Steering Wheel Shake is now gone!
#1
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Steering Wheel Shake is now gone!
Soon after getting my '06 I put on some new tires and added wheel spacers to get the look I wanted. Right away I began to get wheel shake at speeds ranging from 50-65 mph. I got alignments and road force balancing but nothing helped. After searching and reading a lot of threads I decided to go with Daizen polyurethane bushings. I did this because I became convinced that the lower control arm #2 (LCA #2) bushing wasn't up to the added stress that the wheel spacers place on the suspension. Initially I was only going to replace LCA #2 bushing but once into the job I decided to go ahead and do them all (along with braided brake lines, rotors and pads).
Well, my LCA #2's didn't look as bad as some of the pictures that I've seen here at Club Lexus but they did have what I would consider very minor, short, hairline cracks at the high-stress points in the rubber bushings. I took pictures but I can't even see the cracks in them.
Anyway, after buttoning things up tonight I went for a test ride and all shake is gone. The front end is precise and stable but not in any way harsh. And all this is before I've even had an alignment. Yeah, I'm pleased.
One more thing, as I assembled the bushings into the upper and lower control arms I noticed that there is a space that remains between each pair of bushings. This gap remains after each pair of bushings are fully inserted. The Daizen instructions don't mention this space but I believe that it is best used as a substantial reservoir for grease and shouldn't be overlooked or left with just a wipe of grease. I adopted (and recommend) the following procedure:
Insert only one side of each bushing into place and then carefully squeeze almost the entire tube of Daizen grease onto the face of the inserted bushing. Now insert the other bushing half and any excess grease will simply squeeze out of the cavity. This excess can now be wiped around the inside hole of the bushing, the sleeve and ends.
With the cavities packed full of grease it should be a long time until the bushings run dry and the squeaks begin. I'd bet money that many problematic installations didn't do this and it isn't very long until they run dry.
Well, my LCA #2's didn't look as bad as some of the pictures that I've seen here at Club Lexus but they did have what I would consider very minor, short, hairline cracks at the high-stress points in the rubber bushings. I took pictures but I can't even see the cracks in them.
Anyway, after buttoning things up tonight I went for a test ride and all shake is gone. The front end is precise and stable but not in any way harsh. And all this is before I've even had an alignment. Yeah, I'm pleased.
One more thing, as I assembled the bushings into the upper and lower control arms I noticed that there is a space that remains between each pair of bushings. This gap remains after each pair of bushings are fully inserted. The Daizen instructions don't mention this space but I believe that it is best used as a substantial reservoir for grease and shouldn't be overlooked or left with just a wipe of grease. I adopted (and recommend) the following procedure:
Insert only one side of each bushing into place and then carefully squeeze almost the entire tube of Daizen grease onto the face of the inserted bushing. Now insert the other bushing half and any excess grease will simply squeeze out of the cavity. This excess can now be wiped around the inside hole of the bushing, the sleeve and ends.
With the cavities packed full of grease it should be a long time until the bushings run dry and the squeaks begin. I'd bet money that many problematic installations didn't do this and it isn't very long until they run dry.
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#8
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Yes, I did the work myself. This long link and this short link is what I used as my tutorial. Once you read the above links you'll understand how to remove the old bushings.
They are from the GS forum but the suspension is the same. I did use a press to insert the lower control arm #2 bushings. If you don't have access to one it will be quite inexpensive to have a shop do it for you.
I bought a pitman arm ball joint puller to remove the ball joints and tie rods without damage. It was around $15. I also used an impact wrench to loosen up the big nuts and bolts. At one point I had to get out a 4' piece of pipe to get one bolt loose. I also used the 4' pipe to lower the lower control arm down a few inches to get the shock back into place. Don't do this job with anything less than a 1/2" socket set, a breaker bar and a torque wrench. The torque values are on the Daizen instruction sheet.
I did this without help and took my time. My car was laid up for several days as this played out but the time on the job was about 8-12 hours. Just the bushings would be less because I also replaced the outer tie rods, brakes, hoses and rotors in the front and rear.
When I got to the rear to renew the brakes I saw that the rear shocks are weeping a bit so they're gonna need replacing soon.
They are from the GS forum but the suspension is the same. I did use a press to insert the lower control arm #2 bushings. If you don't have access to one it will be quite inexpensive to have a shop do it for you.
