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Ls400 Rear Carrier Arm Bushing Replacement...do You Need Pics?


jaed2

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Hello everyone. I just replaced my carrier arm bushings this weekend (with lots of help from JZZ30, THANK YOU!). Bushings (ADUS 505) were $75 for the pair (shipped) and the dealer wanted to charge me close to $600 for this fairly simple job. If you are even reasonably good at DIY, you will save yourself a lot of money! :D

The tutorial that jzz30 provides is great and you can see it in the tutorials of LexLS.com as well as here. However, i had initially had some confusion about taking the old bushing out and putting the new ones in. these steps aren't detailed in that tutorial and I know some people had expressed some interest in seeing the reinstall, especially since the old bushings are somewhat different from the new ones. For example, I was previously unaware that the old ones are in metal sleeves which need to be cut out (or pressed out) and that the new ones are not and basically stick out of the side of the carrier arm sleeve when installed. Much of this became obvious when I did the job, but these pictures might be helpful if you're having doubts. I took some pictures of the job last weekend that details the reinstall and I would be happy to share these pics if anyone is interested. If you're about to do this job and are unsure as I was, this might be helpful. I can tell you though that the dealer was right about this diagnosis and that they were definitely COMPLETELY worn out. I initially only half believed this since my car only has 50,000 miles. However, it is 12 years old and it's now obvioous that they just cracked and deteriorated over time. They were on only with a thread of rubber! Jzz30 guided and helped me a ton and I'd like to return the help to others if i can. Let me know!

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I am going to do mine. yes, please post pics and steps.

Hello everyone. I just replaced my carrier arm bushings this weekend (with lots of help from JZZ30, THANK YOU!). Bushings (ADUS 505) were $75 for the pair (shipped) and the dealer wanted to charge me close to $600 for this fairly simple job. If you are even reasonably good at DIY, you will save yourself a lot of money! :D

The tutorial that jzz30 provides is great and you can see it in the tutorials of LexLS.com as well as here. However, i had initially had some confusion about taking the old bushing out and putting the new ones in. these steps aren't detailed in that tutorial and I know some people had expressed some interest in seeing the reinstall, especially since the old bushings are somewhat different from the new ones. For example, I was previously unaware that the old ones are in metal sleeves which need to be cut out (or pressed out) and that the new ones are not and basically stick out of the side of the carrier arm sleeve when installed. Much of this became obvious when I did the job, but these pictures might be helpful if you're having doubts. I took some pictures of the job last weekend that details the reinstall and I would be happy to share these pics if anyone is interested. If you're about to do this job and are unsure as I was, this might be helpful. I can tell you though that the dealer was right about this diagnosis and that they were definitely COMPLETELY worn out. I initially only half believed this since my car only has 50,000 miles. However, it is 12 years old and it's now obvioous that they just cracked and deteriorated over time. They were on only with a thread of rubber! Jzz30 guided and helped me a ton and I'd like to return the help to others if i can. Let me know!

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Hello everyone. I just replaced my carrier arm bushings this weekend (with lots of help from JZZ30, THANK YOU!). Bushings (ADUS 505) were $75 for the pair (shipped) and the dealer wanted to charge me close to $600 for this fairly simple job. If you are even reasonably good at DIY, you will save yourself a lot of money! :D

What symptoms did you experience that caused you to do this fix?

Joe

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Actually the only "symptom" was the dealer! When the car was in for the 50K service, they told me they were torn and rotted. I hadn't really noticed anything previously, but i've only had the car for about a year and I guess i didn't know how it should drive or what it should feel like when new. It still felt good to me.

However, I will say that having done it, the back end feels much more solid and less "flimsy" if that makes any sense. Especially when i make a turn, the back end to me feels more together and like it is with me instead of floating vaguely. I also had a SLIGHT rear end vibration at higher speeds which seems to be gone now.

All these good feelings might just be placebo, but I feel like there is a difference. I can tell you for sure though that these bushings were definitely past their prime and the dealer was right on that. When i post the pictures you'll see.

