Control Arm Repair

[bbunn1]

Well, FWIW, I just wrapped up replacing the left control arm bushings in my wife's 97 ES300. All in all, not as difficult as I imagined. The most difficult part was getting the control arm back on. Pressing the bushings in the control arm proved to be much easier than I expected. I just made sure I placed them in the freezer for several hours before trying to install them. Some molykote and a vise did the trick after that.

The reason for the replacement was a slight counter-steer that had developed when shifting from 2 to D. When it shifted there was a slight tug on the steering wheel. Upon inspecting the suspension I found the left control arm bushing was wallowed out pretty good and there was a lot of play there. I asked Lexus how much for a bushing and they told me I needed to buy the whole control arm, they did not have just the bushing...very weird! Anyway I was quoted $246 for the control arm. I called my trusty parts house and he could get me just the bushings for $45 the next day. I went that route and pressed it in myself.

The counter steer issue is gone and it handles much better. We had planned on getting the front end aligned anyway so I tackled the job of replacing the bushings myself knowing that we would get someone else to do the alignment later.

[Toysrme]

Killer =)

GJ!

[Maine92ES]

Where did you get the bushings? Were they rubber? How much time did it take to remove and reinstall the control arm?

Really curious, 'cause I need to do the same!