Hi

I purchased a 09 Gx 470 with 200k miles as a project car. It’s been great but a few weeks ago I started to notice a rattling noise from the front suspension that I can’t locate. It happens over bumps but it sounds like it’s on the rebound. I checked it over to the best of my limited knowledge but haven’t been able to find the source of the noise. Any help would be appreciated.

I purchased it from the previous owner with a eibach 2 inch lift and it has 275/70/17 tires. I’m worried he didn’t upgrade the LCAs and the ball joints are going bad.

It could be a couple of things.
1 - Front shock
2 - Trailing arm link
3 - Ball joint

On mine with basically the same mileage I replaced everything on the front end. Total cost w/parts was $1200.00 and I did the entire job on a Saturday.

I had a rattle which turned out to be the lower control arm.
There was also a squeak, which was the sway bar bushings.

Chip H.

I've had front end rattles than ended up being the pads rattling in the caliper, using 2X anti rattle clips fixed it. I eventually figured out that it stopped when pressing on the brakes.

Having someone drive slowly while you walk alongside can help pinpoint the source, just be safe.

Hi. I’ve been lurking for a while and thinking about the same thing. I put on some larger diameter Dobinson front shocks and a spring was hitting one under braking. Luckily I held onto the old shocks as they were not leaking. I just wanted to try something firmer. I picked up a spare spring in case mine had a kink or something.

The best part of the GX is how quiet it is. I’ve spent days installing fresh and extra sound deadening into mine. Was thinking the sheet metal shield under the engine was rattling so I put noise dampener on it as well. At this point I’m gonna go ahead and rebuild the front suspension. It’s got 170,000 miles on it. Already put in new CV axles and brakes.

I found a smoking deal on new lower control arms at Bell Lexus in Scottsdale. They’ve always had great prices, but I got new lower control arms for $619. I replaced one of the uppers because the ball joint was slightly loose. The alignment shop said they were about at their limit. I should’ve sought clarification. I just assumed he meant frame spread as on the old General Motors rear drive cars. It’s stock height.

I may have contributed to excess noise by over tightening the bolt through the downstairs strut mount. I pinched the C channel pocket it sits in very slightly so that the walls aren’t parallel. I think that made it pinch. Next time I’ll go easier and probably use some Loctite.

Have also gathered some other parts to replace such as swaybar end links and bushings. If there are any other known sources of noise, please let me know. Also, I was considering some kind of dry film grease for the bushings. My car is so quiet that when I’m driving with the windows down those noises really irk me. Maybe that’s not a good idea?

Was able to spend some time under mine this evening trying to find the noise. I drove it up on ramps and cycled the suspension slowly with a floor jack. It’s storing energy somewhere near the core support and then it releases with a crack. Sounds kind of like it got hit somewhere with a ball peen hammer. It’s enough to resonate through to the coil springs. I replaced the headlights, swaybar, bushings, end links and a few other bits a couple years ago. My best guess is that those bushings are sticking. I’ll try lubing them. Nothing seems to be loose. It’s a totally rust free car so there’s no structural integrity issues. I can wiggle the rubber on the bottom half of the body mounts at the core support so maybe that has shrunk?

I lost the actuator from the drivers side shock so I’ve gotta try and find one somewhere. I’ll go back to eBay and see if I can find a used one without rust.

When you were working on the shocks, did you check the strut tops (or whatever they are called?) The reason I ask is that when I deleted my air suspension, I opted to go with a set of Bilsteins and while unspringing the old ones, noticed the rubber bushings in the tops were dry rotted and had to replace them. I don't know if that would make the noise you are talking about, but it's something I never would have thought to look for and not anything you can readily inspect.
ETA: It's been a while since I did this work, but IIRC, the issue wasn't visible until the shocks and washers were removed. HTH