I hit a HUGE pothole and ever since, I've been hearing this ticking sound when I drive over a bump. Long story short, turn out to be the upper ball joint. Now, I replaced the lower ball joints last year since it was a common issue, but the UPPER ball joint??


i broke "4"

 

upper control arm? my car has a slight tick as well, although not broken. I am thinking it is the bushings for the upper control arm. Even with carson/sewell discount they are like ~$300 a side.

How is it affecting your handling, if at all?

And what part of it broke?

 

Upper balljoints can be a problem on many cars as they endure a lot of stress also. Lexus is not immune to it either. Most of the time, a knocking sound can be associated with block shocks or worn out upper balljoints. You probably need to check out the balljoints yourself.

 

i wiggled the crap out of every suspension part and i wiggled the knuckle (the top part of 3), and the ball joint on the upper arm moves ever so slightly with a slight ticking noise so im pretty positive it is that. not to mention when i hit that pot hole the castle nut gave in.

 

# 4 is your upper control arm

 

it's the upper control arm with the upper ball joint built in

 

Do you know for sure it's the upper ball joint?

My car had a thump in the right front, it turned out to be the sway bar/sway bar end-link bolts! One nut was MIA and the bolt was loose. I also replaced the front strut bearings and the caster arms, since I already had them and the caster arm bushings are known to crack. Mine were pretty scruffy!

 

i took apart the entire front suspension the other day...I wiggled every suspension component, then took off the wheel, knuckle, lower ball joint, upper ball joint, tie rod, and the upper part of the knuckle slightly shook with a slight ticking (hard to describe...) coming from it and the part where the knuckle connects to the upper ball joint was it.

but end link bolt missing...thats scary.... loctite that sucker!

 

Coco-bun, did you replace the control arm yet? My 82,000 mile 2000 gs400 has a creaking sound from the front pax side. I notice it only when going below 30MPH over cracks in the street. I have to replace the front struts (OEMs are standing by) but I'm wondering if the arms are going to need it because the joint or bushings are starting to make noise. Didn't notice them making any noise when I replaced the lower ball joints. You think I'm just hearing the old struts?

 

dude, where are you in MN? I'm in the south burbs of the Twin Cities....Burnsville.

 

with so many parts in the suspension, it's really hard to say for sure. your best bet would be to jack the car up and start wiggling all the suspension parts. if any of them wiggle, I would look deeper.

 

unless the upper ball joint is torn, you can get away with not replacing the arm.

those arms are not cheap. just wait until the day when someone is parting out a totaled car, or when someone offers fully-adjustable ones for a reasonable price.

 

OK, thanks for the replies. I'll have the mechanic look at it when he's putting the Outer Tie Rods and Struts in.

McKrevice, I'm over in Farmington. You found a good mechanic for working on this beast yet? Every time I get the tools out my wife rolls her eyes and disappears into the house wondering why I like to punish myself. LOL.

How about the bushings on this part? Anyone out there found replacements that do not squeak in the cold?

Later, I'm going after deer for the next week.