Video works but there's no audio...

 

put on youtube instead. Thanks for the heads up.

 

For people that have the rattling clunking sound it is possible that the heatshield on the lower steering shaft came loose. I had an issue with it making noise when I installed my headers, it made a rubbing/rattling/grinding noise.

Shield is circled in purple

 

My steering wheel makes the exact same noise. I only get a clunk from the drivers side front wheel. When I have some spare time I'll separate the tie rod from the LBJ and check them out...

 

Yeah that sounds to me like your u-joints for sure...now which u-joint is a better question. try to isolate the sound if you can. Look under the steering wheel to see if that u-joint has play, look into the driver side wheel well to check the u-joint closest to the steering rack, and if those are both tight...it must be the one closest to the steering wheel.

 

I am curious what you find, I still have a small harshness over the bumps that could be a LBJ. Overall mine is MUCH improved but I am still wanting to check that LBJ...

 

What do you have to replace if the u-joints are bad? The entire steering shaft?

 

Looks like they sell the yoke assembly separately:

Lexus Part No.: 45206-50020
YOKE SUB-ASSY, STEERING SLIDING W/SHAFTPart DescriptionYoke Sub-Assy, Steering Sliding W/Shaft

 

I had a very similar clunking. Super annoying to me because I have a brick/cobblestone entrance to my condo's and it would just clunky clunk all the way across, grrrrrrrrr.

Replaced my upper control arms, with the Beck Arnley's yesterday, clunking gone.

 

Thank you for this discussion. I am going to try just replacing the steering rack bushings for $45 before anything else.

 

Hi, just joined and just got my car back from our family shop and we solved the problem so I figured I share the problem with you! Been reading this post off and on for the last 6 months before deciding to fix my car. Problem is so many possible symptoms so I will let you know what the end result was.

Took the car to the alignment shop before I started buying parts, they ended up saying it all looked tight and my strut was leaking on the driver side. There was some ware on the lower stabilizer linkage bushings, but not enough to worry.

Long story short, ended up changing the front struts, front strut mounts, rack and pinion and lower stabilizer links. All of this didn’t fix the problem but these were worn parts my 2003 LS430 has 145k on the odometer. Finally we took the driver side struts back out and revealed the upper control arm upper bushings were worn out right at the bottom of the bushing and you can only tell when the suspension is bounding which is what happens when you hit a bump! So changed the upper control arm bushings and that solved the front end driver side clunking!

 

Is there a simple way to replace my front upper control arms in my 04 with factory air bags without having to remove the struts?
if not is it a hassle to disconnect the air line with a special tool and re install everything would they air back up as normal or is there a procedure

 

I also had this question, and just tackled it myself a few days ago. It is impossible to remove the UCAs without removing the air cylinder. Even if you had a very long 14mm box wrench with a thin head, there is no room for the bolts to back out while the air cylinder is in place. However, such a wrench would come very useful when retorquing the nuts, since you can put everything back together, reinflate the air cylinder to normal ride height, then tighten up the bolts after. Tightening the UCA bolts before setting the car at regular height would place constant stress on the bushings - you have to torque the bolts when the UCAs are angled at regular ride height. Alternatively, before you start any work, measure the exact distance of the outer edge of the UCA to the top of the wheel well, and then upon reinstallation, adjust to that exact height before torquing the bolts.

The special air line disconnect tool is a 1/4" air/fuel line disconnect tool. It's USD$8.99 on Amazon for a full set of various sizes, "ABN Automotive SAE Air Conditioner & Fuel Line Quick Disconnect 7pc Tool Kit – Plastic Auto AC/Gas Set 1/4 – 7/8in". Note that the air cylinder will blow out all air instantly and drop the car once you pull the air line, so ensure you are lifted and supported accordingly. You will need to use a scissor jack to adjust the positioning of the lower control arm to get the air cylinder in and out.

Replacing front LH UCA and front LH stabilizer bar link resolved my clunk, which existed since I bought the car used, and even took it to a Toyota dealership at 96,000kms, where they could not identify the issue. What did not help was replacing LCA bushings (via RC-F/GS-F bracket), LBJs, inner and outer tie rods (though they helped greatly with alignment and handling). The rougher the roads you drive on plus potholes/curbs hit, the faster all of these parts get beat up and worn out.

 

Thanks to all who've described what they've done to get rid of their clunks. I too have a quite annoying front-end clunk happening on both sides, which doesn't happen driving over larger items like speed bumps or other road imperfections that move the suspension a decent amount but smoothly. Instead mine happens at slower speeds when hitting potholes, driving over expansion joints, and other gaps in the road—even under 5 mph. I've gone through everything under the car multiple times, prying on bushings and ball joints, measuring dimensions on ball joints and things to compare for any irregularities between sides in case a ball joint was coming loose but stuck and not clicking. The only item I found was a slightly loose subframe bolt left/rear, but torquing that didn't change anything. Seems it should be safe to drive at least.

I'm suspecting it has something to do with my steering based on driving over a particular gutter pan at a slight oblique angle that makes the steering want to jostle around. It seems like I may have the steering column splined shaft play that I've seen reported. Check out the video.

Also, how do these steering rack bushings look? This video was taken with wheels on the ground to load it up a bit and as such, the entire car moves left/right a bit. However, you can see a small amount of play in the bushings as the rack slightly shifts relative to subframe. Do these look bad or is this typical play?

Sorry for the zip containing the videos. Handbrake doesn't output any supported formats.

 

AMD has a great video on the clunk from the steering column. Hope it helps.