colfax

Hello everyone,

my 07 standard 460 now has 115,000 miles and all the original suspension components, my mechanic tells me some, maybe all, of the control arm bushings are badly cracking

so my question, since my mechanic does have a press and is thus able to install just new bushings in the original arms, is there real justification to forget that and buy all new control arms?

do the arms wear out and should be replaced with new bushings as a unit?

another question, although I do not now notice any pogo ing, and drive like the old man that I am, should I now also replace all the shocks front and rear, just because...?

and finally, how does one "preload" the suspension when installing components when the car is up in the air on a lift?

thanks for your thoughts!

Little

Most guys are using a urethane bushing kit from Armstrong with good results. No need to replace the control arms themselves. Also I would not touch the shocks and struts if everything rides fine.

As far as pre loading, I always lower the car and use a jack or blocking to get the car to just ever so slightly start to lift using only the suspension and then tighten to the appropriate specs.

colfax

ok thanks guys, so far I should not bother replacing the shocks and I also should not use "poly" bushings but because I cannot buy only the OEM bushings
therefore I would need to buy the complete OEM control arms, honestly I cannot spend that kind of money and would greatly prefer good quality aftermarket?

Armstrong is both maybe good and not so good?

and also so far replacing only the bushings is ok, the control arms do not need to be replace because they just don't wear out?

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

Mevotech uses the same ebay cheapies from china and just slaps their name on it , many of the other name brands you mentioned have mixed reviews also .

I just did mine 2-3 months ago and it took me forever to decide which brand to go with , I ended up going with the poly bushings from Armstrong and they rode as good as OEM, but I did only do my front lowers, not the uppers.

But as for me, if I was to do all bushings front and back, id go with the poly bushings 100%, they may ride a little stiffer im not sure, but at least you will know you wont have to re-do them again in a year or two.

PwrdbyM

Unless your shocks are leaking or show degraded mounts top/bottom then they likely don't need to be replaced. Would the car ride and perform better with new shocks at 105k, yeah it would as the originals have degraded from new. However there's no actual "need".
There's also no need to replace the control arm itself if there's no ball joint. It's a piece of aluminum and short of it getting bent somewhere along the way will perform for the life of the car. The bushings wear out and need to be changed. Folks recommend changing the entire arm because the aftermarket bushings are questionable on quality and OEM aren't available separate. There's also less labor involved with replacing the whole arm because you don't have to press bushings, but they add considerable parts cost. Find out from your mechanic if he's going to add labor charges for bushing pressing over just replacing the arms. The labor charge could cancel out the parts savings. Keep in mind soft aluminum can be damaged during the pressing process so use care with the arms if you go this route. My thought on failing aftermarket bushings is you have to question the install technique, including torque specs etc. I find it hard to believe bushings failed that fast but I suppose there's some really cheap stuff out there. Short of some non-branded ebay stuff I can't imagine a known suspension branded product being that bad. Will they last as long as OEM, probably not, but years and tens-of-thousands of miles is the expecation. The term loaded suspension is not exactly correct as it implies weight, though most people use the weight of the car to get the proper position which is where the term comes from. As noted above it's all about the position of the suspension when torqueing-however you get it there.

jdanielca

Your choice Armstrong or febest or a mix of that Aussie brand for the uppers and febest for everything else for a good mix

abs

I just picked up my first LS460L, it's a 2007 with low miles (15,000 ish). I noticed right away that the front struts were shot and I just replaced them. Based on experience, by 100k miles, even though the struts may be "serviceable" I am quite sure that new struts would enhance the control of the vehicle with the age and miles you have on yours. KYB aftermarket struts from www.rockauto.com can be had for a bit more than $100 each. I would replace them while you are doing the other suspension work. Do not forget to replace the upper mounts and dust shield at the same time. NOTE: KYB was the original manufacturer of the OEM Lexus struts, so their parts are very close to OEM in performance. My car is riding waaaay better with the new front struts compared to the original with the low mileage.

