Front Bushings, Ball Joints, Tie Rod Ends, Struts, Etc

[nikk777]

Just bought 4 new tires for my 94 LS400. (Kuhmo KH16 Solus on Ebay after much research on tirerack;$247 shipped) Wanted to have an alignment done but the shop would not do it due to problems with the driver side tie rod having too much play. Also have the bottoming out noise over small bumps and the struts are shot. Going to replace the struts with factory originals all around and need to fix the tie rod issue. Thought while I was into it this deep, might as well go a bit further and replace other worn items such as ball joints and bushings. I replaced the rear carrier bushings when I first bought the car so I know the challenges of removing bushings but the savings are worth the trouble. BTW, an air hammer works pretty well on removing the metal sleeve of the bushing when all else fails.

My questions: (part#'s are appreciated, any toyota cross references too)

1. What is causing the bottoming out noise? Strut cushion or something? Price? I saw one but it was $118

2. What bushings can I buy and replace and what is recommended? Strut rods, UCA and/or LCA? Where to buy them and price? Are Daizen the only choice? How do you keep the grease in to avoid squeeking?

3. Should I replace both outter tie rod ends instead of just the one? replace inner ones too? Price and place?

4. I think lower ball joints are a given. Price and place?

5. Do the struts come with upper shock cushions? I can't find them as a separate part# and figured it was a cheap add while they were out?

6. What else did I miss?

I would like to stay within $500

I have been looking around and found that forparts.com have tie rod ends for $25.10 each and lower ball joints for $52.29 each. A seller on Ebay has 2 tie rods for $42 and 2 lower ball joints for $66(shipping included in price). Are these of poor quality or something? The car is driven by my girlfriend who has 3 kids so safety is a concern but also this is not a car subjected to harsh driving extremes. Don't have tons of cash to blow but willing to pay for things that are worth the price.

[nc211]

Did...did...did....someone say AIR HAMMER????

Check out this link for parts...or drill down to lexus from www.parts.com for other choices. Eitherway, you'll find that if you go with oem from the get-go, you'll be much happier with not having to replace them again after you realize the aftermarket ones don't quite fit.

www.lexuspartsonline.com

the sites are pretty self explanitory.

[nikk777]

I beat and pried and pulled on the carrier bushings using hammers, 2 and 3 jaw pullers, c-clamps, hybrid c-clamp all with no luck. 5 minutes with the air hammer being as careful as possible not to go through the bushing sleeve and damage the housing and it was done. I knew I bought that 80 gallon air compressor for a reason!!! Love the pneumatics when I can use them. That, fast orange, and latex gloves are my best friends in the driveway. Oh and my creeper and stool to save my back and knees.

[nikk777]

Ok, went out on a limb here and purchased from forparts.com (Olympus) after talking to the guy on the phone. The tie rod ends and ball joints are made domestically by Carlon Industries?? and he's had no returns in 4 years of selling the parts. Totalled about $130 shipped wholesale priced. Guess we'll see what I end up with. Now to get the struts and such.

[nikk777]

Got the parts quickly. Installed everything this weekend. Fit was perfect. I took pics of the new parts if anyone cares. They are manufactured by Karlyn industries and are identical to the factory units coming off. $50 for ball joints and $25 for outer tie rod ends. Not a bad deal at all.

[Emerlin]

Got the parts quickly. Installed everything this weekend. Fit was perfect. I took pics of the new parts if anyone cares. They are manufactured by Karlyn industries and are identical to the factory units coming off. $50 for ball joints and $25 for outer tie rod ends. Not a bad deal at all.

Hi,

I went to the site but could not find the ball joints. Couple of questions... I know the right ball joints need replace... Should I replace them both? What other parts should I replace at the same time - bushings, rod ends, etc... Thanks in advance for any and all help.

[nikk777]

Go to forparts dot com and then go to lexus and select your year and model. Scroll down to suspension-ball joint and select the check box and done. You should find them. Call and you might can work out a deal with them if you are a shop. The shop wouldn't align my front end after putting new tires on because of a bad tierod end. My struts have been shot so I figured since I was doing the tierod end, might as well do both and since I'm doing that, replace the struts and ball joints while I'm at it. Ordered the sway bar bushings and control arm bushings from tm engineering to replace also but they didn't come in by the weekend so that will happen later. Got the struts from park place lexus, factory originals. You can rent the ball joint/tie rod end puller and press from autozone for free. Get the puller that looks like a "C" with a bolt going through the middle, worked great. If you replace both ball joints and tierod ends, you don't really have to separate the two from each other so you only have to use the puller on the balljoint. Good luck.

[DaSwede_420]

Replace it all, with factory lexus parts.

i replaced stock suspension with Tanabe lowering DF springs and tokico struts.

2yrs later...

My gs keeps making a loud "pop" noise

Is it possible for the struts to wear out quicker with lowering springs?

[billydpowell]

A few years back when I had a 94 LS, I used world parts with out any negative issues and their prices were very low.

Also I had used them several years ago for Lincoln Town Car front end parts..

see them here on ebay: http://myworld.ebay.com/ebaymotors/worldsuspension/

[killerFatty]

Replace it all, with factory lexus parts.

i replaced stock suspension with Tanabe lowering DF springs and tokico struts.

2yrs later...

My gs keeps making a loud "pop" noise

Is it possible for the struts to wear out quicker with lowering springs?

YES struts WILL wear out faster with lowering springs. Two years seems a little quick though. are you sure it is your struts making the noise? The Tanabe's lower about 2" right? That is quite a bit for a strut ment to fit in an oem spot.

[nc211]

Did you replace the strut mounts at the top of the struts? I didn't when I did my overhaul, and had a popping noise too when I sold it (the LS). Everything on my setup was new, all oem, all set to proper torque specs. The strut mounts had worn out, causing the pop. Never got around to fixing them.