98 Ls400 Clunk

[laserron]

Hi All,

Need some expert advise here. Have a 1998 LS400 with 62000 miles on it. Bought it in July this year. The seller had the 110 point lexus inspection done on it. Showed it need strut bars.

Going in my driveway heard the rattle / thump. Replaced the 2 bars and did an alignment. All was guiet again.

4 weeks ago a clunk showed up on left front. Did some diagnostics to see movement in the lower ball joint and a sound almost like the clunk when I spread the ball joint. Great. Replaced the ball joint and realigned again.

Well guys the clunk / thunk is still there. Hear it occassionally on both driver and passenger side. Did not feel any movement on the upper control arm

Surely the struts are not worn out over 4000 miles or so??

ANY ideas suggestions to find out what it really is or how to find it would be appreciated.

I am fairly mechanically adept and would be willing to try whatever you suggest to dty to find/fix it.

Thanks for your help!!!!

[SKperformance]

Have you narrowed it down to a corner yet?

Did you lube your bushings such as sway bar and links?

Also make sure your upper strut mount bolts are tight

[laserron]

Both corners are doing it. Just went out a few minutes ago. Hard to tell but the clunk seemed to be high up on drivers side.

Another possible clue. Had it in for a tire rotation. Seemed as if the alignment was off after that. Left side of steering wheel down noticably. since been realigned and seems to be holding.

Good idea will check upper strut bolts

No squeaks like sway bar bushings. Much more meatier noise.

Thanks

Hi All,

Need some expert advise here. Have a 1998 LS400 with 62000 miles on it. Bought it in July this year. The seller had the 110 point lexus inspection done on it. Showed it need strut bars. 

Going in my driveway heard the rattle / thump. Replaced the 2 bars and did an alignment. All was guiet again.

4 weeks ago a clunk showed up on left front. Did some diagnostics to see movement in the lower ball joint and a sound  almost  like the clunk when I spread the ball joint. Great. Replaced the ball joint and realigned again.

Well guys the clunk / thunk is still there. Hear it occassionally on both driver and passenger side. Did not feel any movement on the upper control arm

Surely the struts are not worn out over 4000 miles or so??

ANY ideas suggestions to find out what it really is or how to find it would be appreciated.

I am fairly mechanically adept and would be willing to try whatever you suggest to dty to find/fix it.

Thanks for your help!!!!

←

[LexusLooker]

I'm in the same boat, so I'm going to lurk here. Had strut rods replaced about 5K ago, and I hear a clunk on either side, up high, and fairly far back - very likely upper struts. It's almost a rattle. I tried to do some lubing, but probably didn't get up high enough. I can't seem do be able to do it from the top. Good luck...

James

[highlander]

try and see the rack and pinion terminals... if they are worn out they will surely make that noise... or if they are not tight enough...

[cmmetcalf]

I have '99 LS400 with 67000 miles on it. Had klunk from steering on sharp compression such as driving over slightly raised man hole cover or over rr tracks. Dealer traced it to a bad lower steering shaft. Both bearings bad. Replaced it NC. No noise finally.

[laserron]

Sound is LOUD and seems to be getting LOUDER. No on all bumps but on the sharper ones.

I had my son jump on the front bumper while I listened. Seemed to be low down around the steering box area. Seemed to go from drivers side to passenger side. Also seemed to be from upper control arm on drivers side. Could have been noise coming up from the bottom though.

Will check the lower streering shaft by grabbing and wiggling it.

Thanks for the idea!!

[laserron]

Finally got fed up witht the clunk. Could make it do it all the time by jumping up and down on the front bumper. Seemed to be low down by the steering rack when under the car and also seemed to be above the tire when listening from there.

Car just spent two days at the stealer. Day1 phoned and could not find exactly where it was. Needed special diagnostics with microphones. Think money!! Spend several hours to find loose subframe bolts on the right side. Okay great!! When to pick it up and Whoops still clunks. Picture a 50+ year old man jumping on his front bumer in the service bay so they could ALL hear the noise.

Their expert was out that day. Next day (today) Called back with the latest news Upper strut bushings and struts. Sounds possible. Will pick it up tomorrow and we shall see.

On the good side: diagnostic fee taken off the strut and bushing price.

Wish me luck!!!!

[akewlguy]

That is funny. Hey you have to do what ever you have to do.

[laserron]

98_front_suspension.bmpFor all of you that have the clunk up front that seems to be coming from high up. goinf over sharp bump sounds as if the front end is falling off. IT was the spring bumper and or insulator in the attached picture.

