Part 1: Complete suspension rebuild/replacement
02-04-08, 08:58 PM
#1
Part 1: Complete suspension rebuild/replacement
Complete suspension rebuild. Well first let me tell you guys that I was not planning on rebuilding the suspension at all, at least not like this. The previous owner, not a CL member, should be beaten for treating a car like this…not just because it is a Lexus but because he should care about his possessions. Anyway on to the goods…
I am awaiting all the parts to arrive. I ordered them from a guy name Luis at Carson…a couple of you may know him already
Let me tell you BY FAR one of the best guys I have dealt with in the car world…even before the Lex with my Z. He is awaiting gathering all the parts..and there are a lot as you will see and then he will ship them out to me. I will then begin a mad dash to put them all on the car. I will be taking as many pictures, or my wife will actually, as I go through the process and do a write-up. There is not a single suspension piece that is left untouched I believe.
List of parts.
Carson Toyota
Front
Supra TT Lower Control Arm –Left and Right
Upper Control Arm – Left and Right
Endlinks – Left and Right
Rear
Lower Control Arm – Front (Left and Right)
Lower Control Arm – Rear ( Left and Right)
Upper Control Arm – Left and Right
Strut Rod – Left and Right
Endlinks – Left and Right
Supra TT rear stabilizer bar
Speed for Sale
Megan Racing Coilovers
Parts to buy
Outer tie rods
Stabilizer bar bushing – autozone per CL post
Any other thoughts of what I should do while I am under there. I will be doing a BBK conversion later on. Right now there is no need as I have not built the engine. I will be doing the interior next and then after that I will build the engine and paint her with new lighting. At that time I will also need to get new wheels again as the ones I have are too skinny.
This is what started the build:
This is why I need to just do all the arms
Drop the rear
Also, found this when I dropped the subframe. You think it is just the hose?
I am awaiting all the parts to arrive. I ordered them from a guy name Luis at Carson…a couple of you may know him already
Let me tell you BY FAR one of the best guys I have dealt with in the car world…even before the Lex with my Z. He is awaiting gathering all the parts..and there are a lot as you will see and then he will ship them out to me. I will then begin a mad dash to put them all on the car. I will be taking as many pictures, or my wife will actually, as I go through the process and do a write-up. There is not a single suspension piece that is left untouched I believe. List of parts.
Carson Toyota
Front
Supra TT Lower Control Arm –Left and Right
Upper Control Arm – Left and Right
Endlinks – Left and Right
Rear
Lower Control Arm – Front (Left and Right)
Lower Control Arm – Rear ( Left and Right)
Upper Control Arm – Left and Right
Strut Rod – Left and Right
Endlinks – Left and Right
Supra TT rear stabilizer bar
Speed for Sale
Megan Racing Coilovers
Parts to buy
Outer tie rods
Stabilizer bar bushing – autozone per CL post
Any other thoughts of what I should do while I am under there. I will be doing a BBK conversion later on. Right now there is no need as I have not built the engine. I will be doing the interior next and then after that I will build the engine and paint her with new lighting. At that time I will also need to get new wheels again as the ones I have are too skinny.
This is what started the build:
This is why I need to just do all the arms
Drop the rear
Also, found this when I dropped the subframe. You think it is just the hose?
02-04-08, 09:14 PM
#2
if you dont mind me asking...how much is all that costing you? why would you buy all new control arms. unless yours are bent you can just replace the bushings. buy some polyurethane bushings for all control arms, sway bars, and steering rack.
if you are getting coilovers you will sacrifice your ride quality anyways so might as well get some bushings that will improve handling and not just put a big hole in your wallet. just my $0.02
if you are getting coilovers you will sacrifice your ride quality anyways so might as well get some bushings that will improve handling and not just put a big hole in your wallet. just my $0.02
02-04-08, 10:48 PM
#4
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probably he wanted new ball joints.... only reason i can see buying brand new control arms but there are solutions to everything 
thats what i use well a custom version of it
thats what i use well a custom version of it
02-05-08, 11:15 AM
#6
if you dont mind me asking...how much is all that costing you? why would you buy all new control arms. unless yours are bent you can just replace the bushings. buy some polyurethane bushings for all control arms, sway bars, and steering rack.
if you are getting coilovers you will sacrifice your ride quality anyways so might as well get some bushings that will improve handling and not just put a big hole in your wallet. just my $0.02
if you are getting coilovers you will sacrifice your ride quality anyways so might as well get some bushings that will improve handling and not just put a big hole in your wallet. just my $0.02
As far as why I bought all new arms is that EVERY ball joint was broken on the car. There was not one that I could salvage and use again. in 12 years playing with cars I have never seen something like this.
