REFERENCE: 2007 LS 460, base model

I went to discount tire last week to get 4 new tires. -Michelin Primacy Tour A/S $265 ea from Discount Tires. I was going to go to Costco but in SoCAL, costco would have to order the tires. Then I would schedule an appointment for weeks later. I couldn't wait longer.

While Discount Tire was installing tires, they tried to upsell me. They couldn't do wheel alignment because my lower control arms need to be replaced. They also called out front brakes and rotors to be replaced as well.

I did my front brakes last night. Rotors looked good. I replaced the pads only. See the pics below.
I think my control arms look good also.

Total cost for Discount Auto to replace 2 front brake pads, rotors and lower control arms is $2,000. yeah that much. They charged $345 for each lower control arms. This is in addition to about $1,400 I paid for the new tires.

What Discount Auto got me was the throttle body and fuel system cleaning- $140. The manger told me they hooked the intake line to a machine. I thought it was going to be a computer machine. NO. it was a plastic IV bag with chemical hooked up to the intake. I could have done it myself. Something like this
I asked the manager if the mechanic was going to hook it up to the machine. He said yeah, did you see the bag with the hose? that's the machine.

The car did drive smoother afterwards. For $140, it better be.



Discount Auto says the bushing look worn. that is how they tell the control arm is bad.




existing rotor on the left. I am reusing the existing rotor. The rotor on the right is the wrong rotor sent by Bell Lexus. I am returning that one. I ordered 2 front rotors but received wrong parts. It turns out I didn't even need new rotors.

 

Front control arms on the LS460 are a well known stress point on the car. If those are the originals on a 2007, they likely are on there way out. Your pictures don’t show the bushing (rubber end) of the arms very well, and that is the area where they usually wear out first. I have a 2007 with 108,000 miles and I have just noticed clunking over bumps, and squirrelly steering which tells me I have one or more that are junk. Ordering all eight aftermarket arms and doing it myself. Cracking, torn, or missing rubber, or a loose fit, are signs of bad bushings.
Good Luck

 

If you replace any arms or ball joints, an alignment will be necessary. On our car it entails adjusting frame/bolts as part of an alignment. I suggest you go to an indy shop that has expertise with Lexus cars for the alignment as many aren't familiar with the proper procedure. If you have records on the car, look for control arm replacement in the history. If not, it's likely they are on the way out. Lots of posts here to search about control arms especially pre '13 cars.

 

Thanks, I bought this vehicle used at 135K miles. Now it's at 160K miles. I believe previous owners had control arms replaced. All of them. I couldn't find it in the service history but I did not hear any clunking when buying the car.

I replaced the front 2 shocks about 2 years ago. I got them off of ebay. There was some clunking after I replaced the shocks. I went to the dealer and was told the control arms need to have bigger size bolt, instead of 1", it was 1.5" something like that. They replaced bolts and no clunking heard since.

 

Here are more photos. I think this is what you were looking for?

 

Still somewhat hard to tell, you likely got taken for a ride though since that lower shock bushing looks fairly centered and not too beat up.

 

Thanks, it rides fine. no clunking sounds. Quiet. I believe Discount Auto is trying to upsell.

 

Agree with striker; hard to tell from pics. The critical wear, and concern with the bushing end of the control arm is the interface between the rubber in the bushing and the metal of the control arm, as well as the interface between the rubber and the metal sleeve within the bushing that houses the bolt at the frame. The rubber bushing offers some designed flexibility, but any slop is unacceptable. Torsion and decay degrade the rubber over time and cause slop. Sometimes hard to see. In some cases it’s only exposed by applying torque to components during inspection to reveal the slop. The good Indy mechanics I’ve had over the years would invite me under the car on the rack to see the offending parts and fully explain defects before replacement. Maybe a second opinion with evidence is your best next step? Sorry I can’t see more from the pics.

 

I asked my mechanic today. I provide the parts. For labor he's asking $780 to replace these per side.
-lower control arm + ball joint+ upper control arms

both sides would be $1,560, labor only.
Front 2 wheel alignment is $100 additional.

I then found the video here:

PART 1 - 2007 Lexus LS460 - 4.6 - Lower Control Arms Replacement

there's a part 2 as well.

How do we get these videos stickyed?

 

It really shouldn't cost that much if you are doing all of them. Look up the book time for knuckle replacement per side and use that, there is no reason to replace the knuckle ball joint unless it is failed.

It's a very easy job. You can do it in your garage at about two hours a size....

 

another video i found

 

There are existing stickies about control arms in FAQ. This subject has been discussed at length multiple times.