hswa41

Lexus LS400 1997 310,00 kms. Notice clunking noises when traversing uneven pavement speed bumps etc. Sounds similar to a loose fixing.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Welcome to Club Lexus.

The FAQ would be my recommendation for reading. In this particular instance the top two links in the suspension section.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...questions.html

Superfast1

Check the bushings on your front control arm strut rods. I bet they're shot. You can buy the whole left & right assys or just buy the bushings if you have the press or have a shop that have a press to press the old ones out & the new ones in. I'm a car guy & do most of the work myself so I bought my press at Harbor Freights & it paid for itself in 1 repair. Good luck.

spuds

Great advice.I'll remember that next press job.

Superfast1

Here's the strut rods, bushing part #'s & torque settings for the re-installation. These are for the 2nd gen 95-00 LS only. 1st gen 90-94 may be different so double-check.
OEM front strut rods 4866040021 & 4867040011 or buy OEM bushing 4867440051

Strut bar torque settings:
Lower shock nut 19 mm at mounting bracket 116 ft lbs
Inner shock bracket 17 mm bolt 43 ft lbs
Outer shock bracket nut 83 ft lbs
Strut bar 19 mm nuts (qty 2) to bracket 121 ft lbs
Strut bar bushing 22 mm nut w/ alignment disc 134 ft lbs

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

don't forget to check the sway bar endlinks as well.
they are easy to overlook since most folks here always go straight for the strut rod bushings (which is most commonly the culprit).

Superfast1

Fyi, I have gone through 2 sets of OEM strut rod's bushings on my 97 (counting the factory installed as the 1st set). Each set last 100K miles (about 10 years interval for me) under normal driving condition. These bushings see tremendous amount of torque from the twisting motion being induced on them, much more so than the bushings on the upper & lower control arm's bushings. In facts, at 250K miles, the left & right UCA's & LCA's bushings on mine are still original. I guess these heavy duty rubber bushings can handle the up & down expansion & compression much better the twisting & shearing action.

EthanS

I believe you, and that is yet another testament to how incredibly durable these cars are.
HOWEVER, the lower control arm bushings on my 1999 were absolutely toast at 175k miles. I mean, they disintegrated away in to almost nothing when I removed them from the front subframe.
I could tell by how they would wiggle and make noise that they were bad, but I was shocked when I actually got them removed at how far gone they really were.

Moral of the story: do your homework on ClubLexus, but always investigate YOUR car for for it's unique issues. At 20+ years old, your car is not everyone else's. No two LS400's will be exactly alike anymore...

Losiracer2

My LBJs were done and had 1/4-1/2" of vertical play at 253k, as were the sway bar to body mount bushings. I could slide the front sway bar side to side when the car was on the ground.

My D/S LCA bushing failed at 275k as did my upper strut mounts. The shocks were still holding a charge and original though, but I opted to replace since KYBs were only $75 each with a lifetime warranty at Autozone.

my UCAs are still original at 295k and don't have any slop.

Superfast1

Yep, I couldn't agree w/ you more. Every car is different due to the driving habit, road condition, weather & etc... which will play a big part in the longevity of the car's components. Based on our experiences & a wealth of info from the members here on this forum, we can proudly & convincingly stated that by far, our Lexus LS400's are one of the best cars ever made.

spuds

One of the best cars Ive ever owned.Never had a daily driver with these miles,245.xxx and can do 100 mph.