Hello everyone. I just replaced my carrier arm bushings this weekend (with lots of help from JZZ30, THANK YOU!). Bushings (ADUS 505) were $75 for the pair (shipped) and the dealer wanted to charge me close to $600 for this fairly simple job. If you are even reasonably good at DIY, you will save yourself a lot of money! :D

What symptoms did you experience that caused you to do this fix?

Joe

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Ok...Here are some pictures in sequential order. I will post more detailed instructions in a bit or if someone requests. one thing that i didn't do that was in the previous tutorial was remove the entire rear strut bar. I only removed the end that was attached to the bushing i was replacing. I then just let the carrier arm pin it down a little...BUT DON'T RIP THE BUSHINGS IN THE TOP OF THE STRUT ROD! I don't think this is bad, but i may be misinformed, so you may want to remove the whole bar.

Something to keep in mind that if you use a sawzall on the old bushings (to cut the metal sleeve after pressing out the old metal center from the rubber... see the jzz30 tutorial), BE VERY CAREFUL!! I cut farther than i wanted to and even though it wasn't enough to cause any problem, i still wish i hadn't done it. It is hard to maneuver in there! make 2 cuts and then get your screwdriver in there to detach it. don;t go crazy with the SZ and cut through your carrier arm.

Another thing to keep in mind but is easy...put both ends of the new rubber bushing into the carrier arm hole before sliding in the metal center. Remember to use grease in there....I used Green Grease. you'll see how i do it in the pics but this is the easiest way because the metal insert expands the rubber slightly.

pics should be fairly self explanatory, but please feel free to email me with questions.

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Ok...Here are the instructions from left to right, top row to bottom row. pictures are 1-12.

1) this picture is taken from beneath the car and shows me with a wrench on the nut and a socket wrench on the bolt. bolt will screw out. This was AFTER i loosened the nut with a breaker bar. these things are on at 136 ft/lbs. THEY ARE HARD TO GET OFF! step on the breaker bar or hit it or something to get it moving.

2) This is a picture of the old bushing before i pressed it out using the tools borrowed from Pep boys (see Jzz30s protocol if its unclear how to do this with the 2 jaw puller). This part is easy and when you pop that metal center out, it is a good feeling and you can see how rotted it was.

**Also notice how these metal-sleeved bushings are different from the ones that you will put in. First of all they have a metal sleeve that you see me about to sawzall in the next pic. (The new ones don't have this). Also notice that on the old bushing there is no rubber on the outside of the housing which will be there with the new bushing (see pic 12). This made me nervous when the manual and others said it needed to be torqued to 136 ft/lbs because the strut rod "clamp" or "cuff" was pushing against metal in the old bushing and now it is squeezing the rubber. I'm curious what others think, but however you do the new one torque it on tight!**

3) Getting ready to sawzall. BE CAREFUL AND TAKE YOUR TIME!!! If you have a 33mm circular piece of metal like the punch that jzz30 made, use this. I had nothing that was 33mm and would work. sawzalling will work fine.

4) Here i've made the cut and am placing a screwdriver between the old metal sleeve and the carrier arm housing. i first used a smaller screwdriver and hammered it between them. Then i took the bigger screwdriver (pictured) and pryed it out. Very easy once it is freed.

5) here is the old metal housing. See how it's been pryed? wish i'd taken a picture of the inner metal tube with cracked rubber all around it, but you get the idea.

6) time to get the new rubber bushing in! Grease them first (rubber and metal in and out) as well as the carrier arm housing where they will go in. I used Green Grease. It was expensive but is supposed to be waterproof and good stuff. I want to keep these bushing for a while. here is a far away picture so you can get a perspective of what i'm looking at. now to zoom in...

7) push the rubber in on one side and then on the other

8) same pretty much as 7

9) holding one end of the rubber (see my fingers), slide the metal center from the left to the right (in picture) until it's centered. easy.

10) now things get slightly trickier. see how the strut and carrier arm don't exactly line up? yeah, I had to really push to get these back together. if you can, wedge yourself in the wheel well between the back on the wheel well and the carrier arm/brakes. It seem counterintuitive, but you're going to kind of push down and forward on the carrier arm assembly while simultaneously holding that bolt in the proper place (see pic 11) so that when they line up, the bolt goes right in and secures them together. This my friends, takes a little muscle and effort, but luckily for me was the hardest part.

