Lower Control Arm Bushing Repair
#228
Went ahead and ordered my set. I'm not sure if my LS needs them due to the mileage, but it's a cheap enough upgrade.
#229
Driver School Candidate
Installed my set of IS bushings today. First chance to use my Harbor Freight 3 ton jack and power ratchet. Had to use ramps to get the car far enough off the ground to use the jack, but that was fine because I wanted to verify I wasn't lifting on the oil pan.
Left side probably took a hour of fiddling, the right side took 10 minutes.
I'm happy to say that I think most of the rattling is gone. Before it would rattle even on slight imperfections in pavement, now it doesn't. I think there might have been a little going over speed bumps, but I'm not sure. Which is a good sign.
I may take my old brackets and press out the bushing and get new OEM bushings and put the originals back on at some point.
The old bushings actually don't look bad, but there is a definite difference with the new ones. I'll try to remember to take pictures of the old ones, just for fun.
Left side probably took a hour of fiddling, the right side took 10 minutes.
I'm happy to say that I think most of the rattling is gone. Before it would rattle even on slight imperfections in pavement, now it doesn't. I think there might have been a little going over speed bumps, but I'm not sure. Which is a good sign.
I may take my old brackets and press out the bushing and get new OEM bushings and put the originals back on at some point.
The old bushings actually don't look bad, but there is a definite difference with the new ones. I'll try to remember to take pictures of the old ones, just for fun.
#230
Knocked this out just now. Piece of cake. Surprised at how my bushings looked at 83k... lots of cracking. I think the close proximity to the cats might serve to degrade them faster.
#232
Most bushings on our cars if never replaced will look similar if not considerably worse. Unfortunately as a number of forum members can attest to is that replacing these bushings ( unless metal is touching metal) will not noticeably improve the ride or handling. Mine were absolutely destroyed and I decided to replace because of getting a great price on OEM bushings. No change. It’s still better having new parts than old worn ones yes?
#233
#234
Post 217. Though, that vendor is all over the place with prices. I ordered from them two weeks ago at $100 and now they are $150 for both. Watch that auction for a few weeks and I'm sure the price will drop again to $100.
#235
My wife said that the LS was making some creaking noise. So I put the car on a ramp, and find out one of the bolt that attach the bracket to the body of the car has come loose slightly. I torque them per spec when I installed them a few weeks ago. I made sure they are all tight, and this time I put a bit more torque. So far so good, my wife said the car has not make any noise.
Just want to share incase anyone has this problem.
Same here. I do not notice any change in ride or handling. Maybe a little tighter on cornering at high speed, but maybe that is just me imagining things. My original bushings have cracks.
Just want to share incase anyone has this problem.
Most bushings on our cars if never replaced will look similar if not considerably worse. Unfortunately as a number of forum members can attest to is that replacing these bushings ( unless metal is touching metal) will not noticeably improve the ride or handling. Mine were absolutely destroyed and I decided to replace because of getting a great price on OEM bushings. No change. It’s still better having new parts than old worn ones yes?
Last edited by BCT; 02-25-19 at 10:32 AM.
#236
Lexus Fanatic
My wife said that the LS was making some creaking noise. So I put the car on a ramp, and find out one of the bolt that attach the bracket to the body of the car has come loose slightly. I torque them per spec when I installed them a few weeks ago. I made sure they are all tight, and this time I put a bit more torque. So far so good, my wife said the car has not make any noise.
Just want to share incase anyone has this problem.
Same here. I do not notice any change in ride or handling. Maybe a little tighter on cornering at high speed, but maybe that is just me imagining things. My original bushings have cracks.
Just want to share incase anyone has this problem.
Same here. I do not notice any change in ride or handling. Maybe a little tighter on cornering at high speed, but maybe that is just me imagining things. My original bushings have cracks.
#237
Again, imho this is a money making job for the dealer--on my multipoint they said you need this and might not pass inspection, and it was like $1500 plus another $150 for an alignment. So I got all scared because I just got the car, bought the OE bushings for around $140 on eBay (price has come down), and had an indie press the old out and the new in. The indie told me prior to doing the work, they highly doubt I will see any difference whatsoever. They just didn't want me to feel that I got taken. They were right, no difference.
For me, the parts are relatively cheap, and can be done easily so I rather to do this now as preventative measure. What is most important is that I can do it at my own time and schedule. When something has become an issue, I have to do it asap so the car can be back on the road. With work and family obligation, I rather do it when I can choose my own time. Not to mention to I always have bad luck on things are broken at the worse time. I still remember trying to replace leaking radiator at night, on a driveway, and in the middle of winter.
#238
Advanced
iTrader: (1)
Heat definitely isn't helping them, Subaru are notorious for this bushing (transverse link in Subaru talk) failing as well. I think it's just a part of the design utilizing an LCA like that. The front cylindrical bushing typically doesn't need replacing, but you'll go through rears at a much faster rate.
#239
Driver School Candidate
Put 35k miles on my IS bushing replacement and while doing ball joints and daizen steering rack bushings this past weekend I noticed the IS bushing still look brand new. Another vote by me!
#240
Hi, guys. I replaced one of my bushings with IS bushing. So I have one LS OEM and another one - IS OEM. I can tell that IS bushing is noticeably softer than the OEM. (Softer rubber and "more travel").
Anyone had issues with them being to soft/wobbly?
I plan to install the other one from IS too.
Anyone had issues with them being to soft/wobbly?
I plan to install the other one from IS too.