The dealer said that my caster bushing is torn. I have a 2013 GS 350 AWD F Sport with 104,000 miles. Is this a common problem at this mileage or is it due to bad driving conditions like potholes? Also, they want to charge $1200. Is that reasonable?

 

Is that the same as the lower control arm bushings? If so, it seems like the install isn't too hard

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...-on-gs350.html

 

I don’t know what a caster bushing is, but I did the job referenced by @EAST, which cost me $90 in parts (Amayama) and a couple of hours with the car on jack stands. My old bushings were a bit worn but my main issue was severe inner tread wear in the front. The bushings for GS-F / RC-F are stiffer with respect to left/ right motion which improves handling and reduces inner tire wear.
My LCA busing was replaced around 50k miles (80k km).
My issue has been discussed extensively on the IS350 forum.

 

@EAST @GS350PHX When I called a local shop about changing out the caster bushing they said that they normally just change out the entire control arm rather than just the bushing that's inside the control arm, so I think that changing out the control arm would work. @EAST Thanks for the link!

Would this be an urgent situation, or is it something that I could wait a little while on? Also, other than inner tire wear are there other signs that I should look for?

 

@GS350PHX Did installing the GSF bushings increase road noise or cabin noise? I was watching a YouTube video on swapping out the bushings and the person said that it increased the tire noise on their GS. Did you notice the same thing?

 

I changed out the rear LCA bushing only. No change to noise. The GS-F / RC-F part is still compliant (much less than hard poly bushings). But it is stiffer for left/right motion compared to the standard bushing. So I got a step up in handling, and less tire wear, without adding NVH.

If you decide to do this job yourself, note that the suspension needs to be loaded before torquing the main nut. I can find an installation video if you need it.

 

@GS350PHX An installation video would be great! Also, how would I load the suspension? Also, do you happen to have a part number? I found two part numbers, 48075-24010 and 48076-24010, but I'm not sure what the difference is between them except that one is labeled No. 1 and the other is labeled No. 2.

How many LCA bushings are there on the GS350? Is it two in the front and two in the rear?

Also, here's a picture of what the dealership sent to me:

Do you think that's what they're referring to as the caster bushing?

 

Yes you are showing the rear LCA bushing. And yes, there are two part numbers (one for left and one for right). Your numbers look right to me.

Here is a video:

I don’t think he gave torque specs. Let me know if you need those. Too busy to look them up now.

FYI I ordered my parts from Amayama Trading in Japan. But that was prior to the current trade environment.

Also, see this thread from the IS forum:

Premature Tire Wear

EDIT
I found the specs in another post by @bclexus. He has a lot of good info.

Torque specs

 

@GS350PHX Thanks!