11) this is me positioning myself in the wheel well and aiming the bolt to slide in while i pushed. See step above on grunt work.

12) You did it! Now get your torque wrench and put it all together. See how the rubber is now on the outside of the carrier arm housing and the strut rod cuff unlike the factory bushing (picture 2)? This made me a little nervous torquing it so tight. I didn't get quite to 136 ft/lbs, but it was on there REALLY tight and the rubber seems to have survived. (Knock on wood it holds...) Really didn't want to tear it but maybe my concern is not valid. Factory specs say 136 ft/lbs. so do what you think.

Hope this helps people! take those $525 dollars of profit and buy yourself something nice.

Need i suggest you MUST have your car on jack stands NOT JUST A JACK FROM THE TRUNK? Do this job only if you feel comfortable. Most importantly don't hurt yourself and be safe when working under your car!

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12) You did it! Now get your torque wrench and put it all together. See how the rubber is now on the outside of the carrier arm housing and the strut rod cuff unlike the factory bushing (picture 2)? This made me a little nervous torquing it so tight. I didn't get quite to 136 ft/lbs, but it was on there REALLY tight and the rubber seems to have survived. (Knock on wood it holds...) Really didn't want to tear it but maybe my concern is not valid. Factory specs say 136 ft/lbs. so do what you think.

Fear not, the metal sleeve you pushed into the center of the rubber bushing is where the arm is clamping down on, torque away! So a 33 mm arbor would push/pull the old bushing sleeve out, or more precisely, a 33mm poly bushing is what they are using as the insert? I have turned down skateboard wheels (!) and made bushings for other projects, how hard are the replacement bushings, like plastic hard or like skate wheel hard? Just curious....Great write up!

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Hi Pishta,

In regards to the strut rod cuff clamping down on the inner metal sleeve, that's what i thought would happen but it didn't!

I know this for 2 reasons. The first is that i could actually see the cuff pressing into the rubber and the second was that the more i tightened the bolt, the more green grease that squeezed out from the bushings (see picture 12). Let me know if you still think otherwise, but it seems to me like it's crushing the rubber and not squeezing against the inner metal...maybe they're supposed to squeeze the rubber tight?? It's not the way it was originally...

To press this out you would have to used something metal, it would have to be thick and very close to exactly 33mm. that metal sleeve is in there tight. Look at the punch that Jzz30 made that can be seen in his tutorial. That is what you need. I tried a bunch of things that were close to 33mm including a stack of 33mm washers and they just crumpled in the 2 jaw puller. To press out the metal outer sleeve that attaches to the housing PLUS the rubber and metal center you would need a punch like this. (see my pic with the screwdriver? instead of prying this out part out, the 33mm punch would just shove that outer metal housing out. If your asking if the new bushing is 33mm, then the answer is yes. Without that old metal sleeve out of the housing the new one would never get in there. Hope I'm answering that question correctly.

I would say the new bushings are somewhat softer than a skateboard wheel. They feel a little pliable, but in no way feel like hard plastic. There is substantially more rubber on the new bushing than the old one which should in theory make a it a little more comfortable. I would be pretty hesitant to use skate board wheels here :)

hope this helps!

12) You did it! Now get your torque wrench and put it all together. See how the rubber is now on the outside of the carrier arm housing and the strut rod cuff unlike the factory bushing (picture 2)? This made me a little nervous torquing it so tight. I didn't get quite to 136 ft/lbs, but it was on there REALLY tight and the rubber seems to have survived. (Knock on wood it holds...) Really didn't want to tear it but maybe my concern is not valid. Factory specs say 136 ft/lbs. so do what you think.

Fear not, the metal sleeve you pushed into the center of the rubber bushing is where the arm is clamping down on, torque away! So a 33 mm arbor would push/pull the old bushing sleeve out, or more precisely, a 33mm poly bushing is what they are using as the insert? I have turned down skateboard wheels (!) and made bushings for other projects, how hard are the replacement bushings, like plastic hard or like skate wheel hard? Just curious....Great write up!

