markgs4

Those are definitely the characteristics of what I had before my repairs were done, though I was told that the majority of that noise (all the stuff you mentioned above) was created by the broken wheel bearing. Ive read though in other posts that the wheel bearings are pretty hard to break, but as Im not the orig owner of the car, Im not whether the previous owners drove the car hard before i bought it. In any case, I dont have the noise problems anymore, and they were identical to what you explained above.

UDel

How much do the wheel bearings generally costs and how much did it cost to have it fixed? Is there anything I can do or look for at home to make sure it is the wheel bearing that is giving me all these rattles, creaks, and groans? It almost sounds like it is something different like the creak/groan when going over speedbumps slowly and the faster rattle at smaller bumps at higher speeds but I can't be 100% sure. I am not that familiar in the suspension area of cars. The car is bone stock and has never been modified to my knowledge. It does have Pilot Sport ZR rated tires but I don't think that would make much of a difference and the previous owner said he was not hard on the car but then again most people say that. It did not make these noises when I first got the car for like the first month and I have not abused the car since I got it. Is there a way the previous owner could have temporarily hid the problem like with grease, wd40,etc so I would not hear it on the test drives?

ARISTO 161

iTrader: (3)

so ive been asking around, and it seems like the clunking noise is not from the bearing.
it has to be something else. because the sound isnt continuous, it is instantaneous

pianovt

Aristo,

Bad wheel bearings don't clunk, they make a continuous noise that gets louder if you go through a turn that puts a load on the side with the bad bearing.

Now, about the clunking: I have spent the last week or so working on this problem on my 2002 GS300 with only 30,000 miles. This clunking that my car had was not related to wear, the car is practically new, all stock, and was not driven hard.

The noise comes from the top strut mount area. I loosened the three nuts that hold the strut mount to the body, I also loosened the lock nut that holds the shock to the mount, and I loosened the bolt that holds the bottom of the strut to the control arm. I also found a lot of oily liquid under that black steel ring that sits on the body under the three nuts. That liquid got in there when the dealer washed the engine compartment to make the car look "new". After they degreased everything, they sprayed it all with some light oil to make things shiny. Really stupid, because it just attracts dust. Anyway, it's possible that the liquid made the steel ring slide a little on bumps, even though the nuts were at the proper torque. I don't really know if that's the case, I just cleaned all that stuff off. It feels like WD40, but without the smell.

Then I drove for about 5-10 minutes around the neighborhood listening to the various clunks and noises. It wasn't nearly as terrible as I thought it would be, considering that the strut was free to move around.

I did all this to let the strut settle in a place where it wants to be. Then, I tightened all the fasteners without lifting the car off the ground. So far the clunking has been gone for a few days. I am still waiting to see if it comes back. I have had a false alarm before about having fixed this noise before. If it doesn't come back in a month, I will declare it fixed.

If the clunking comes back, I will invest in a new strut mount to see if the mounts I have had a manufacturing defect.

ARISTO 161

iTrader: (3)

That sounds good ill check mine out as u did
ill give feedback

Kharizma

iTrader: (6)

i was plannin' on gettin' all the daizen suspension upgrades... i heard they're very good.. i also have this weird noise when going over bumps.. like something is loose? the dealer claims it's a loose brake spring, but i don't think they know what they're talking about 'cause i've been there like 5 times about the same noise.. and when going over some bumps with my front driver side tire, it makes a loud CLUNK noise??

pianovt

Kharizma,

I don't know much about the Daizen parts - I am keeping my car stock. From reading here, I did get the impression that the Daizen sway bar bushings might need constant greasing with a particular kind of grease to prevent some squeaks.

Regarding the clunking, the first thing I would check is the tightness of the twelve bolts that hold the sway bar to the car body. Some time in 2002, they changed the design and went to heavier bolts so they could tighten them harder. Those of us with the older design may have to periodically check for tightness. There are four bolts that hold the bushing clamps (two on each side). Those are usually not loose. The bushings are not clamped directly to the body. There is an intermediate bracket which is attached to the body with an additional four bolts on each side (8 bolts total for two intermediate brackets). Check those 8 bolts.

