kmasuda557

Hi guys (and gals),

I have a 2007 IS350 with 186,xxx miles (bought it used at 44k and 90% of the miles have been highway) and I've been having some suspension noise lately. It can best be described as a click (like metal on metal) that sounds like it is coming from the right rear. The noise is a single click and not continuous and it happens mostly when turning right and going over dips/bumps. I can somewhat force it by causing a weight shift (swerving quickly). At slow speeds, it still happens, but is not as loud. This car is running stock suspension and the only modification made is swapping sway bars to the f-sport. As far as I know, no maintenance has been done on the suspension, so that I'm sure isn't helping.

I've tried pushing down on each corner and pushing sideways on the car, but I can't reproduce it without driving. I cannot feel anything in the pedals or steering when the click happens. The shocks are leaking, but they still damp properly (not springy).

I'm at the point where I'm deciding whether to do maintenance (which I'm guessing will be a couple thousand at an independent shop) or just buy a new car.

Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing the noise or is there any quick things I can check? I do not have the ability to lift the car to look underneath. Also, what would be the estimated cost to have all "wear and tear" items replaced in the suspension assuming it all needs replacement? I know that is very open ended, but I'm trying to explore all options since new or used cars are very expensive and may come with their own issues.

Thanks in advance.

Aspect

If the clicking isn't continuous(symptom of bad CV axle) then I'd like to say that it's probably a ball joint going out.

Since your car isn't lowered, you should be able to look at your ball joint boot through the fender gap(area between fender and tire/wheel) and see if it looks worn or torn. If the boot is damaged, then outside contaminants might have gotten inside and caused premature wear. Unfortunately for our cars the upper ball joint is part of the upper control arm assembly, thus requiring replacement of the whole arm. I don't know how much it would cost in labor and parts but IIRC it does cost quite a bit from the dealer with OEM parts.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sus...ntrol-arm.html has some information on aftermarket arms which may be a cheaper option and can allow you to adjust the camber of the front tires to fix the uneven inner tire wear in the front while you're at it.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

I'd say get under the car with a pry bar and see if anything related with the suspension is loose. Check those sway bar end links!

If everything is nice and tight, it's perhaps a bad shock.