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Hi fisher972002,

I didn't replace those bushings but did seriously consider it before starting the job (I bought replacements and may do it at some point). However, I didn't really get a good look at them as I never removed the whole strut rod. I was fairly confident that they were still in good shape for a couple of reasons.

a) When i pinned them under the carrier arm the way you see in the pics, they were "fighting" to get back to their normal position. If these bushing were ripped, torn, or hanging on by a thread the way the carrier arm bushings were they would have just sagged and not bounced back.

B) I'm sure the dealer would have loved to have told me that those were rotted too but they didn't! That also led me to believe that they were most likely OK.

However if you do remove the entire strut rod (do some call this a trailing arm?) and find that yours are rotted, I'm 99% sure the replacement part for this is ADUS 5056TA. Maybe it's a good idea to replace them anyway if you have it off. hope this helps!

Jad2

Were you radias arm bushing bad at all.. The ones on the other side of the arm that are circular? Did you replace those also

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Ok, Thanks..

I did the drivers's side last night.. Not too bad.. I am in the middle of the passenger side.. I just drilled out my old rubber around the metal sleeve.. Then took a jig saw with a metal cutting blade and made two slits in it and hammered a small/medium screwdriver and the metal sleeve just popped out.. That's the way to do it, easy... no 2 jaw puller or nuthin1..

I put back together the drivers side and tried twisting the rod and it is much stiffer.. Mine was fighting back also so I see what you mean.. I think my radius arm bushing are ok also..

Can't wait to drive to see if this fixes my slight rear end vibration...

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I suppose it's true that you can do it all with a jigsaw or sawzall, I probably didn't even need the 2 arm, but rented it from pepboys envisioning that I would get a punch. It was still useful for pushing out the center. Your idea was probably better. Hope this fixes your rear end!

Ok, Thanks..

I did the drivers's side last night.. Not too bad.. I am in the middle of the passenger side.. I just drilled out my old rubber around the metal sleeve.. Then took a jig saw with a metal cutting blade and made two slits in it and hammered a small/medium screwdriver and the metal sleeve just popped out.. That's the way to do it, easy... no 2 jaw puller or nuthin1..

I put back together the drivers side and tried twisting the rod and it is much stiffer.. Mine was fighting back also so I see what you mean.. I think my radius arm bushing are ok also..

Can't wait to drive to see if this fixes my slight rear end vibration...

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I put back together the drivers side and tried twisting the rod and it is much stiffer.. Mine was fighting back also so I see what you mean.. I think my radius arm bushing are ok also..

Can't wait to drive to see if this fixes my slight rear end vibration...

Another observation: Look at the angle in pic 1 and then the angle in pic 12. See how the OEM bar is not perpendicular to the through bolt? Can the new bushings allow that angle? It looks pretty big compared to the crushing replacement bushing. Im looking for a reason to change these but I think mine are still good, can turn the trailing rod about 10 degrees with lots of resistance, I dont think you can turn yours at all with those retro bushings, can you?

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I noticed that too and I think it's a good observation. You lose that "play" in the new bushing since the clamp is now clamped to the rubber and thus the carrier arm. This sort of makes them almost "connected". The rotation that was there before is probably lost to some degree, but the bushings i think are pliable enough to allow some play. I think the rubber in the OEM bushings was stiffer, so there may not have been as much play as it seems. More flexibility in the OEMs is probably a result of their deterioration. When i was removing the bolt that holds the strut rod to the carrier arm, it was flopping around like crazy as i wrenched. If all the rubber deteriorates i would imagine that strut bar goes clanging around back there as it moves back and forth in the carrier arm housing.

The reason i think the new ones are designed this way and the other problem i suppose with putting in new OEM style bushings (if they were even made) is securing a new bushing in there without it sliding out. If it weren't in tight the way the original was, it could come loose and could cause a problem of it once again was clanging around loose. The sides that now stick out of the housing on the new non-OEMs keep them put around the clamp and in the housing.

Pishta, if you're OEMs still feel really stiff then maybe you should wait. Mine were undoubtedly wobbly and I could tell when i went to take out the bolt just how bad they were.

