I bit the bullet and ordered OEM upper arms from Sewell---$804 delivered. I just got them on and the ride is much better and quieter than the POS Arnotts that lasted 10K. Wish I had listened to people here but I figured Arnott had gotten their act together and redesigned their arms so they work. Take my word for it---they haven't.

FYI, When my Arnotts went bad they acted just like bad front caster arm bushings. There was clunking when I applied my brakes over bumpy pavement. There was also audible clunking when I shifted into reverse.


1996 LS400 142k

 

Sucks man the doorman arms are identical to the Toyota ones and they cost ~$150 each. My uppers were so bad you could move the top of the wheel with your foot with the car on the ground. It also vibrated occasionally upon high speed braking.

 

I couldn't find anywhere where someone said the doorman arms were identical to OEM, or where anyone had a long track record with them. Having been burned once with Arnott, I wasn't taking the chance.

 

I posted about it last week or the week before in the huge upper control arm thread. I got one and was shocked by the similarity. Same ball joint and everything. Looked quite a bit better than the beck arnley I had gotten for the other side and beck is no fly bye night.

 

I did see your post. The Arnott arms "looked" great too. Without a long term update from someone, I was just through playing with it. If they turn out to be great, I will keep that in mind for my future LS430 repair because I'm certain I have bought my last UCA for this LS400.

 

My Arnotts been on for one year this august. I am waiting to see how bad they get. So far so good. May try Doorman since a lot of their stuff is usually solid.

 

Sorry it this is hijacking the thread, where does the box indicate the Dorman arms are manufactured?

 

As far as I can tell the Dorman's are only for 1st gen.

 

I put Arnotts on about 1.5 years ago, started clunking in less than a year. Replaced under warranty about 6 months ago. So far OK... but... I do expect to do this job again.

The problem is the bushings. They fall apart. If ONLY Lexus would sell replacement bushings and ball joints (at a resonable charge) or sell these arms for say $500 for the pair, I would buy no problem. But $1000 for a pair PLUS installation... this is unreasonable.

The issue is Lexus is charging too much and makes no option for a lower cost OEM repair. These cars are OLD and the buyers are more and more frequently YOUNG and low on funds. Clunky old Lexus cars... and unreasonably expensive (or junky) repair options... do nothing to increase the Lexus image. Short sighted IMO.

Old but great, reliable and resonable to repair, Lexus cars, in the hands of young drivers, would help instill a sense of loyalty as these young drivers get older. Rule of first impression here.

IMO Lexus should offer complete bushing kits, front and rear, to rebuild these beautifully engineered suspensions into solid, safe and endearing cars. Which would you rather give your kid to drive? A new, expensive, lightweight compact whatever... or a solid SAFE luxurious Lexus LS400 as their first car?

 

You hit it square on the head. There are several rear bushings that arn't offered. If I'm lucky I'll be posting a DIY on the rear trailing arm bushings. I've got to sack up and tear appart the arm to measure the inner and our bushing dimensions then order stuff I think I can make fit. I know someone else did this, but they didn't post any of the info to do it in a day.

 

THis should help,, is mainly for the first gen, but mechanically MOST of the procedures are the same across the board.

www.lexls.com