Well, I wanted to wait until I figured things out, and it took almost 2.5 months, but I do have the answer . The answer is that the caster arm bushings did [drumroll] not fix my clunking. It seemed to have gotten better at first, but within a few days I had to admit to myself that the clunking (when braking and turning) remained. I ended up replacing the ball joints and tie rod ends, but the clunking still remained. I looked no less than 4 times at all parts of my suspension, both front and rear, but everything seemed real tight.

I was on the verge of capitulating and taking it to a mechanic, knowing full well that their approach would most likely be to throw parts at it until something fixed the problem (not my idea of fun, when I am the one paying for their experiments .) But just before I did that, I took the "desperate" step of what I should have done earlier - I took apart my front brakes, removed the pads, cleaned and lubricated everything, and put all the same parts back in.

The clunk is now gone! I should have known better, because about 2 years ago I was posting here about an almost identical clunk that went away when I replaced my Pep Boys pads with Akebonos; I just never considered that even though I still had the same Akebono's in place, that perhaps the brakes needed a freshening up of grease or whatever it was that solves the clunking. But whatever the gremlin was, cleaning and lubricating the pads fixed the clunk for me. I have been clunk-free now for over two weeks .

Obviously everyone's "clunk" is different, but in my case, the pads were the culprit.

 

Thanks, that is one more thing to fix now lol.


Why didn't you replace the other bushings? Or did you just not do the write up on that?

 

I did not want to increase the harshness of my ride, and I read enough to convince me that I wouldn't be happy with poly on the other control arm bushings.

 

Can you point me to where I can order all the TM busings for my GS300?

 

www.tmengineering.net

 

im sort of confused , on your 16th picture of the arm installed back on the vehicle . it looks like theres alot of space between the sleeve and the bushing . wont that make alot of rattle ??

just wondering since im about to order these bushings soon

thank you

 

It does look that way in the picture, but the bushing's inner surface is not cylindrical, but "hourglass" shaped. So it's tapered out at the ends (resulting in the space that you see), but it sits tight against the sleeve in the middle. So no rattles.

 

What is the plate attached to some metal rods that you take the bolts out of to start this job called?

I need to order a new one. Mine is rusted out on the right side.

 

Thanks for the DIY, this helps me understand the Daizen solution and where I can improve things. also the difference between the IS and GS chassis points. My suggestion for aligning teh two arm bolts would be to use a small bottle jack to position the arms and a brass punch to line up one hole while threading into the other. Brass so that it would not damage the threads at all.
Fig

 

Sounds like you are referring to the "Suspension Member Brace" in the lower right hand corner of the figure below(?).

 

YES!!! That seems to be it.

Thanks so much lyonkster. I really appreciate the help a lot.

Now the hunt is on for where to buy it LOL


EDIT: Found where it is on Sewell. Just waiting for a call back from them.

Thanks again man

 

Can I add a tip/trick/input here?

Putting the caster arm back on is a PITA.

I couldn't do it the way you said, with trying to mangle the arm to get it to sit just 'right' to put the bolts in.

What I found easier, was to take off the front hub, and remove the shock.

After you pull the caster arm off, get your bushing pressed out/in:
Unbolt the bottom of the steering knuckle (attached to the LBJ)
Unbolt the top of the knuckle from the UCA.

Remove this (take out your ABS sensor/brake caliper first)

Remove the Sway Bar bolt/nut from the endlink and unlink it.

Remove the shock (3 bolts up top, 1 bolt in the middle, 1 bolt on the bottom)

Attach the caster arm/brace plate, then jack up the lower control arm and align the bolt holes with the caster arm bolt holes, and attach the bolts. (clean the LCA bolts for the caster arm, mine were DIRTY and a brass brush cleaned up the threads and made it easier to put in.

Torque the caster arm to proper specs.

Put your shock back in. This is where it gets tricky! The new bushing actually made it harder to put the shock back in, even though everything else is removed! (I've removed the shocks plenty of times before the bushing, and removing the steering knuckle/just unbolting the UCA from the steering arm will make the shock pop in and out with ease, think under 30 min. for both sides total) You will have to really put some weight down on the LCA to get the arm low enough for stock springs/shocks to be put back in. Not hard, just gotta be prepared. Really helps if you have a second person to do the stepping, while you put in the shock and bolt it up.

Once you get the shock in, procede to put the steering knuckle back in and torque to spec.

Put the bottom brace on last, then go for a drive and realize how much BETTER the car feels and how nonexistent the vibrations are.


Also..this bushing did not fix my clunk. I've tracked it down to a worn endlink, which I need to replace next.

 

can probably get a aftermarket or a used one on here for cheaper than a new one. scour the classifieds

 

You're very welcome! But like skataj said, I'd be prepared for huge sticker shock for a new one of these; maybe give a junkyard a shot?

 

I just ordered it from the Lexus dealership 5 min away from my house and it cost $124

Kinda sucks but I guess I needed it.

The rod on the right side is completely rusted out for some reason.

This car with 207K is starting to cost me some $$$$
I'm starting to redo everything. BOOOOOOOOO!!!