of the front engine mount still had some slack, and gave it a couple turns out when needed – didn’t want this to run out of travel while jacking.
-Unbolted, removed, and replaced the right control arm.
-Reinstalled the engine mount and lowered the engine while guiding it onto the mount.
-Reinstalled the engine mount nuts.
c.Finish up…
-Tightened the top bolt on the front engine mount.
-Tightened nuts on both left and right engine mounts.
-Replaced and tightened both nuts on the mount for the behind/under the engine stabilizer.
-Replaced the dog-leg stabilizer on top of the engine.
-Reconnected the two small hoses behind the air filter box (failing to do this would cause a ‘check engine’ light).
That was it, job done. The steps I took allowed the engine to lift fairly easily on both sides and the mounts just cleared for removal. I was careful not keep jacking if the engine stopped lifting... didn't want to break/crush anything.

salimshah

The video seems more accurate. Not too sure about the long procedure (text).

Salim

gazi001

I got replaced both front lower control arms with beck arnley with their ball joints. But I have to replace back/arnley ball joints again a week after with oem. The arms are good but ball joints are not near to oem.

ATLs460

Good to know...I'll just get OEM ball joints

JAB

On RockAuto there is tremendous variation in price for the control arms. Anyone with specific thoughts, pro or con, on a particular brand?

gazi001

I am using Beck/Arnley (BECK/ARNLEY Part # 1015030 ) with oem balljoint. No problem almost a year.

ATLs460

Good to know, thanks!

gazi001

You welcome.

JAB

Thanks. Next topic - rear control arms.