I looked into custom arms but the price was a lot higher. I worked with the chassis/suspension shop that I have worked with for years and we looked and tried a couple things and none of them came out cost effective. I spent about $2500 on all the parts (minus the coilovers = $889) so overall I do not see that it cost an outrageous amount. I look at it that I have all new suspension and this car will drive very nicely. I got the car at a VERY good price because of the condition so it is a rebuild for me.
02-05-08, 08:44 PM
#7
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02-06-08, 06:43 AM
#10
Are the ball joints in our control arms replaceable?
no they are not replaceable. This is the first thing I tried going down the route of finding a balljoint I can swap in. After 3 months of the machine shop, chassis shop, and myself we decided that we should move on. The biggest obstacle I ran into was that that OD of the upper control arm was ~31mm (going off memory) which the only balljoint that we could find to fit that was from an ATV. Did not want to do that since the minor weight difference and I did not want to remove all the material from the arm to fit the smallest press-in I could find which was from a 82 Maxima from fear that the arm might just break.
I'm scratching my head at your $2500 parts cost???? I know Gazi must have about 50 sets of control arms with good ball joints.
no they are not replaceable. This is the first thing I tried going down the route of finding a balljoint I can swap in. After 3 months of the machine shop, chassis shop, and myself we decided that we should move on. The biggest obstacle I ran into was that that OD of the upper control arm was ~31mm (going off memory) which the only balljoint that we could find to fit that was from an ATV. Did not want to do that since the minor weight difference
and I did not want to remove all the material from the arm to fit the smallest press-in I could find which was from a 82 Maxima from fear that the arm might just break. I'm scratching my head at your $2500 parts cost???? I know Gazi must have about 50 sets of control arms with good ball joints.
I have bought from Gazi before and know he is a standup guy. I thought about it but just wanted to do everything new and rebuild the car completely from the ground up.
Last edited by ICONYQ; 02-06-08 at 06:47 AM. Reason: added more info
02-08-08, 07:51 AM
#14
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I just purchased both front Supra Turbo LCA's for my Dad's 98 SC400. I also picked up the rear sub frame mounts for a Supra Turbo also. I can't wait to see how much better this car will handle with the Supra Turbo sway bars and the Supra Turbo LCA's. I am waiting for them to arrive next Tuesday.
02-11-08, 08:58 PM
#15
Alright well I got most of the parts in and thought I would share some of the progress. I of course got hit with the flu so I am not doing all the work at one time like I wanted to. I wanted the car up this week. It might more like this weekend.
Here are the presents:
Here is the subframe on the table getting ready to take apart.
Here is the subframe on the table after putting on the 3 new control arms.
Here is an issue.
Looking at the nut you see the nylon ring. Using handtools to tighten it the screw catches on the nylon and will not continue and begins turning the control arm stud. I then went and checked my old nut from the orginal arms and there is no nylon strip and it went right on. My only issue is that I could only get one off and the other nut does not want to let go...I will try again tomorrow since I am dog tired with no energy from being sick.
I will post some steps later. All the bolts are 19mm bolts. Use a wrench on the bolt end with a ratchet on the nut and tighten.
Initial thoughts: The balljoints on the arms were not as stiff as I had thought they would be. I can move all of them with my hand with very little effort - I am not talking splapping it back and forth just some movement. My arms that I replaced moved with gravity. My happiness will be weighed on the road.
Here are the presents:
Here is the subframe on the table getting ready to take apart.
Here is the subframe on the table after putting on the 3 new control arms.
Here is an issue.
Looking at the nut you see the nylon ring. Using handtools to tighten it the screw catches on the nylon and will not continue and begins turning the control arm stud. I then went and checked my old nut from the orginal arms and there is no nylon strip and it went right on. My only issue is that I could only get one off and the other nut does not want to let go...I will try again tomorrow since I am dog tired with no energy from being sick.
I will post some steps later. All the bolts are 19mm bolts. Use a wrench on the bolt end with a ratchet on the nut and tighten.
Initial thoughts: The balljoints on the arms were not as stiff as I had thought they would be. I can move all of them with my hand with very little effort - I am not talking splapping it back and forth just some movement. My arms that I replaced moved with gravity. My happiness will be weighed on the road.