I bought a pitman arm ball joint puller to remove the ball joints and tie rods without damage. It was around $15. I also used an impact wrench to loosen up the big nuts and bolts. At one point I had to get out a 4' piece of pipe to get one bolt loose. I also used the 4' pipe to lower the lower control arm down a few inches to get the shock back into place. Don't do this job with anything less than a 1/2" socket set, a breaker bar and a torque wrench. The torque values are on the Daizen instruction sheet.
I did this without help and took my time. My car was laid up for several days as this played out but the time on the job was about 8-12 hours. Just the bushings would be less because I also replaced the outer tie rods, brakes, hoses and rotors in the front and rear.
When I got to the rear to renew the brakes I saw that the rear shocks are weeping a bit so they're gonna need replacing soon.
#9
Lead Lap
Bon - Is there a reason you elected to replace the OEM bushings versus buying the whole control arm with bushings already installed? Seems like the labor of cutting the bushing out and pressing back in would offset the cost of a new arm...or should the e-Bay aftermarket arms with bushings be avoided? Thanks,
#10
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In my case, I have wheel spacers. 25mm in back and 20 in front. After adding these my front end got the shakes. It's my opinion that the additional road force generated by the spaced out wheels created forces that the lower control arm #2 could not control toe-in with the oem bushings that were too soft and a little bit old. I bought the Daizen bushings mainly for the lca #2 bushings replacement. However, once I was in there I decided to go ahead and replace them all. (especially since I had to buy them all just to get the lca #2 bushings.)
Since I didn't have pay any labor it was just the $100 cost for the bushings installed complete. A single, new, eBay control arm is way more that that. All 6 control arms would be around $1000 if you can find an lca #2 anywhere.
Since I didn't have pay any labor it was just the $100 cost for the bushings installed complete. A single, new, eBay control arm is way more that that. All 6 control arms would be around $1000 if you can find an lca #2 anywhere.
#11
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I've been looking into doing this bushing replacement. Nothing more annoying than trying to enjoy a cruise down the highway with the steering wheel shaking in your hands. I gotta get it fix soon. Thanks for the info Bon.
#12
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I'm working on my 2001 LS430 UL this weekend. I'm replacing the air springs and shocks with Lexus oem metal springs and oem shocks. It's $1300 versus $4000+ to stay with air. No way.
Anyway, I just have to say that I'm shocked at the incredibly beefier components used in the the LS versus the SC. Surprisingly the SC and LS weight within 150 pounds of one another. If the SC had the beef and engineering of the LS front end we wouldn't be having any of these issues. It's a shame, I'm really quite disappointed in the SC's engineering in this regard. The upper control arms are quite similar but the lower control arms and brakes in the LS blow me away. Vastly beefier in all respects. Shame, really.
Anyway, I just have to say that I'm shocked at the incredibly beefier components used in the the LS versus the SC. Surprisingly the SC and LS weight within 150 pounds of one another. If the SC had the beef and engineering of the LS front end we wouldn't be having any of these issues. It's a shame, I'm really quite disappointed in the SC's engineering in this regard. The upper control arms are quite similar but the lower control arms and brakes in the LS blow me away. Vastly beefier in all respects. Shame, really.
#13
Lead Lap
I'm working on my 2001 LS430 UL this weekend. I'm replacing the air springs and shocks with Lexus oem metal springs and oem shocks. It's $1300 versus $4000+ to stay with air. No way.
Anyway, I just have to say that I'm shocked at the incredibly beefier components used in the the LS versus the SC. Surprisingly the SC and LS weight within 150 pounds of one another. If the SC had the beef and engineering of the LS front end we wouldn't be having any of these issues. It's a shame, I'm really quite disappointed in the SC's engineering in this regard. The upper control arms are quite similar but the lower control arms and brakes in the LS blow me away. Vastly beefier in all respects. Shame, really.
Anyway, I just have to say that I'm shocked at the incredibly beefier components used in the the LS versus the SC. Surprisingly the SC and LS weight within 150 pounds of one another. If the SC had the beef and engineering of the LS front end we wouldn't be having any of these issues. It's a shame, I'm really quite disappointed in the SC's engineering in this regard. The upper control arms are quite similar but the lower control arms and brakes in the LS blow me away. Vastly beefier in all respects. Shame, really.
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BigGeigs
GS - 2nd Gen (1998-2005)
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09-07-14 06:07 PM