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Control Arm confusion

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Old May 23, 2013 | 08:35 PM
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Default Control Arm confusion

My bushings are shot so I figured I'll take the easy route and replace the control arms in the front. Now I'm sure 94-98 lca fit on a 99 SC300 right? What about the the upper control arms? I gotta get proper SC uca right? i wanna order these soon as i got coilovers wating to be installed
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Old May 25, 2013 | 01:34 AM
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bummppp i just wanna know if supra upper control arms fit on a 99SC300
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Old May 25, 2013 | 08:28 AM
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It's virtually the same. Our crossmember are the same. It should be the same.
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Old Sep 20, 2013 | 12:46 PM
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Default Upper Control Arm Supra SC interchange numbers

I had a heck of a time finding any other articles to confirm these numbers but here is what I came up with. Front Upper Control Arm 92-2000? Left Supra 48630-19025, Left Lexus 48630-29046 (formerly 48610-29045), Right Supra 48610-19025, Right Lexus 48610-29046 (formerly 48610-29045). These should be a direct interchange and I will be doing this later next week. I will post to let you know how the Supra Upper Control Arms fit. Anyone else that can confirm this would be great.
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Old Sep 20, 2013 | 03:40 PM
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The lower ones have been confirmed, the upper ones should fit but I don't remember anyone saying they do 100%. most of the time the upper control arm isn't replaced as usually it is the lowers that are shot.
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Old Sep 21, 2013 | 11:28 PM
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heck i had a hard finding about it too. I just got some stock bushings from lexus of sewell. Cheaper and didn't wanna take the risk of finding out the hard way. Though i still would like the anwser to be confirmed for future reference. So please let me know!
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Old Oct 5, 2013 | 05:24 AM
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Alright did my front upper and lower control arms yesterday. I purchased Dorman upper control arms that are designed to fit Sc400/300 and Supra and they are a direct fit [ATTACH]Control Arm confusion-front-suspension-pictures-004.jpg[/ATTACH]Control Arm confusion-front-suspension-pictures-001.jpg
Some posts I read said they were a different size but the pictures tell the story. Also found this file with interchange part numbers, keep in mind on my earlier post that some of the part numbers have changed. Bottom line these are a direct interchange and Supra upper control arms are a direct fit. The only reason I got the Dorman uppers was price. $130 for both delivered you can't go wrong. Supra and Lexus OEM upper control arms are just sky high no matter where you get them. The ride quality, response and tracking on my front end are absolutely night and day after the repair. My bushings were shot but more concerning was all of the ball joints were completely shot. Hope this helps and good luck.
Attached Thumbnails Control Arm confusion-front-suspension-pictures-002.jpg  
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Last edited by dogwisper; Oct 5, 2013 at 05:48 AM. Reason: Readability
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Old Oct 5, 2013 | 08:07 PM
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Default Uca?

Dogwhisper, Did those Dorman uppers come with bushings and the ball joint?
Were your bushings and ball joints shot or just the ball joints?
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Old Oct 6, 2013 | 05:20 PM
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The bushings were probably in bad shape 10 years ago so they definitely needed to come out.
What I don't hear a lot of people talk about are the ball joints which were like a PlayStation joy stick...extremely loose. I knew these needed to be done a long time ago but the problem was the cost and it was a bit of a pain in the back getting both of the rear lower control arm bolts out. I ended up cutting the back bolts out. Bottom line is the ball joints were more of a concern from a safety and handling stand point then the bushings. My car has 180,000 miles on it and they are said to go bad around as early as 50-70,000 miles so if you have that kind of mileage I would just change out the complete uppers and lowers. Also the Dormans come with the bushings and ball-joints. If you shop them by the part numbers there are some retailers that are giving extremely good deals on them.
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Old Feb 14, 2014 | 12:23 AM
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dogwisper, do you happen to know if these are cast iron like the early control arms or cast aluminum like the later UCA's found in 97-00 SC's and 97-98 MKIV's? And you have no complaints since installing them?

Thanks for pointing this out to us!
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Old Feb 17, 2014 | 02:11 PM
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The Dormans' are definitely aluminum, almost no weight to them. Still working great. I got a wheel alignment a couple weeks ago and really tracks and steers nice now. Only problem is I will probably need new springs sometime but will probably hold off until I can put in some coil overs and tires and wheels.
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Old Feb 17, 2014 | 10:06 PM
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^^ Thank you dogwisper! I'm glad to hear we have an affordable and good aftermarket solution now!

And yes, I agree that if you are in need of new springs it makes the most sense to get a spring/shock combination or a coil over kit.
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Old May 27, 2014 | 07:00 AM
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I can confirm 100%, you can buy supra lower control arms. I just replaced mine this weekend, with 1995 Supra (TT or NA doesn't matter) LCA for my 99 SC300, and they fit perfectly. Another plus is the Supra LCA have stiffer bushings than stock SC300. You can buy them at Toyota of Richardson ask for Marvin, or Call Fred at Pat Lobb Toyota of McKinney, both great guys.

Another couple of notes, if you are doing it your self, mark the position of the eccentric bolt going through each bushing, this is the alignment marks. When tightening the bolts, make sure to jack up the assembly under the ball joint to its natural position, as if the wheel were on the hub and the car on the ground. Bushings have memory and need to be tightened in this position.
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