ancdmd

Got some new front tires and had an alignment done and the tech told me my car was really out of whack, as if it had been in an accident. It's an '02 UL and I've never wrecked it. Apparently the caster is messed up on the right side, the wheel is too far back in the wheel well. I have no idea how this could occur, as the big rear control arm bushing is non-adjustable. All the suspension parts including all bushing and control arms only have around 35k miles on em. The tech aligned it as best he could but said I'd still have a slight pull to the right. There are two other bushing brackets that can be installed to adjust the caster, but I don't know which one I need. Do I need the one with the white mark (48652-50040) or the pink mark (48652-50050)? Also how far forward would the wheel move with this adjusted bushing bracket? Is there anything else I could look for that would indicate why this has happened? Sorry the lighting on the pics makes it difficult to see the position of the wheel within the wheel well.

ancdmd

Left bushing and right bushing

Lynzoid

i can see that both bushings installed incorrectly... the rubber 'bump'. must face either 12 o'clock or 6 o'clock precisely. don't have manual at hand at the moment.
this may be just an unlucky photo tho.

ancdmd

thanks Lynz... I will take a closer look at the bushings. Is there a bump on both sides of the bushing, front and rear?

Lynzoid

Ok, manual says that bump must point strictly downwards with no more than 5deg deviation.
I don't remember, but i think there's bumps on both sides. There isn't mention in the manual what side front bushing should be installed, so i guess it's any.
Knowing, that this is not just piece of rubber (but serious 'device' with oil and valves in it), wrong install may well affect your caster.

ancdmd

I just rechecked the bushings, the left one has the bump at about the 1-o'clock position and the right one is at 5-o'clock. Definitely not at the "strictly downwards", 6-o'clock position. Looks like I will have to have the bushings repositioned. I wonder if I should use fresh bushings, maybe their structural integrity has been compromised after being installed improperly for 35k miles. Do you know anything about the SST that Lexus says I need to press in the bushings? Cost? Hope its not terribly expensive so I can do the job myself. If not I'll have to have a shop do it. Thanks for your help!

Lynzoid

Get new ones. Cost is about 60 bucks a piece. Any good auto place will be able to press out old ones and press in new. You need a hydraulic press and some rings. Idk if it's diy-able.
No worries. These are also affect ride quality big time.

ancdmd

So I changed out these bushings today, the right one was not installed correctly, the tab on the bushing was at 5-o'clock. The left one was at 1. On the reverse side of the bushing, the tab is 180-degrees opposite. So if on one side the tab is at 6, on the other side its at 12. I did notice on one side however there are two smaller nubs and on the reverse side there are none. Just so happens that the owner of the DIY garage I use also has an LS430, an '04 with 50k miles. He has original bushings in his so I checked out how his were installed from the factory. On the drivers side, when looking forward from the rear, the tab is at 12, and on the passenger side the tab is at 6. However the side with two nubs is toward the front of the car on both sides. So I installed mine the same way. Unfortunately my caster is still off on the right side, and I noticed no change in ride quality. The camber bolt on the right side is at 12 though, whereas on the left it is at 3-o'clock, maybe that is part of the problem. I will have to get the car realigned to make sure.

ancdmd

Another odd thing I noticed is that the large 22-mm outside bolt on the bushing bracket does not have a precise fit within the bracket. The hole that it goes through in the bracket is very large. My bracket wasn't lined up in the same position as the other guy's LS. I don't know how this should be adjusted, or if it is even meant to be adjusted in any way.