Mattyw889

I recently did the following work on my vehicle and while driving home from the shop today on the highway I noticed there seemed to be a lot vibration on the front end. Below is a list of what was done over the last month, (the car was brand new in 2009 when I got it and I really don't want to go back to car payments anytime soon.)

2009 Lexus IS250 AWD

1. 4 new Michellin tires- all balanced
2. New control arms- driver and passenger side
3. New ball joint- passenger side only (apparantly it broke while it was being taken apart and put back together during control arm work), mechanic never mentioned anything about driver side.
4. Wheel alignment- after control arms and new tires

What could be causing this, I take the car to a reputable service center and have never had issues or felt I was "oversold". I won't prentend I know much about the mechanics of a car but I think with that amount of work and money spent it should not be doing that and would just like to have a general idea when I take the car back to the shop.

hoser813

iTrader: (1)

one of the balancing weights could have come off of one of the wheels, you may want to have the shop balance the wheels again to make sure

Mattyw889

Thank you,

RandyIS250

Totally right and also Matty, ball joint must be replaced a PAIR not just single.

Mattyw889

So in other words he should have replaced the ball joint on the drivers side aswell even though there wasn't an "issue" on that side like there was on passengers side

RandyIS250

It's alright if you just replace one side but the other side will break down as well soon due to the pressure of the new one and old one, must be balanced out when it comes to suspension. Shock and Ball Joint should replace in pair.

Mattyw889

Ok, I'm bringing it back 11:30 EST, will post the final verdict when I get it. Thanks for the help

RandyIS250

Not a problem Matty , good luck !

mike33

iTrader: (1)

NO you do not need to replace ball joints in pairs...

Why did you need to replace both control arms? Was the car in an accident? Did you have a vibration before the work was done?

RandyIS250

Because he's a man that like perfection of the car, these customers usually have no time they want everything done at once so they don't want to go back and ford, reason why he should replace ball ball joint in pair, you don't have to but you know that other one will break soon right ? leaf spring, ball joint strut and mount and tires should be in pair, it's ok if you dont want to spend money but the time you spend will be more.

once it comes to suspension i'm not cheap !

mike33

iTrader: (1)

It's not about being cheap... Ball joints only need to be replaced when they are faulty, this is usually because of excessive movement in the joint, in the ops case he said the ball joint was damaged while being removed from the old control arm. According to your logic he should replace all 4 ball joints (uppers and lowers) because they might "break soon" as well... Heck he should also replace all four control arms, and the rear control arms too, those certainly will "break soon"...

The reason for replacing shocks/struts, springs, or tires in pairs is because of the driveability issues that may result from not doing so, not because the other part may "break soon".

Lets try to help the op find out what is causing his vibration, not tell him to replace a part that a mechanic looked at and determined was good.

RandyIS250

Did you read my 1st post ? yes i would replace all bushing and ball joint for better drive abilities since it's an old car, a little crack bushing may cause driving condition different too, read my 2nd post i told him he don't have to but for quality smooth driving and if he wanna spend I SUGGESTED HIM YES replace both or ALL of THEM, only Endlink swaybar bushing tie rods end you don't really need to but for me Sway bar bushing i always replace in pair.

For Lexus IS250 AWD at least mine one, i'm currently have BAD TIE ROD and Rear Alignment toe but the car drives straight, for non-alignment guys they will feel nothing but for me i feel it sloppy on uneven road and shimmy when hit a bump, i also have 2 cracks bushing for lower control arm the steering is kinda weak. Sure you are Pro Mike ! ya sure you can Google or check Youtube Engineer explains, any suspension component worn they will wear out your tires prematurely, do a research before you speak !

For my car i'm cheap because as long as the car drive straight i don't care but the handling sucks bad.