SC- 1st Gen (1992-2000)

How Dangerous is this?

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Old 10-08-14, 09:52 AM
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PseudoK
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I want to put in supra control arms as I hear they are an improvement by a leap.

but I am not sure if I can afford it at the moment, its just the MK4 Supra control arms and not the MK3 ones right?
Old 10-08-14, 10:37 AM
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Do not drive it like that....I hope you realize how much pressure is put on the control arms......You only have one camber bolt holding the lower on....if that one were to come out and it will it would be catastrophic while driving

You need a new crossmember.....the best way to do it would be to put the car up on 4 jack stands....attach the engine to an engine host....and drop the front subframe out....Easier said then done...

I would suggest seeing if there is a junkyard SC somewhere that you could get the crossmember from...since its aluminum dont have to worry about rust

SC300/Supra(MK4): Front Upper and Front Lower Control Arms are identical....most people buy the supra ones due to cost saving....they are identical part numbers..
Old 10-08-14, 10:39 AM
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estomax
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mk4 supra control arms are what you want if your old ones are worn out. use an engine hoist to hold up the engine so you have room to work from below. definately do the bushings for the steering rack while you're in there, and maybe replace the steering rack if it is worn/leaky

Marko
Old 10-08-14, 10:43 AM
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PseudoK
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Originally Posted by CatManD3W
Do not drive it like that....I hope you realize how much pressure is put on the control arms......You only have one camber bolt holding the lower on....if that one were to come out and it will it would be catastrophic while driving

You need a new crossmember.....the best way to do it would be to put the car up on 4 jack stands....attach the engine to an engine host....and drop the front subframe out....Easier said then done...

I would suggest seeing if there is a junkyard SC somewhere that you could get the crossmember from...since its aluminum dont have to worry about rust

SC300/Supra(MK4): Front Upper and Front Lower Control Arms are identical....most people buy the supra ones due to cost saving....they are identical part numbers..
they are identical? I thought I remember reading they were an upgrade..?

I dont need to replace my lower control arms in this case as its the crossmember that is bad right?

but I will be getting prothane bushings for it



I have a hoist hooked up in my garage, but the car has to be parked halfway out of it to use it, that and I really dont know how much weight I can put on my garage support beam, I reinforced it with 2x4s and I swapped a subaru engine out a couple times with it, but this is a V8, it may be all aluminum like the subaru engine, but I have that heavy Auto transmission with it..



and yea there are PLENTY of junkyard SCs here in california, was already planning to go this weekend, I just dont know how many hours of work I have ahead of me.
Old 10-08-14, 11:25 AM
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Look at this:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sus...er-thread.html

If it were me I would replace the control arms.....or at least the bushings
Old 10-08-14, 12:18 PM
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Ali SC3
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the arms are physically identical, but the supra has stiffer bushings which last longer and give better handling.
also with the supra arms vs just changing the bushings you get a new balljoint. with the amount of labor that goes into replacing the bushings, I now tell everyone who asks to just get supra arms. the entire day I spent burning out the old bushings and changing to the new ones was not worth it to have the old ball joints still.
no need to change the uppers, they hardly ever wear out. just do lower control arms if you do.

you don't need to do the arms, just the subframe and likely the motor mounts. that would be the best time to do them though cause since you have to drop the subframe all that would be left to replace those is popping out the balljoint and disconnecting the shock, you will need an alignment also no matter what you do.

another thing is why did it break in the first place, you run over something pretty badly? I would look into why it happened so it doesn't happen again.
see if there is play in your control arm on that side before you remove everything.
Old 10-08-14, 12:39 PM
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Just a quick question, how did you know this was broken? Just find it randomly? or do you know how it happened? I'm just curious for future reference and stuff
Old 10-08-14, 01:09 PM
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For those asking, I just bought the car last weekend, and upon inspection after I got it up in the air, saw this. I've driven like 200 miles like this.

other than that the car just feels a little scary on the highway, it sometimes feels floaty, but it also feels like it jumps a little bit at random in higher speeds.

