Lynzoid

well, previous to this done, i had no problems with my steering it's just i thought it's easy enough (thanks Twix !!!), so i did it just for the sake of high mileage.

now, i have lighter steering feel for some reason :\
car tracks straight etc, but i have a feeling that i need alignment done now..

ps. old bushings looked old, but not TOO worn. also, i keep my cars in a good nick, and my front suspension is tight as usual and noiseless.

pps. but this unusual 'lighter' feel to steering will give me a sleepless night today

pppppps. well, to be fair, as Twix or somebody else noticed, on the uneven bits steering wheel won't move side to side as much as it usually did ! so there's *some* improvements.

Bon

Interesting, Lynzoid, but there's one thing for sure: changing the bushings won't tweak your alignment out of whack. Having the alignment checked may give you a better nights sleep though.

Lynzoid

I guess you're right - it shouldn't... But it definitely is lighter now...

Stu

my bushing are being replaced as I type this - I am typing this at the shop. My old bushings had 53,000 miles and didn't look badly worn, but I am really hoping this makes the car easier to drive in a straight line. We'll see on the way home !

Bon

Good luck Stu! FWIW I replaced my steering rack bushings on my SC430 this weekend. The bushing design is very similar to the LS. I had choices, though, with the SC of using aftermarket polyurethane bushings instead of the OEM rubber. I chose Daizen polyurethane bushings. And, wow, what a difference. I just don't see a down side to using stiffer steering rack bushings. The directional stability and precision is instantly noticeable. I just can't imagine a down side. Prior to changing the bushings I did the "move the steering wheel and look for excessive rack movement" and didn't think I'd gain much by changing the bushings - Wrong again! It's night and day.

The bushing that I removed "looked good" but they're about as firm as gummy bears.

Stu

Bon - thanks again !

When they were out of the car, my old bushing "looked" fine to my eye, and I thought they didn't need replacing, but the car is fixed. The shop replaced them with the new ones and also added a bit of extra "toe" into my front wheels when they did the alignment ( just for an extra measure ) The car drives straight now and does not wander.

Very, very happy with the car now ! Thanks Bon - and Club Lexus !

Hybrid-JD

hey. which shop did you bring your car too in toronto?

and how much was the labour?

Stu

Bullock City did the work and charged $150 for labor.

pinnell27

Gang,

I know that most of the time when we do or make mechanical changes to our cars, we typically don't see much difference when we replace a part or upgrade something. This change however is NOT in that category. I am speechless at the significance of improvement. The front end is now back to feeling like a new car in terms of tightness and feel. Before changing these bushings I felt every little imperfection in the road being transmitted straight up the steering column right into my hands. I didn't realize how much absorption these 4 little bushings are responsible for. The entire steering column felt like it was shaking and made it feel like a 6K KIa or something like that.
I am betting that a large portion of front end suspension problems that people have been chasing over the years with these cars can be attributed to these under-engineered bushings. Given that the dealers service centers largely do not know about this issue and that they are not part of any maintenance regimen, I am betting untold amounts of money are spent by people trying to fix the shuddering feeling coming from the front end. I know I was about to start at the top of the list and start replacing things until I found the culprit...............until I lucked into this thread. If this has not been turned into a DIY sticky yet, it certainly needs to be. I did this swap myself with basic garage tools, jack and stands. Its a 30-45 minute project if you follow the directions and do not get discouraged when you get to the back-side bushing on the drivers side. It requires turning the left front wheel (not the steering wheel) to the left so that the rack moves enough to weasel the final bushing out of the rack.
I cannot stress enough what a huge difference this change makes. I have noticed a lot of folks have asked the mileage on the cars that are/were experiencing this issue. I am starting to think the mileage may not be as important as the age. It is my opinion that any LS430 out there that hasn't had these swapped, needs to do it. It tightens things up significantly.
Hunter

BradTank

My LS has around 140k miles, so I think I'm going to do this also. I feel a looseness through the steering rack on certain surfaces that just doesn't feel right.

Can somebody consult a FSM to see how many ft/ lbs you should tighten the rack bolts with a torque wrench?

pinnell27

Brad

I certainly support you getting the correct torque however I don't think its imperative that you get it exactly right. If you tighten the studs with a regular socket/ratchet with whatever leverage you can manage while laying on the ground underneath, that will suffice. They were not exceedingly tight when taking them off so just use your arm meter when tightening them back up if you don't get the spec's. You are gonna be amazed at the difference this makes. I had 120k on mine.

Sentinel

Hmm the looseness on my car was the front control arm bushings. I did the steering bushings and didn't really notice a difference.

sr20mofo

iTrader: (10)

just wanted to update this thread with the current part # for the bushings

45516A 50030 $36.99 at Sewell w/CL discount

45516C 50040 $32.71 at Sewell w/CL discount

can anyone explain to me why one pair is more expensive than the other when they look identical??

Lust4Lexus

Those don't sound like the CL prices to me. Are you logged in with your CL ID? They should be less. Don't know why there is a difference in prices. One is oval. Lol.

sr20mofo

iTrader: (10)

u are correct... will edit prices =P