LS460 Control Arm Update
Driver
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 65
Likes: 0
From: wa
An FM modulator (for as little as $20.) can give bluetooth phone and audio to anyone who is able to slide their radio head unit out and back in again.
When I came to this forum I was flabbergasted to see references to control arm repair/replacement costs in thousands of dollars. This is not a difficult repair for any shop or person equipped to compress struts and springs so the cost should reflect only the cost of parts with at most a couple of hours labor to install with a followup realignment..Dealer repair shops are profiting excessively by reliance on the trusting or uncaring ignorance of Lexus buyers in general but it victimizes us po' folk who simply appreciate a high quality automobile.
I would not be deterred from a good deal on any car by the possibility of control rod bushing failures or by the lack of an ability to hook my phone into its systems.
When I came to this forum I was flabbergasted to see references to control arm repair/replacement costs in thousands of dollars. This is not a difficult repair for any shop or person equipped to compress struts and springs so the cost should reflect only the cost of parts with at most a couple of hours labor to install with a followup realignment..Dealer repair shops are profiting excessively by reliance on the trusting or uncaring ignorance of Lexus buyers in general but it victimizes us po' folk who simply appreciate a high quality automobile.
I would not be deterred from a good deal on any car by the possibility of control rod bushing failures or by the lack of an ability to hook my phone into its systems.
Pole Position
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 2,561
Likes: 365
From: New Hampshire
I have an 07' with 61k. During a (botched) recall procedure the dealer quoted $6080 for control arms. During the correction of the botched-recall dealer #2 quoted only upper control arms $3k. Without further investigation I disassembled the suspension and found one control arm that looked slightly more stressed than the others. Waste of time and effort
I did my control arms in my garage in December, it was a snowy day, we were all kind of stuck in the house, so I figured why not? I just disappeared down in the garage for four hours...when I came back up I had saved myself whatever amount whatever dealer was going to charge and they were done. Now when I took them apart my car had 114,000 miles and in all honesty I didn't think half of them needed to be changed (more like one or two). I didn't even bother changing a couple on the bottom. If I had to do it again I'd just concentrate on the uppers, they seem to take the most abuse, and maybe give the bottoms a good inspection (replace as necessary). The whole job cost me around $600 and four hours of my time....20,000 miles later and the aftermarket parts are holding up fine.
Driver
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 65
Likes: 0
From: wa
I know some people pay a lot of money to get the arms fixed, so I don't want to make light of the situation, but I agree with you 100%.
I did my control arms in my garage in December, it was a snowy day, we were all kind of stuck in the house, so I figured why not? I just disappeared down in the garage for four hours...when I came back up I had saved myself whatever amount whatever dealer was going to charge and they were done. Now when I took them apart my car had 114,000 miles and in all honesty I didn't think half of them needed to be changed (more like one or two). I didn't even bother changing a couple on the bottom. If I had to do it again I'd just concentrate on the uppers, they seem to take the most abuse, and maybe give the bottoms a good inspection (replace as necessary). The whole job cost me around $600 and four hours of my time....20,000 miles later and the aftermarket parts are holding up fine.
I did my control arms in my garage in December, it was a snowy day, we were all kind of stuck in the house, so I figured why not? I just disappeared down in the garage for four hours...when I came back up I had saved myself whatever amount whatever dealer was going to charge and they were done. Now when I took them apart my car had 114,000 miles and in all honesty I didn't think half of them needed to be changed (more like one or two). I didn't even bother changing a couple on the bottom. If I had to do it again I'd just concentrate on the uppers, they seem to take the most abuse, and maybe give the bottoms a good inspection (replace as necessary). The whole job cost me around $600 and four hours of my time....20,000 miles later and the aftermarket parts are holding up fine.
Was it necessary to compress the front springs, or just contain them? Or..can one control arm be changed at a time?
Pole Position
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 2,561
Likes: 365
From: New Hampshire
I disconnected the strut from the strut tower and I was able to pull the strut down enough to remove the control arms. It wasn't bad, and I also obviously disconnected the bottom of the strut from the lower control arm. I did the whole job without a lift, air or torches...which is always a little challenging because you never know what you'll run into, but it wasn't bad.
