Wondering if anyone knows what this problem might be. When I brake, doesn't really matter the speed, I hear a thump about 1-2 seconds later. Like something is falling forward because it's still moving till it hits a wall or something.

Thanks in advance.

 

my lower control arm bushings are shot, and i get a clunk when im pointed up hill and i hit the brakes, probably your control arm bushings too. im getting ready to install my new bushing kit in my car soon.

 

the same thing happens to me. it just started happening recently, but it might also be the fact that i havent bolted down the amp in my gutted trunk.. sounds like its from up front though? i'm going to change the bushings soon anyways. worn bushings dont exactly hurt the car does it?

 

I'm wondering what condition your engine mounts are in... how many miles do you guys have on your SCs?

 

front lower control arm bushings.

If your SC has over 150k on the odo just save yourself a headache and buy new control arms so you can get new bushings AND new ball joints. If you do a search you'll see where I've discussed this in great detail over and over again.

 

I rather not replace the whole arm if the bushings are replaceable. That's why they make gaskets and bushings and stuff because it's a given that they get worn and you just replace them instead of replacing the whole engine or arm... =)

Will this solve my problem?
Daizen Sport Tuning Polyurethane Control Arm Bushing Kit


http://www.tmengineering.net/suspens...n/make/sc.html

Also, I don't understand all these options... which one is lower which is upper? Can someone point me out to the right one... otherwise I'll just call them. Or should I get the bushings from Carson?

Here's a copy and paste from TMengineering:

Year Model Type Part No. Price
92-96 Lexus SC300/400 Front *S1-2002 $99.95
97-00 Lexus SC300/400 Front **S1-2002A $129.95
92-00 Lexus SC300/400 Front ***S1-2004 $189.95
92-00 Lexus SC300/400 Rear S1-2003 $159.95
02-04 Lexus SC430 Front S2-2002 $99.95

Thanks for the feedback.

 

you need either 1 or 3, kit 1 is showen small bushings are for the upper control arms, bigger bushings for the lower ones, metal sleeves go in the upper bushings, and you use the stock sleeve in the lower bushings in the new poly bushings. kit 3 requires the bushings to be pressed in. both kits 1 and 3 are a complete kit for the all the front control arms.

 

Well, that's up to you...I tried to advise you but sometimes it's best to learn things on your own. When you're doing this repair again in less than a year because your ball joints have completely gone out you'll wish you had just replaced the entire arm and done the repair job correctly the first time.

There will always be someone who will make something cheaper and faster than the next man, does that mean it's better? No. There will always be people who want a cheap fix so there will always be other people who make products to fill that need, again, does that mean it's the best route to take? Usually no.

I'll try to explain the math on this again (for the millionth time). The Daizen bushing kit will run you $100 plus about $400 to get the kit installed (torching out and pressing in new bushings). That's a total of about $500-$600 for the job. A pair of new control arms will run about $450 from Carson Toyota. Plus another $150 or so to have them installed. So that's about $600 total for that job. You might be able to get the bushings done for slightly cheaper but so frickin' what, you still haven't addrssed your ball joints which are probably on their way out too. Do you want to pay for the same labor twice within a 12 month period?? Once now to put in new bushings and then again in less than a year to replace the control arm? It's up to you.

I highlighted the part you most likely need.

 

I wholly agree with the above thread. If you order the Lower Control Arms from Carson, tell them what you're doing, and go the Supra control arm route. The bushings are slightly stiffer, but they are otherwise identical to the SC's, and cost easily half as much. I'm sure the $450 price referred to these, because you'll pay that much APIECE for the the SC LCA's. I did choose to replace just the bushings in the front UCA's (and the steering rack as well). Don't forget the Vlamos option (out of Australia - great bushings!) I wouldn't go with the urethane, because even if they outlast the rubber, they tend to require maintenance (grease) to keep them from getting noisy, and they are noticeably stiffer that the originals.

Unlike the front suspension, in which your LCA's bear the brunt of the workload and stress, the UCA's in the rear are the first to cause problems. The same issue applies as far as the ball joint whether it's front or rear. Why replace the bushings on a mechanical (moving) part with a ball joint that has that many miles on it already?? Makes very little sense to me. The rear suspension has multiple conrol arms - not just UCA and LCA like the front. It's like, rear UCA, rear front LCA and rear back LCA I believe. gonna replace one, replace 'em all.

Engine mounts? Yep, rubber. If your into the 6 digit mark on your odo, check them too. It's about $600 give or take to have the dealer replace them with OEM mounts. Did it last fall.

Lots of info and opinions out there on this, but I believe that to do it right for the long term, replacing the whole control arm is a must if that control arm has a ball joint! Good luck.

TJ

 

Ok I'll get the whole arm.

 

In your front bumper is a little black box for the alarm. mine came unmounted and thumped around in the front bumper for a while before i stuck it back in place.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I've concluded that it is the LCA since I get weird clunking noises when I hit bumps sometimes and the steering goes crazy as well.

 

I replaced my steering rack bushings with Vlamos about a year ago and they solved my steering issues. It was actually an easy install and drastically improved my steering response, no more dead spot.

If you want to change your motor and tranny mounts buy them from Iron Toad and try doing it yourself if you're able. There's a tutorial on CL somewhere that shows how to change the tranny mount, takes like 30 minutes and is quite easy. Motor mounts are a different story, but still not terribly difficult.

Like TJ said, get the Supra front lower control arms (93-98 is the year you want I believe, double check to be sure) from Carson and you're good to go.

Doing things right from the start will save you tons of headaches and money down the road man, trust me, I speak from experience

 

Yeah I just talked to Gordon's back-up at Carson Toyota, I forget his name, but it's 225/ each + tax for the Supra TT LCA. He knew right away that I was probably upgrading my SC arms. He said it should bolt on perfectly. I'm probably gonna buy them when I get paid Monday and try to install them myself, or do you think I should have a shop do it?

 

I replaced my arms with new ones from Toyota.

Then I got the clunking noise under braking.

Other members suggested to tighten the hell out of the lower control arm bolts.
This fixed the problem.