I took my 99 GS3 in to Lexus last July for service and they recommended new lower ball joints. I passed on them and took them to another place for a second opinion. They said my lower ball joints were just fine; no play. Cool.

4500 miles and no symtoms later...

I just had my last service appt last Friday at a different Lexus and they recommended lower ball joints saying that they definitely found some free play in them. So I went ahead and ordered them with the outer tie rods from Sewell and took it in to Meineke today to get it done. I just received an interesting call from them asking me why I am replacing my ball joints. I told them that Lexus told me that they had free play. Meineke stated that they were having trouble finding any free play, and didn't think a replacement was necessary. I told them it was more of a proactive thing, and to proceed.

But...

WTF?!!? Is Lexus really attempting to rip me off for these ball joints or what. Why do they keep telling me I need new ones when other places say that I don't? Is Lexus seeing something that these other places aren't?!

Insight please!

 

Hah .....

You should wait a few weeks till the balljoints get nice and dirty then go to Lexus and see if they still recommend new balljoints AGAIN then you KNOW they are living up to the name STEALERSHIP !

 

Keep in mind, the balljoints on the GS do fail. And they fail right around the 100-120k mile mark and should be replaced. If you have a lowered suspension or big wheels it will further add to the stress put on the balljoints and make replacement intervals shorter. It also depends on your driving style. They should last you more than 120k if you drive like a grandma and never turn or brake hard....EVER. I change mine out every 15-20k the way I drive and with all my suspension mods

A broken balljoint is not pretty on these cars. It will basically rip up the inner fender liner and completely obliterate your fender. Not to mention you might lose control of the car(wheel will physically rotate out 90 degrees) at highway speeds!

 

That's exactly what I'm gonna do. If they say anything then, I'm gonna go nuts!

 

I have 129k on my car and everything is stock. I guess I don't drive really hard, I try to keep it safe. Either way I still feel like Lexus is trying to scam me or something.

 

The stock GS ball joints are undersized. I'm sure Lexus would like to replace them to prevent failures that certainly will be appearing in more cars as they age. Note the replacement ball joints are noticeably larger than the 1998-2001 stock originals. Gettum done.

 

Just do it man. Lexus wasn't trying to rob you.
Just make a search real quick on Lower Ball joints and see the results of people that just brushed it off.

 

Doooo itttt

so many people put it off only to find a a $900 bill later when your car collapse, and that's IF it collapse at a low speed. You dont want to know the penalty if your joint happens to break while you're on the highway. It's a very cheap replacement. The dealership isn't trying to rip you off. Lexus has a specific tolerance for free-play (less than 0.1mm I believe). Most likely an outside shop wont know the spec off the top of their head. They'll go by wiggling it around to see if there is any major free-play. I thought my balljoints were fine until I said the heck with it and replaced them. When holding the joints in my hand, I could feel some free-play.

 

i just changed mine at 93k miles, i have a gs400, 2000 everywhere i went they said the joints were fine, but hey 200$ for peace of mind is worth it.

 

I think mine are bad its making popping noises when doing sharp parking lot turns???
whats the total cost
98gs400 at 86k
could they make a 400 mile trip or would they break even on a drive on the 5 freeway to the bay area

 

Yea. The popping noise is probably your balljoints. They can break anytime actually. The cost of the balljoints are $120-ish shipped from sewell lexus

I would NOT take a long trip at all. Last thing you need is a broken balljoints on the freeway.

 

I changed mines three weeks ago after it started making a poping sound upon acceleration. Now the noise is gone and the car handles a little bit better.

 

Good postings guys. It seems pretty clear to me then. Lexus techs will only tolerate minimal play before they suggest replacement. I got the tie rods and of course an alignment as well. The total came out to less than just what the ball joints would've have been at the stealership. Would've been twice as much if I got all the work done there.

The steering definitely feels tighter and now I can have piece of mind knowing my car won't collapse.

 

I changed mine out a few months ago. I could not tell a difference in size between the olds and the new. I also could not tell a difference in ride or handling. Maybe they where already changed by the previous owner. It was not done at Lexus cause I had all the service records from Lexus. ..

BP

 

The difference in size could possibly be the joint itself on the inside. Unless someone has taken out the actual joint for botht he 98-00 and the 01+, we can't too sure that the new ones are bigger. All we know is that the 01+'s are 'updated'.