Lukas99GS

Just had my timing belt and water pump done. Lexus recommended changing upper ball joints, their price: 1650$ is this ridiculous or normal?? What will happen if I don't change them because I can't afford that.

repugnante

Lexus dealers are always going to overprice parts and labor. Its not necessarily the ball joints you need to replace but the entire arm. These are very pricey units on the Lexus. There are a lot of cheaper alternatives to replacing it but you also need to consider the car that you are driving. You can go cheap and go with the ones from ebay, you can go with the various different brands from rockauto.com or you can spend some more money and go with the OEM ones from Sewell. Whichever route you take, have a shop install them rather than a dealer

CodPiece

Yeah my mechanic advised I change mine as they have alot of play so I'm looking for some as well.
Having trouble locating anything decently priced though. OEM seems to be $500-$600 per side. Seems a better idea is to go after market adjustable arms, but they're not that much cheaper.

Hope my suspension doesn't fall apart while I'm procrastinating laying down >$1000 for 2 pieces of metal.

Lukas99GS

Can anybody tell me is it a very difficult thing to replace, I mean if I brought them could I do it myself? I'm no mechanic by any means but if I have a DIY and its not terribly difficult I'd try, seems like you'd just take the old one off and replace with new one? You'd probably need an alignment after though correct?

DarKnight

iTrader: (3)

The suspension won't fall apart because of the upper control arm. It's really just the bushings that wear out, typically the one where the arm comes to a point. It'll make your steering have vibration. Now if the side bushings wear out you might have some problems. But it's not expensive and it's definitely a DIY job.

twojayzee

If your car is lowered, look at SPC or Megan for the aftermarket adjustable arms.
If not, look on the auction sites for aftermarket replacement arms. For under $250/pair

Lexicious

Rock auto.com nuff said check it out

FASTEDDY

will a worn out joint affect the alignment? i tried getting my alignment done but the shop said the upper ball joints need to be replaced. at least i think he did, his engrish was difficult to understand.

twojayzee

Yes it will. And will wear the tires

Sampak

I'm assuming you're talking about the front suspension's upper ball joint. I just replaced the entire front upper control arm (skinny little thing really) on the right front side because the ball joint was as loose as a Nintendo control stick and you could hear clunks all day long driving. Total cost was $187+ tax for the upper control arm (one) and I think $15 for the special tool to make the job easier. It definitely screws up your camber (tire will lean into the car at the top) due to the worn ball joint bushing. Made a noticeable difference on my GS4.

The upper control arm for the front suspension is definitely one of the easiest things to replace --- but requires patience, and at least 1 special tool -- any Autozone type place should have it (something like a ball-joint remover) to remove the ball joint stud from the vertical caster arm. Also, the hardest part for me besides the rounded castle nut which required 2 hours of fking with, was an hour aligning the 2 hinge bolts back into the frame of the car, as they pass through the arm bushings and you cannot see the ends.

You can get an aftermarket upper control arm (front suspension) for $100-$300 on the net, or local auto parts, or check with Sewell for an OEM ~$368.
Part # 48610 and 48630 for left or right side control arm assembly. Comes with the castle nut, and cotter pin.
http://lexus.sewellparts.com/oem-cat...S430-2001.html