Could not diagnose it myself and did not have time or inclination Got the stealer to do it. Both sides for $725 to fix it. Took off the $190 to diagnose it. So cost me 525 extra. They replaced support assembly and strut assembly. 48680-50100 and 48510-59106. Big difference now. Quiet and smoother ride.

Hope this helps all of you!!!

Laserron

[LexusLooker]

Hey Ron,

Thanks for the follow-up. I'm glad they found the problem and it's all quiet for you. That sounds exactly like my problem too. Probably just old, dried out parts. Thanks for your help.

James

[Celticfirelfy]

I have a 95 ls400 doing same thing. Clunks over bumps. So what is the most possible answer here? I have done a lot of front end work on it already. I'd like this to be the last thing I have to check and fix, not much left to replace that hasn't been already. The clunk sounds like struts are going to blow through the hood. Not Cool. Any suggestion is helpful. Going to look at spring bumper and insulator next. TY Susie

[billydpowell]

this is an old post from dec 2005... you may or may not get a lot of activity.

[TimBausch]

I also have a 'clunk' on my 1995 LS400 that seems to come from the front right. Here's what I've replaced: (1-3 I had done at a shop & did the rest myself).

1) Radius Arms

2) Lower control arms

3) Lower ball joints

4) Struts (the spring bumper was not in perfect shape but seemed ok)

5) Strut mounts

6) Sway bar bushings

7) Upper control arm (brand new so it has new bushings and ball joint). I replaced this because when I had the ball joint apart, and with the upper control arm bolts still tight, I could wiggle it and hear a little clunk in the front. I was sure that was it.

And still, the noise persists. I like how member Slvr99LS described it as a "decidedly un-Lexus-like sound".

Anyway, any insight would be appreciated. Celticfirelfy, did you figure out your issue?

[1990LS400]

The strut bar bushings on these cars rarely last more than 75,000 without causing noise, slopping steering and/or vibrations at highway speeds. How many miles are on yours? I had the entire strut rod assemblies on my 00 LS replaced at around 83,000 miles when they got really bad and the replacements are still holding up at 147,000 miles.

[TimBausch]

170k miles. But I think the "Radius Arms" they replaced are the same thing as the Strut Bars. Does that sound right? If so, then they would have replaced the bushings too I would think. (Moments pass)... Bushings are not listed on the invoice though. Hmm, I guess I'd better check those. They looked fine to me (for what that's worth) but I have not separated the lower ball joint and jiggled stuff around.

[1990LS400]

170k miles. But I think the "Radius Arms" they replaced are the same thing as the Strut Bars. Does that sound right? If so, then they would have replaced the bushings too I would think. (Moments pass)... Bushings are not listed on the invoice though. Hmm, I guess I'd better check those. They looked fine to me (for what that's worth) but I have not separated the lower ball joint and jiggled stuff around.

Yes, my understand is that, of the many terms used for this part, radius rods/arms is one of them. OEM strut bars come with the bushings already installed. The bushings are available separately - at least on the aftermarket - but the cost of pressing new bushings into existing strut bars can be more expensive than replacing the entire strut bar assembly. People have sometimes noted/complained that pressing aftermarket bushings into OEM strut bars have not provided very good results.

[Micah.Berry]

If you go with the OEM strut bars, make sure you install (or have them installed) properly. My 99 is making clunk noises again having changed the strut bars in May of this year. While underneath the car, I looked at the strut bar cushions, and the driver's side looks like it has a tear in it. In fact, the bar looks torqued to one side. I've probably gone 8k miles since the install. Took back to the mech, who swears he installed properly. He also aligned it after the install. The car drives straight as an arrow, and is for the most part smooth on the highway (well - up to 75 mph). But I know that it's just a matter of time. New cushions are on the way to be pressed in to the old bars that I kept. I'm tempted to try to install them myself using the tutorial on this site. Mech said he would install and realign (the one side) for $50. Also bought lower ball joints just for piece of mind.

[TimBausch]

Hmm, do let us know if that resolves your 'clunk'.

Yeah I also noticed the bars looked to be torqued to one side, but I just assumed it was because the car was jacked up and so the suspension was maxed out. Clearly, I'll need to do more troubleshooting, so I'll probably have to take apart the entire steering knuckle to single out the culprit.

My LS also drives like, well, a Lexus most of the time. But if I hit a pothole or even good sized cracks in the road, I can hear the clunk. It's really bad on a dirt road.

I didn't really want to spend my week off playing auto mechanic, but the noise is driving me nuts.

Anyway, I appreciate the dialog here. Hopefully we'll all be able to get our used cars riding like a $60k luxury sedan again. :)

[TimBausch]

Just back from a test drive. The noise is gone - almost.

