DatSRBoi

II know some people have been asking around and no one seem to have ever given a straight answer on where to find a replacement for the front upper ball joint. Main reason for me replacing mine was because when i hit bumps I can hear a slight clunking sound. It started doing this after I lowered my car too much.

And for those who do not think its necessary yes you are correct. its not widely a failed part. But being lowered I realized how much stress is put on it. Video shows what 10 years of service has done to it.
Click on link for video of what mine looked like after 10 years. Its a peace of mind to me

Lexus dealership did not carry just the ball joint itself and want you to forge out a stupid 350 price tag PER arm as a whole. Ebay carries cheap upper ball joint but who would want to take a risk on those? Imagine cruising down the highway and it fails on you. I was surfing around and notice that the upper ball joint for the newer model is250 and 350 look almost the same and brought a set.

It is confirm that any local auto stores like oriellys will carry the upper ball joint to replace yours. Look for any 06-10 IS250 or IS350 front upper ball joint will work!! They are the exact same specs as the IS300

I went with a brand call Import Direct. They are the new Moog company. Moog is widely used and even Mr.fig uses them for his lower ball joint. They change their name and sources because they now sell worldwide . I compared the Import direct and the older moog and they are the EXACT same. Only difference is one is made in the USA (Moog * good lucky finding those*) and the other is made in Japan (Same place where most of your Lexus parts are made) They cost about 65 for two compare to lexus making you pay 600+ for the entire arm. The Import Direct feels a lot more beefier than the OEM and comes with a lifetime replacement. Part numbers are in the pictures. I have many more pictures of detail specs but only posting a few since you get the point. And dont mind the Fig sticker i slap on the arm. I fully support and thank Mr fig for making awesome bushings.

old vs new **as you can see the old one has a washer of some kind on it. I believe its only to help keep the grease in. The Mood/Importdirect boot is very well made and looks to hold everything in a lot better**



old





new

suds

I must ask, do you still hear this clunking noise at all?

Driving impressions?

Both my upper control arm bushings and ball joint looks okay on both sides, however I also hear a clunking / knocking noise going over bumps.

I have changed both lower ball joints and inner/outer tie rods, as well as sway bar end links, sway bar bushings, rack bushings, and #2 LCA bushings

brazos2

Thanks for the info. FYI, a friend of mine got a ticket (DPS) for covering his plate much the same as you did in the last picture. Sucked for him cuz it wasn't cheap!


Also, does your IS eat the inside of the front tires? Mine does, but so far no one has had any suggestions on what might cause that, other than one shop saying it "might be shocks". Problem is this car has done this since it was new.
Thanks again for the info!