To expose all that, you will have to remove the large plastic cover under the engine. You will need a U-jont with a medium extension for a couple of the 8 bolts if you want to prevent the socket from slipping. Tighten to about 22 foot-punds. Lexus says to not use lock-tite or oil on the bolts. There is a TSIB somewhere on this site regarding this.

If that doesn't fix the problem, then I would look at the upper strut mount as described in my previous post. The clunking I described can be heard on very light bumps and at low speed.

If you apply the brakes very lightly while going over bumps, does the noise go away?

ARISTO 161

iTrader: (3)

Pianovt, this is rare to say on a forum but...

that was a good reply! very helpful, now i need to go check that well.. after it dries up from all the rain..

rjheard

So is the noise gone? I have had a "clunk" noise from the front suspension since I had my stock springs and struts reinstalled. It usually happens when I brake in reverse.

pianovt

rjheard,

Yes, the clunking on my car is gone! It had something to do with strut mounts, or with how they are attached to the body. I can't tell you if it's the lock nut that holds the shock rod to the mount, or the three nuts that hold the shock mount to the body.

There is little on the shock mount that can "wear out". The rubber can crack, but that isn't the case with my car. Try tightening that lock nut that holds the shock rod at the top as much as you can. If that doesn't do it, go through the whole process I described in the previous post.

My clunking was not related to braking. It is very common for the GS300 to make a loud clunking noise when you step on the brakes after changing the direction of travel from forward to backward or the other way. This is related to the brake pads shifting in the calipers. Here is a link to the TSB that talks about that:

https://www.clublexus.com/index.php/...ew/1940/1/176/

You can download the pdf document at the bottom of the page.

Check if all the stabilizer bar bolts are tight. There are a total of 12 bolts holding the bar to the bushings and the bushing brackets to the body. There are a few more fasteners holding the bar to the control arms.

One more place to check is the bolt that holds the lower end of the strut to the control arm. That bolt has to be tightened really well, I think the torque is about 120 or 130 lbft.

Good luck!

WillieGS3

I experienced this side to side floating feel while driving on higher speed last week. I checked my front end supension and nothing really loosed except for left outer tire rod is leaking grease and assumed that this is bad. Replaced them yesteday and did alignment...priceless parts and alignment $150. I'm back to a new car feel. nice and tight very responsive- side to side feeling gone. just wanted to share.

Kharizma

iTrader: (6)

pianovt - no, the clunking is still there even though i gently hit the brakes... (this is from the front)
i have another clunking, well, more of a clinking like something is loose that comes from the rear and yes, that sound goes away when i hit the brakes very lightly.

minla007

i get a pretty loud clunking noise when i put my gs in reverse....i can actually feel it under my feet....not sure what it is, but it only started to happen after i replaced my ball joints and outer tie rods

the clunk only happens in reverse, very weird...gonna take it back to my mechanic and have him re-tighten anything that may have gotten loose from when he changed the ball joints/tie rods

anybody have the same issues? clunk in reverse?

Kharizma

iTrader: (6)

never heard of a clunking while going into reverse...definately get that checked out asap

ARISTO 161

iTrader: (3)

it can be your brake pads, it might be your pads.
may be in need of greasing, its a high temp grease for breaks, break quiet or so its called. dealers should be putting that on the pads when u change them.
excessive noise also comes when pads are worn down with more room for movement.
but thats just one solution.

oh by the way, heres an update on my status:
new tie rod ends, new lower ball joints...
clunking was still there, then disappered, and havent heard it for a while.
i had a pro take a look at it, and they couldnt find the problem.
im guessing upper control arms since my car was very low before...
but the give on the upper joints is normal so were not worried about htem breaking, and plus, i dont hear it anymore... wierd.