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Hi Aspect, the important ones are already in the diagrams above! I have lowered and raised my AWD a few times now and have had no issues over the past 2 years.
Hi Aspect, the important ones are already in the diagrams above! I have lowered and raised my AWD a few times now and have had no issues over the past 2 years.
Ok. If I may ask, how did you do the ones for the upper suspension arm? Those bolts are pretty much blocked by the strut so a torque wrench won't fit up in that space. Unless you take out the strut again to tighten those which wouldn't make much sense. Thanks
Loosen all the bolts shown in red in the diagram. The FSM says bounce the car a few times on each corner, then tighten all the bolts to the specified torque. This sets the bushings at a neutral position when the car is at normal ride height and minimizes the stress on them when loaded.
I cheat a little. I put the car on four jackstands, loosen the bolts on the corner I want to reset, put a jack under the knuckle and raise it until the corner just starts to come off the jackstand. I give it a little bounce, then I tighten the bolts on the corner I'm resetting. Move to the next corner and repeat until all four are done.
When you lower a car and fail to do this, the bushings are stressed at their normal ride height, and extra stressed when the car is loaded. This softens the bushing more rapidly because it is deflecting more than it should be. It can also lead to premature bushing failure, but it won't happen quickly.
Are you suppose to torque while the suspension is under load? or bounce suspension a few times and rejack the car in the air and then torque?
theres no specs for the rear "Link Sub Assembly,Toe Control ",hell its not even there but the ole on the carrier to receive it is there plain as day(Lexis Part No.:487653020) ? anyone know?
theres no specs for the rear "Link Sub Assembly,Toe Control ",hell its not even there but the ole on the carrier to receive it is there plain as day(Lexis Part No.:487653020) ? anyone know?
@bryceis250 Are you talking about the rods with ball joints at the spindle side? If so, which end? Looks like the ball joint end at the spindle is 52ft/lbs while the other end of REAR UPPER CONTROL ARE NO. 2, is 107 ft/lbs which seems a bit heavy,
Of course it doesn't help that the words don't match and one is missing parts. In short Tapered ball joint studs are not near as tight as pinch bolt. Rule of thumb is "if it stops turning it's stretching". Meaning, if you turn it more something will break!
@bryceis250 Are you talking about the rods with ball joints at the spindle side? If so, which end? Looks like the ball joint end at the spindle is 52ft/lbs while the other end of REAR UPPER CONTROL ARE NO. 2, is 107 ft/lbs which seems a bit heavy,
Of course it doesn't help that the words don't match and one is missing parts. In short Tapered ball joint studs are not near as tight as pinch bolt. Rule of thumb is "if it stops turning it's stretching". Meaning, if you turn it more something will break!
thanks FSport....yes, there are 2 ball joint type arms, which you have pictured in your first diagram from a lexus parts website, but you can see there is no spec for Ft.lbs in the diagram provided for suspension specs on the forum. indeed, you look at 3 or 4 different dealer websites or private vendors like say MLParts.com, and EACH has a different name for almost everything. this has been the most brutal time ive ever put in on a car. im seriously thinking about dumping the car all together. i spent a few hours trying to figure out why the nuts wouldnt thread back on to the ball joint type arms, the diagram says "single use part", could you explain that to me? so, back to Tractor Supply for the 5th time. the entire left rear is patched back together with tractor supply bolts and lock washers. i had no choice. thank you for the rule of thumb, although i don't entirely get it...a pinch bolt then is just a regular bolt? and the big fat flanged nut called a 'single use" tapered ball joint stud?
A tapered stud like a tie rod end ball joint has the same rule. Watch the nut, when it stops turning you are in the Elastic Stretch phase of a fastener. They don't stretch much so you have likely met the yield strength of the bolt which means it's likely exceeded spec and is compromised.
So keep this is mind. Most suspension bolts will be grade 10.9 or better. This is just for reference.
Metric Bolt torque chart... use this as guide only. But still, pay attention. Any fastener that stops turning is at yield and can break. A pinch bolt is like the bottom shock bolt. It pulls plates into pinch a component.
thank you so much! i confused you though and im sorry. the 2 tie rod like arms, they have fatter flanged bolts. the parts diagrams say its a "single use part"; i can only get these nuts half way up the shaft before it binds up and starts turning the actual arm. i put regular bolts on it and they thread all the way up no problem and is whats on there now. do i need to pay for these brand new particular nuts are they somehow special or am i ok with the generic bolts i used? i look at the threads of the bolt and all seems well and cant understand why they would be a "single use part".
ive got the struts on. my uncle did the passenger side and took it upon himself to CUT OFF those 2 little tabs that bolt the strut to the car....are these just for ease of install, or are they specifically there for vibration of some sort? the driver side (with all the bolt and nut problems), is fine and still has the tabs , but the passenger side is squeaking pretty bad. your time is so appreciated man, thank you !
thank you so much! i confused you though and im sorry. the 2 tie rod like arms, they have fatter flanged bolts. the parts diagrams say its a "single use part"; i can only get these nuts half way up the shaft before it binds up and starts turning the actual arm. i put regular bolts on it and they thread all the way up no problem and is whats on there now. do i need to pay for these brand new particular nuts are they somehow special or am i ok with the generic bolts i used? i look at the threads of the bolt and all seems well and cant understand why they would be a "single use part".
ive got the struts on. my uncle did the passenger side and took it upon himself to CUT OFF those 2 little tabs that bolt the strut to the car....are these just for ease of install, or are they specifically there for vibration of some sort? the driver side (with all the bolt and nut problems), is fine and still has the tabs , but the passenger side is squeaking pretty bad. your time is so appreciated man, thank you !
We are talking about the same thing. The nut has flange, the other side is a round end and is crushed to induce self locking...
Two ways to deal with these and you did one of them already. Install a non-locking nut and seat the tappered stud by tightening the nut. Remove the nut. Install proper self locking nut. 99% chance the stud stays seated.
The other option is to find a way to get a prybar on the rod and force the stud into the hole binding it via brute force, NOW tighten the nut.
I'm not following you on the tabs. Perhaps a picture?
Be sure to tighten all bushings while car is at normal ride height!
Why would you loosen a tapered ball joint? The thing rotates freely. There's no reason in the world to ever remove the nuts from those unless you are replacing the ball joint, and the only reason to do that is because it is worn out. The OTHER end needs to be loosened and reset, but the ball joint couldn't care less about the suspension's position, nor could it impact ride height in any way compared to a rubber bushing.
EDIT - I see where I put a red square around that nut. No, my mistake, and I am truly sorry. That nut never needs to come off if you're not replacing the link with the ball joint in it. Diagram post edited to reflect this.
Important to note also - many of the nuts are semi-captive. TIS says (contrary to standard practice in fastener tightening) to tighten from the bolt side. Do NOT tighten the nut, it will not work correctly. It should be obvious if you try to do this wrong, but I'm stating it here just to be crystal clear.
What about the front shock bolt? Chilton's says "remove the nut while holding the bolt". Can you confirm this is correct?
The nut has ridges on the mating surface to act as a locking feature, and the bolt flange is smooth. It has a 116lb-ft torque value, so I just snugged it tight-ish to put the car back on the ground temporarily before I unload and reset the bushings.
Old (top) and new (bottom) front shock clevis fasteners.
Last edited by ChpEng; 01-18-21 at 07:51 PM.
Reason: grammar
07-28-16, 06:54 AM