I examined the whole front suspension and jiggled stuff and kicked and pounded on things and couldn't see any issues. Then I started poking around up top in the engine compartment. The little radiator reservoir, you know, the one with the radiator cap, is held on at two anchor points. One of mine is broken. And so knocking on it makes a clunking noise as it bangs against the wheel well. I loosened it and stuffed a sheet of packing foam underneath as a cushion, and put the one bolt back in. The air intake shroud thingy that runs above the radiator was also 'wiggle-able' so I put some cushion under that as well. Then I drove it over dirt roads and could barely hear my noise, and only sometimes at that. So I still have a little follow up to do I think, to make sure I've secured anything that vibrates or clunks in the engine compartment. But it is now much better. :)

[Rickles]

I, likewise, have tried everything. I have replaced the lower ball joints, struts, connector rods, all tie rods, sway bar bushings.......the only things I haven't replaced are the upper ball joints/a-arms, the strut bumpers/insulators, or the Strut bar or bushings. Because I get some minor vibration in addition to the clunking I am more inclined to think it is a smaller part, however, like everyone else neither I nor my mechanic can find anything loose.

I am probably an above average 'home' mechanic and this has got me stumped. My car is a 95 ls400 with 192,000.

I would love to get this resolved and there have been some great ideas provided. If anyone else out there can provide me with a solution, I'm listening. Thanks.

[Micah.Berry]

I haven't driven my car much lately. It's had a lot of time to sit in the garage. Anyway, this week, I tried to wiggle the upper control arm, trying to feel any play. There was none. I was really giving it the heave-ho, but I may not have been doing it by-the-book as the car was on the ground, and I was trying to make it move by hand.

I've purchased 4 new Michelin Primacy tires that will be installed Wednesday, and the shop is going to throw the new OEM lower ball joints on that I've got at that time, followed by a four wheel alignment. I tried pulling off the caliper, and the bolts were on TIGHT. Wouldn't budge. And of course, since then, there is a slight "tick" sound from the brakes, once they're fully warm, now that I've messed with it (unsuccessfully). So, I'll report a little later after I've tested it how the smoothness has hopefully improved with the tires, balanced, lower ball joints, and a four wheel alignment. I get an annoying little vibration at 75 mph. My car drives straight as an arrow, but I know that doesn't necessarily all is well with the alignment or suspension points. It's a weird vibration. As I go around some gentle turnpike bends at 75 mph (yes, officer - that's the speed limit ;) ) the vibration completely goes away sometimes. It's so buttery smooth it's ridiculous. And then, when I straighten out, the vibration slowly comes back. Weird...

My clunk issues have for the most part stopped... Another weird thing, but a good one! Bumps that caused clunks don't. I got one clunk somewhat recently, but that's been it for months now. Granted, I don't go around looking to hit potholes though.

I am very glad to be getting rid of the Goodyear Integrity tires. They are worn on the inside, and according to owner's reports on Tirerack.com, it's a common complaint. They're also pretty noisy at interstate speeds. Here's hoping the Michelins are better!

[Micah.Berry]

Just got back from the shop and a test ride of my 99 LS. Alignment was not badly off, but it was off nonetheless. I'm happy to report that the car is smooooooth at 80 mph with the new lower ball joints, alignment, and balanced, new Primacy MXV4 tires. I kept the old ball joints because I wanted to compare the stiffness of the joint with the new ones. With the new ones, I could barely get them to move using my thumb on top of the post, and pushing out from the center. Very stiff. The old ones had no tears in the rubber, but they are MUCH easier to move in any direction using the same thumb-push method. There was no up and down play in the old ball joint - at least that I could replicate by hand. I imagine this looseness had something to do with the weird vibrations that I felt. In addition to the smoothness, the car is much quieter at speed. In testing near 80 mph, I was traveling with the wind, reducing ambient wind noise so I could hear the road noise. With the HVAC off and the radio off, road noise was nicely muted, much nicer than before. Those tires were expensive, but if the quietness holds as they age, and they wear well, I would GLADLY purchase them again.

[PHIL L.]

hello all, been a long time since I have been here. I have a 00 LS400 with around 158,000 & still dig it. I have had the clunk way back. I had strut rods, upper control arms and ball joint done years ago and it was fine. I seem to be geting it again... I seem to think its more on a sharp bump when hiting the brakes and slowing down. IMO strut rods again. I also have and have had the clunk in the steering. I found it to be a joint @ the firewall. I need to have this done to and showed it to my mech but he said its a dealer part and doesnt want to touch it. So I find the clunk in the front end to be as the tire is on the up not going down. Like going over a crub for a drive way. Any place to get OEM front end parts for a good price? Thanks peeps.

[BentBrain]

Partsgeek & autohausaz or the dealer lol.