I dont think I will replace the control arms, I assume that because they are aluminum that they bend slowly and warp?


I also assume that I have to remove the steering rack with the crossmember?

Last edited by PseudoK; 10-08-14 at 01:34 PM.
Old 10-08-14, 01:24 PM
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Ok so why are motor mounts like $200?? LS400 mounts are decently priced, any way they may be the same?
Old 10-08-14, 01:28 PM
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lucky you found it. scary on the highway is likely a combination of rack bushings, lower arm bushings, alignment or rack issues, could even be worn ball joints (built into lower control arms) or even wheel bearings.

I don't think the arms are aluminum and they do not normally bend or warp. the lexus bushings are half filled in with rubber and over time they crack and fail leaving alot of play back and forth on the arms, which is bad. check out the suspension part of the forum there is lots of info there.

maybe you can just disconnect the rack from the cross member without pulling it all out but I haven't done it don't quote me on that.
Old 10-08-14, 02:42 PM
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ok, I REALLY dont think I can afford Engine mounts at the moment, but I am pretty sure they are prolly gone already

there is a thump only when MOVING in reverse (not talking about the thump when you shift into reverse) something is loose.

no matter where I look its like 200 - 300 dollars. but LS400 ones are like $50 a piece..


As it is I need:

A complete door.
Both door glass
crossmember
fuel door.
Bushings
Engine Mounts
and maybe a transmission mount.


I really didnt want to be dropping the money to get this all at once. but what can I do

there any way that I can preserve a mount off the car I pull it off of?
Old 10-09-14, 02:12 PM
  #27  
SC & LS 40
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Originally Posted by PseudoK
they are identical? I thought I remember reading they were an upgrade..?

I dont need to replace my lower control arms in this case as its the crossmember that is bad right?

but I will be getting prothane bushings for it



I have a hoist hooked up in my garage, but the car has to be parked halfway out of it to use it, that and I really dont know how much weight I can put on my garage support beam, I reinforced it with 2x4s and I swapped a subaru engine out a couple times with it, but this is a V8, it may be all aluminum like the subaru engine, but I have that heavy Auto transmission with it..



and yea there are PLENTY of junkyard SCs here in california, was already planning to go this weekend, I just dont know how many hours of work I have ahead of me.
Please do not rely on your garage ceiling beams to support a v-8 with an automatic transmission attached to it. Even if you have used the beam to support loads before, you may have actually weakened the beam. I have watched a garage ceiling beam fail from a framer walking in it during construction.

If you do lift the engine with the beam, please find a way to support the engine to take the tension off the beam while you work on the car.

Lumber can support huge loads applied lengthwise, not so much applied to the narrow dimensions.

Best of luck with your car & project!

Last edited by SC & LS 40; 10-09-14 at 02:16 PM.
Old 10-09-14, 07:42 PM
  #28  
PseudoK
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Originally Posted by SC & LS 40
Please do not rely on your garage ceiling beams to support a v-8 with an automatic transmission attached to it. Even if you have used the beam to support loads before, you may have actually weakened the beam. I have watched a garage ceiling beam fail from a framer walking in it during construction.

If you do lift the engine with the beam, please find a way to support the engine to take the tension off the beam while you work on the car.

Lumber can support huge loads applied lengthwise, not so much applied to the narrow dimensions.

Best of luck with your car & project!
as I have said I reinforced it with 2x4s, across and down to the ground
Old 10-09-14, 09:54 PM
  #29  
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Do not drive it until replaced! How did that happen?
Old 10-10-14, 10:24 AM
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PseudoK
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Originally Posted by PseudoK
For those asking, I just bought the car last weekend, and upon inspection after I got it up in the air, saw this. I've driven like 200 miles like this.
why are SC engine mounts different while all other lexuses of that time are the same??


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