Hello all,

I'm looking to purchase a 2010 ls460 sport model and had the vehicle inpected at a Lexus dealership. The inspection turned out great with the exception of the bushing starting to tear. The vehicle has 90k miles and the control arms are still in good condition. Has anyone in the Los Angeles area had the bushing replaced with aftermarket bushings with good results? What is the preferred brand of bushing and any independent mechanic recommendations? dealership wants $4k to replace all control arms and bushing but I only need to replace the bushings.

Thanks in advance for your help. Greatly appreciated.

 

Please search for "control arm" threads. Many folks here have replaced all 8 front CAs for less than 2K using after market components and DIY or indy shops. Some folks have replaced the bushings only, but you need a special tool to swap them out. Since the CAs have to come out to replace the bushings, you may be better off replacing the CAs rather than just the bushings.

 

As Comotiger pointed out, this is the most logical way to go about it. I did my entire front end (including shocks and sway bar links), for about 1500 bucks inc labor, at a local shop - and that was in Canadian funds.

 

I am in LA and I also want to replace just the bushing even the shop checked only 2 lower control arms are tear out.

 

Only two of mine were bad as well. But I figured for the price of removing those two arms (and ball joint), a few hundred more, I could replace all 8 arms and a few hundred more again, got me labour and a set of shocks. Now I won't have to worry about any of them for another 100k miles. Once they start removing a couple of arms, there's not a lot of extra labor, since they're already "in the area".

 

Just to echo the sentiments above, replacing the entire arm(s) are the best way to go about it, as you have to "hammer" the ball joint to get it loose from the knuckle and will almost certainly shorten the life of the ball joint.

If you want to entertain the idea of simply replacing the bushings, there are some on ebay and another company that has an excellent reputation regarding their bushing quality -- FIGS Engineering.

As of late 2015/early 2016, they only made bushings (Super Pro) for the UCA's. They use Mevotec CA's, keep the bearings, remove the bushings and place their SP bushings within the arm. They recommended Mevotec arms for the lowers, but again, as of the time frame stated above, they did not make bushings for the LCA's.

When I was thinking about going that route, the price was $385 for the arms with SP bushings placed within them.

Hope that helps a little. Keep us posted with what you decide to do and good luck!

 

Thanks everyone for the great information and feedback. I think i will go the route of replacing the control arms as well.

I have read through many of the threads and some of the members have found the aftermarket replacements to ride differently than the OEM. I think installation could be a big factor. Anyone have any good experience with a Southern California area mechanic who has actually performed this fix?

Thanks!

 

Would anyone be hesitant in purchasing the vehicle due to this control arm issue? I'm getting a good deal and everything else checks out fine. My only other worry is the airbag suspension but it's fine right now according to the inspection but who knows in the future. ARe they expensive to fix?

 

The CAs should not stop you from considering a good deal. Obviously, you have to factor replacement costs into the deal. The air suspension is an expensive fix, upwards of 3-4K. Some folks have replaced air with coilovers for less expense, but I don't know whether the suppliers (Suncore, for example) still make parts for LS460.

 

Mine doesn't ride any different with the new shocks or the new CA's. It's only "diiferent" in that it rides like new again. No slop or looseness anymore and everything feels nice and tight.

 

Chris, im wondering if the OP may be referring to the members who either DIY'd or had someone do it who failed to index the arms and making the vehicle ride higher and stiffer than it should...

 

Can't recall the exact comments i read but it was something to the extent that it did not feel as soft as OEM. Curious to know if anyone knows what changed in the future subsequent 2013+ models? did they redesign the control arms? If not, does this issue occur in newer models?

 

Aftermarket polyurethane bushings will "firm up" the ride substantially. Not something I would want to do on a luxury vehicle. I don't think the front suspension was redesigned but the control arm bushing material was probably beefed up.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to buy this vehicle because of the control arms, every car on the road eventually will be driving around with aftermarket suspension part, where there it be control arms, ball joints, or sway bar bushings and links. It happens very frequently.

As for the air ride, yeah that can be expensive, but there's aftermarket solutions for that too. But I will tell you parts are expensive for this car, and there are plenty of components on the car that aren't available aftermarket. Luckily the car is very reliable, but when something does break? Look out. Just three months ago I spent $260 on a blower motor - this is something that you'd expect to pay $100 dollars for - and that's just one little thing.