91 Lexus Ls400 Front-end Creaking

[AlmightyLexus97]

My friend's 91 Lexus LS400 while going over a dip, train tracks, etc.....etc... OR when sitting still and turning the wheel the front end creaks.....What could this be?

[CanadaCraig]

Hi AlmightyLexus97!! :)

VERY likely - all that noise is caused by dried up old sway-bar bushings. Your friend should [at least] have those looked at.

Craig!! :)

[jzz30]

i second that notion. those dry up and squeek and its the most irritating thing in the world!!!

[AlmightyLexus97]

if they are dried up what can be done about it?

[1UZ-FE]

actually, i have a 94 LS and my car does the exact same thing. it comes from the front end and only when giving the steering wheel input of somekind. i used to work at the local lexus dealer here in raligh, nc (johnson lexus) and got to know some of the techs pretty well. i noticed this creaking noise b4 i even bought my car a few months ago. when i heard it, i was on a test drive by myself and decided to drive to the dealer. i saw a tech that i knew walking around and asked him if he could help me figure out what this noise was. i drove really, really slow and turned the wheels back and forth and when the car made the noise, he immediately said "upper control arms". he said they are really expensive to buy and a b*tch to put on. he said i shouldn't worry about it, its not gonna make a wheel fall off or anything and if the noise gets annoying, turn the music up.

hope this helps

[jzz30]

well my quest to get rid of that noise went from lower controll arm and ball joints to strut arm bushings to upper controll arm, but that squeek only went away after i changed the sway bushigns. and i think it was only 20 bucks or something like that. and if it doesnt get rid of it you didnt spend money like me so feel happy. but my car is as smooth and tight as new :D

[AlmightyLexus97]

in all how much would you estimate this problem would cost him to be repaired?

[jzz30]

who?

[AlmightyLexus97]

today while driving the car that creaking sound couldn't be heard but it had rained earlier so this brings me to ask is it possible to just grease these things real well and it be a temporary fix?

[lex4me]

Swar bar bushings are very, very easy to replace (two bolts that are easily accessible hold them on - about five minutes in work from start to finish). Lexus part #48815-50122 for my 91 - $10.04 each at Irontoad.com. List shows $12.55. After 130K on my 91, the driver side one looked somewhat worn, but the passenger side looked okay. I changed them both out regardless.

[AlmightyLexus97]

and this stopped the creaking?

[LS400er]

Would appreciate if you can mention the procedure to replace the sway bushings. It would be great if you have pics.

Thanks.

[lex4me]

I didn't take pics of that when I did the job, but just look for the metal bar that runs from one side of the car to the other. It should be attached to the frame by two clips. On my 91, I believe the clips were held in with 12mm bolts. I just removed the two bolts on each clip, pulled off the old bushing (it is split), put the new one on, replaced the clips, and tightened the bolts back up. I keep going on various week-long trips in the middle of my project, so I can't vouch for the difference that replacing these make (the car has been up on safety stands for about seven weeks). I actually would have trouble vouching for the difference anyway, I suppose, since I am replacing every single wear item up there anyway, from control arms to bushings to tie rods and ball joints. I expect the car to drive like new when everything gets buttoned back up.

[AlmightyLexus97]

how much are sway bar bushings and what exactly are they?