Driver
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 118
Likes: 3
From: Pa
I disconnected the strut from the strut tower and I was able to pull the strut down enough to remove the control arms. It wasn't bad, and I also obviously disconnected the bottom of the strut from the lower control arm. I did the whole job without a lift, air or torches...which is always a little challenging because you never know what you'll run into, but it wasn't bad.
Driver
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 65
Likes: 0
From: wa
I disconnected the strut from the strut tower and I was able to pull the strut down enough to remove the control arms. It wasn't bad, and I also obviously disconnected the bottom of the strut from the lower control arm. I did the whole job without a lift, air or torches...which is always a little challenging because you never know what you'll run into, but it wasn't bad.
No air! Not sure I'd have started without knowing I could use my impacts if necessary. It's been my experience that the Japanese original assembly of things, whether cars, motorcycles, or clothes dryers includes making fasteners (bolts, screws, etc.) ungodly tight!
Pole Position
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 2,561
Likes: 365
From: New Hampshire
Driver
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 118
Likes: 3
From: Pa
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 758
Likes: 26
From: INACTIVE
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...placement.html
Last edited by superdenso; Aug 24, 2016 at 04:58 AM.
Pole Position
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 2,561
Likes: 365
From: New Hampshire
Is there a reason you didn't remove the lower rear control arm? I'm working on a list of "control arm diy" steps; maybe we can collaborate:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...placement.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...placement.html
Without having been under my car in while, if I remember the rear control arm removal involved separating the arm from the ball joint on the steering knuckle, disconnecting the sway bar link and moving the tie rod away from where the control arm bolts into the subframe. That sound right?
Reading your list it sounds like you removed the calipers and rotors, did you end up removing the entire steering knuckle? If so, was that necessary because you can't get at the ball joint? And did you end up replacing the ball joint from the knuckle? It seems like it might be worth doing while you're in there anyway...figure in my case that ball joint would have 133,000 miles on it. And it sounds like you replaced the bushings rather than just replacing the whole arm,meow much money did you save by doing that? Was it worth it? I might consider doing it that way because as you know, the ball joint is in the knuckle, not the actual arm.
Last edited by Doublebase; Aug 24, 2016 at 08:38 PM.
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 758
Likes: 26
From: INACTIVE
Without having been under my car in while, if I remember the rear control arm removal involved separating the arm from the ball joint on the steering knuckle, disconnecting the sway bar link and moving the tie rod away from where the control arm bolts into the subframe. That sound right? right
...did you end up removing the entire steering knuckle? If so, was that necessary because you can't get at the ball joint? yes
And did you end up replacing the ball joint from the knuckle? The ball joint service is tricky without a vice. So I bought two knuckles. I can replace the ball joints in my old knuckles at my leisure.
And it sounds like you replaced the bushings rather than just replacing the whole arm,meow much money did you save by doing that? $2000 savings in parts. I saved a total of $5,387 in parts and laborWas it worth it? Absolutely!
I might consider doing it that way because as you know, the ball joint is in the knuckle, not the actual arm. step #22 describes rotating the lower rear control arm to 0 or 180 degrees to gain access to the flat face of the arm. With a ball joint puller torqued a bit (not over 50lbsft). One wack on the flat face frees the arm without damage to the control arm, the delicate ball joint boot or threads.
...did you end up removing the entire steering knuckle? If so, was that necessary because you can't get at the ball joint? yes
And did you end up replacing the ball joint from the knuckle? The ball joint service is tricky without a vice. So I bought two knuckles. I can replace the ball joints in my old knuckles at my leisure.
And it sounds like you replaced the bushings rather than just replacing the whole arm,meow much money did you save by doing that? $2000 savings in parts. I saved a total of $5,387 in parts and laborWas it worth it? Absolutely!
I might consider doing it that way because as you know, the ball joint is in the knuckle, not the actual arm. step #22 describes rotating the lower rear control arm to 0 or 180 degrees to gain access to the flat face of the arm. With a ball joint puller torqued a bit (not over 50lbsft). One wack on the flat face frees the arm without damage to the control arm, the delicate ball joint boot or threads.
Last edited by superdenso; Aug 25, 2016 at 05:17 AM.
