roadfrog

As some of you are aware, I replaced all of my shocks as well as ALL (8) of my front control arms, ball joints and sway bar end links last year. All parts from Rock Auto. Everything was great,,,EXCEPT for an odd creaking, clicking noise when turning the steering wheel, that repeated trips to the local shop (Kal Tire) could not pin down. I gave up and decided to live with it for a while. Well, I'd had enough of it this past week and decided to try my local Fountain Tire (Goodyear Tire) shop who do a lot of suspension work.

They had for most of the day and determined that perhaps one of my ball joints and sway bar bushings were at fault. They said they lubed up the sway bar bushings suspecting that that it would remedy the issue until I replaced them. As soon as I drove off the lot, the noise was still there. I turned around went back in, and took the shop owner out for a drive. He heard the noise right away and said to pull it back into the shop. They were already closing and the shop was locked up, lights out etc, but he and the mechanic were determined to make things right and joked that "a Lexus should not make those kind of noises and that the earth may plummet into the sun if they didn't fix it." lol.

So there I was 10 feet in the air turning the steering wheel, making the noise I was referring to while they stood underneath. An air hammer here and a ratchet noise there and 5 minutes later, I was driving off the ramps. The mechanic and owner were smiling and said "see you in the office and we'll explain".

So......the culprit? Rocks.

Yep. What was happening was that rocks and gravel that were caught between a metal shield and several suspension components, were getting dragged and caught exhibiting the popping and creaking noises. Sure enough, the noise is gone. 60 bucks later (and no need to replace the "possible" failed Febest branded ball joint).

Based on this experience, I left a 5 star Google review and a promise to the owner that I would bring my car to them for any future issues I decide not to DIY. They went above and beyond.

The end.

JLAWS

Congrats, I know you are truly relieved and enjoying the car even more now that you don't have to hear and think about that noise anymore. I know the feeling. Yeah sometimes it the simplest thing that could have made you spend a lot of money for no reason. I had a creaking/rubbing noise when going over dips in the road. I thought I had bad strut mounts but it turned out to be creaking sway bar bushing. I caused the noise shooting silicone spray on them to prevent cracking etc. The silicone fluid between the bushing and sway bar caused a rubbing noise. Got a new set of rubber ones for under $20 shipped. Easy install, noise gone and better handling.

yyymmm31

Thank you for sharing the discovery and the useful information. It's good to know that aftermarket control arms from Rock Auto proved to be working fine. And also the good folks at Fountain Tire deserve a 5-star rating for their persistence in finding the cause of the problem and getting it fixed.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

I wish the local Lexus dealers here in central NC had the same opinion of their cars!

Kennyr44

I changed all my control arms, shocks etc. about a year ago. A couple week ago I started hearing a suspension noise in the right front. I was not happy but when I lifted the car up on my lift I found a bolt was missing from my bumper cover and it was banging around. Sounded just like a suspension noise. Big relief for me.

ccbcc

Had a similar story: one day wife drove the car back home with some noise from the wheel of the back driver side. Took the car to the dealership and got back within 20 mins. Reason? A pebble got into somewhere in caliber/brakepad. A pebble worth of $160.

roadfrog

I'm going to order a pair of new sway bar bushings "just cuz". Then EVERYTHING will be new.

FWIW, I found it interesting that only one of the two end links I got from Rock Auto had a grease fitting. Must have been a mid run change at the factory. Thought I'd mention it.

fwhomeboy

I'll be getting my 2008 L this week. it has 105K on it but, it's had alot more maintenance done on it than your had. Oh well, fingers crossed. Thanks for all your input to this group.

johnnyg66

That happened to me too. Than i checked i ordered the wrong part number for one. I later swapped out the non grease one for a grease one.

Kennyr44

roadfrog

Don't worry about it. It'll be great. And remember that pretty much any repairs and parts if needed, will be manageable if you stay away from the dealer.

Indeed.....made that mistake once and wouldn't get poly again.

jdanielca

rick3242

Same thing happened to my tundra - a pebble wedged between a heat shield and exhaust system.