i'm starting to get this annoying clunking when going over rough roads or dips in the front end. my car was driving fine up until yesterday. i recently put in a TRD STB about a week ago, everything went fine, car felt smooth. but 2 days ago i ran over a pothole on my right front wheel, and ever since then, i've noticed clunking on rough roads and bumps. anyone clues? thanks guys.

 

I have got the same thing with my GS430 although I have not done any modifications on it. It sounds like it is coming from the front right side tire/suspension area. When going over speed bumps it sounds like a creaking, groaning noise. It also makes a rattling noise when going over bumps even if I am driving fast that sounds like it is coming from the same area. The rattling noise almost sounds like thin metal rattling like possibly that aluminum peice over the brake calipers is loose but it felt secure when I touched it. It does not seem to affect the driving of the car but it is annoying. I tried pressing down on the car when it was parked and shaking it but it does not make the noise when the car is parked. One of these days I will take the tire off to see if I can see anything better but from looking with a flashlight I have not noticed anything. Something may possibly needs to be greased because I started noticing it after I washed the car a few times. I am kind of hesitant to take it to a mechanic because I don't know anyone I can trust around here and I am afraid they will try to charge me for something that does not need to be worked on or they will try to damage it.

 

i was also thinking it could have been the brake caliper plate behind the caliper, but mine feels secure too. from looking with the wheels turned, the sway bar end links are good, not broken. from looking from the engine, the sway bar looks tight ( i took a stick and hit it, and it felt stirdy). i'm gonna see what happens when i drive home tonight from work. gonna jack it up to see what is the problem.

FYI, my car has stock springs with bilstein HD shocks, and front TRD STB.

if anyone else has any more insight, that would be great.

 

Probably lower ball joint or tie rods. I got the same clunk up front...pass side.

Pete

 

I was thinking the same thing possibly Ball joint or tie rod...My Es just started this a few weeks also.. It only happens when going over a certain bump or when the car hits the bump at the right angle... Its very weird.. I need to get to the bottom of this before i sell it...

Tony

 

i've inspected my lower ball joints last weekend and they look fine visually as well as the 12oclock, 6oclock test. i sure hope they didn't get busted from that pothole. but i did notice, that after i had the STB installed, going over that pothole felt harsher than any other pothole i've ever went over.

 

I had the same thing and it was the lower ball joint.

When I had that replaced, that clunk was gone but now there's a slight faint clunk and this is due to my right front shock leaking. So that's another thing that needs to be replaced.

 

I don't know too much about this kind of stuff, but did you check your strut tower tops. Open your hood and try wiggling around the studs where your STB is. Maybe the strut tops loosened up when you installed the STB. Just a thought.

 

I had a similar problem with my gs after the STB installation. Re-tighten the three bolts that hold the STB in place, they are probably loose.

 

I think my GS430 suffered from the same ailment earlier this winter. I called it a "clunk" in the front suspension when I went over bumps. The dealer wrapped (re-wrapped?) my front springs and re-torqued something or other in the front suspension. If they told me the truth, it had nothing to do with brakes, tie rods or ball joints. The service advisor commented that they see enough of it to know exactly what I was complaining of right away. Sorry I don't recall anything more specific...

 

i double checked the bolts on top that hold the STB. i initially torqued them at 41 pounds, and rechecked today and they were still good. i decided to tighten them up a little more to 45 pounds, knowing there could be some tolerance issues with torque wrenches. the clunks are still there, only on bad roads or bumps, but it doesn't seem to be as bad as it was earlier today. i decided to also spray some wd-40 into my front sway bar bushings, and it seemed to help it slightly. do you guys think it could be the sway bar bushings? mine are still oem. i've been thinking of upgrading them to the daizen polyurethane oem bushings.

 

Before i purchased my car I had the local Lexus dealership retrieve the sevice records for it. I'm in Alaska but the service had been done on the east coast. Anyway, it had been brought in for "clunking" in the front end. The service tech test drove and confirmed there was a clunk. The tech stated on the work order it was a strut issue. They removed both front struts, inspected them, all was within specs, reassembled with original struts and no more clunking. To this day it hasn't clunked. Just another avenue you could pursue to resolve your problem.

 

it is so strange tho, cuz before i had the TRD STB, even when i ran over potholes, nothing would happen. no clunks, vibration whatsoever. and after i installed the TRD STB i get clunking and high speed vibration. but it is so odd, the TRD STB is tightly installed, no movement possible. my shocks on the car are fairly new, 6 months old bilstein shocks. what could this be?


for guys with the TRD STB, could it be that the bar is rubbing or hitting the engine cover that is causing the sound? did you guys leave the spacers on ther when you installed the bar?

 

My bilstein shocks are 6 months old (with OEM springs) too and it feels like I am riding on blown out shocks. I recently bought the car with this shocks and cannot compare the ride quality with and without them.

 

i do agree, the bilstein's do feel harsh on bad roads, but on smooth roads, they are very controlled and comfortable.