Next, with respect to the control arms, the Lexus replacement parts are very pricey, to me that is not an option I would consider, especially knowing that folks with 2010, 2011, and 2012 MY vehicles have had failures. The Lexus parts were improved in later years but the bushings are still a problem. The Lexus parts are so pricey that you could easily pay to replace the same part 3-4x and still be ahead financially, especially if you do your own work. Stay away from urethane bushings, e.g Armstrong. This of material type can ride hard, squeak when the lubrication wears off and I've seen posts showing them literally breaking down and squishing out from the control arm after relatively little use. This leaves just two remaining options. Option 1) go with aftermarket control arms or 2) go with aftermarket rubber bushings (Febest) and install those in the OEM control arms. The discussion about the ball joints on the control arms, e.g. the upper control arms, is non-trivial. Ball joints do wear out and may need replacing after 100k+ miles and you really do not want to have to replace the OEM arm with a new bushing due to a failed ball joint. So my recommendation is to simply get all new control arms. They are not that expensive! Check on www.rockauto.com and you will see a range of manufacturers offering them. I have seen manufacturers like Moog, AC Delco, Mevotech, Beck Arnley, etc. Plenty of options. So far we do not have a conclusive list, due to limited input from members so far, of which parts are best/worst by manufacturer. Pick a brand you are comfortable with and go with that. All of the brands I mentioned have a decent reputation. Also, one of our members now recommends getting the parts from Autozone or Advance Auto Parts so that if/when the part wears out they could easily take advantage of the lifetime warranty offered by those retailers. Something to think about for sure.

Something else to consider. Once you factor in the labor to press out the old bushings and press in the new bushings on the old arm, you'd might as well just spend a small amount more and get a completely new arm with a new ball joint. If the old arms are still good, you could always keep them and consider buying a set of Febest bushings and installing those in the original control arms so you have two interchangeable sets.

I hope this helps.

colfax

Yes sir, that helps a lot!

Thanks for all of the comments

based on this information, I intend to replace all 8 arms and both front and rear shocks for peace of mind

the only problem is I still have no good idea what brand and from whom to buy from....

abs

This is a great idea although I would not recommend Dorman. I have seen too many issues with Dorman parts across many vehicles although I do not specifically know how good/bad the Dorman LS460 control arms may be.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

I understand your logic, I considered going the same route but Even with a warrantee It doesn't make good financial sense to me.

How do you tell the mechanic that you want him to keep your car on the lift while you go argue with autozone for your free replacement control arms?

Those places almost never have those types of items in stock, so theres going to be a waiting period, the arms themselves might need to go back to manufacturer for examination before they issue new ones ……. its a total nightmare.

What if you only have one car? How do you go pick up your broken arms from mechanic and go back and forth to autozone?

Your best case scenario would be to buy a second set of control arms and have them swapped in, then try to get a refund for the first ones, but by this time your way in the hole from doing the labor twice and all the running around and hassle.

Really the only way to do it is to spend the money once and do it as best as you can , and im not bias at all to Armstrong or psb bushings, if there is a better product out there I would be 100% in favor of it, but from my research they seem to be the best of the bunch.

colfax

Hello again everyone, as the original poster of this thread thank you, I am learning a lot!

I am retired old guy now, have multiple cars and an AutoZone close by.
Therefore I am liking the idea of buying through Autozone, my mechanic is only one mile
away from AutoZone, I can leave my Lexus for the labor and Uber home in 10 minutes.

However, from the negative thoughts about the Dorman brand through Autozone forget that?

So now it seems I should just order from Advance Auto parts, the Moog brand?

Curious as there were no specifics, why exactly is Dorman from Autozone such a poor brand?

Thanks all, I'll keep reading and hope to arrive at some kind of buying plan!

From what you guys are saying it sounds like my plan with 115,000 miles on my original
suspension components would be to replace all 8 arms instead of just the bushings and
also go ahead and replace the front and rear shocks, just do it all at once.

jkittlesen

I have used Dorman products through the years, but only from the " HELP " section, go with Moog ...better quality in my opinion!

abs

Of the available urethane bushings, I like the ones made by FIGS the best. However, I still feel that a rubber bushing is a better bet for longevity, quiet ride and road isolation.

icon901

One thing to consider here, is the ball joints on the lower rearward control arms are nearly impossible to separate from the arms. If you're replacing those two arms I STRONGLY suggest going ahead and buying the ball joints as well (Febest 0120-USF40F : ~$80 + ship for the pair). Your OEM ones are likely badly worn at 115k miles, and will also likely be damaged while trying to separate from the arms. Much easier to remove from the knuckle and press in new ones.

I JUST went through this with my car (08/115k) and replaced all 8 arms. My poor mechanic buddy ran into a nightmare trying to separate them. We then had to order the ball joints, which took 4 days to arrive and left me carless for much of a week.

My .02.... YMMV.

ALK

Same here my old ball joints were shot at 225k . I got the Febest ball joint. Luckily my mechanic knew a guy that is a master at pressing,within 2 hours all is done .