I will say that i drove the car a good amount this weekend to test the new front ball joints and strut rods and the back end feels completely smooth and solid. I also had a shake in the steering wheel that i got at about 60-70mph that is now totally gone. Can't say if that's from the new front end parts or the rear bushings though. should have driven it on the highway before doing the front end stuff.

-jaed2

I put back together the drivers side and tried twisting the rod and it is much stiffer.. Mine was fighting back also so I see what you mean.. I think my radius arm bushing are ok also..

Can't wait to drive to see if this fixes my slight rear end vibration...

Another observation: Look at the angle in pic 1 and then the angle in pic 12. See how the OEM bar is not perpendicular to the through bolt? Can the new bushings allow that angle? It looks pretty big compared to the crushing replacement bushing. Im looking for a reason to change these but I think mine are still good, can turn the trailing rod about 10 degrees with lots of resistance, I dont think you can turn yours at all with those retro bushings, can you?

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I noticed that too and I think it's a good observation. You lose that "play" in the new bushing since the clamp is now clamped to the rubber and thus the carrier arm. This sort of makes them almost "connected". The rotation that was there before is probably lost to some degree, but the bushings i think are pliable enough to allow some play. I think the rubber in the OEM bushings was stiffer, so there may not have been as much play as it seems. More flexibility in the OEMs is probably a result of their deterioration. When i was removing the bolt that holds the strut rod to the carrier arm, it was flopping around like crazy as i wrenched. If all the rubber deteriorates i would imagine that strut bar goes clanging around back there as it moves back and forth in the carrier arm housing.

The reason i think the new ones are designed this way and the other problem i suppose with putting in new OEM style bushings (if they were even made) is securing a new bushing in there without it sliding out. If it weren't in tight the way the original was, it could come loose and could cause a problem of it once again was clanging around loose. The sides that now stick out of the housing on the new non-OEMs keep them put around the clamp and in the housing.

Pishta, if you're OEMs still feel really stiff then maybe you should wait. Mine were undoubtedly wobbly and I could tell when i went to take out the bolt just how bad they were.

I will say that i drove the car a good amount this weekend to test the new front ball joints and strut rods and the back end feels completely smooth and solid. I also had a shake in the steering wheel that i got at about 60-70mph that is now totally gone. Can't say if that's from the new front end parts or the rear bushings though. should have driven it on the highway before doing the front end stuff.

-jaed2

I put back together the drivers side and tried twisting the rod and it is much stiffer.. Mine was fighting back also so I see what you mean.. I think my radius arm bushing are ok also..

Can't wait to drive to see if this fixes my slight rear end vibration...

Another observation: Look at the angle in pic 1 and then the angle in pic 12. See how the OEM bar is not perpendicular to the through bolt? Can the new bushings allow that angle? It looks pretty big compared to the crushing replacement bushing. Im looking for a reason to change these but I think mine are still good, can turn the trailing rod about 10 degrees with lots of resistance, I dont think you can turn yours at all with those retro bushings, can you?

Good to hear, just wondered if the stiffer bushing transmitted any more vibration. My front lower ball joints were worn and after putting in new ones, it was night and day, UCA's are next for me. Thanks!

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Bravo,

My rear end after shock replacement was still a little swaying over larger bumps.. The rear carrier arm bushing replacment really improved my sway in the backend.. I replaced the sway bar bushing a few months ago and that didn't doa nything.. The old ones weren't wore out though..

I'm with you J.. My old bushings were so shot that when I unwrencehed the bolts, the whole arm twisted...LOL... They were so soft.. Now they are solid and the rear end feels much better...

I didn't have the vibrating when braking, but I just replaced the rear brakes... Wow , does the car handle much better..

I replaced the front strut bar cushions, that didn't do anything...... I think those are more of issues w/ 95 or newer LS's...

But for the 1990 -1994, the weak points in my observations are...

1. Lower ball joints in front.. Those were really shot and the car wandered a lot.

2. Rear carrier arm bushings.. Lots of improvement here, of course only if yours were as shot as mine.

3. Front stabilizer bar bushings.. They just get hard and are cheap and easy to replace...

4. Upper control arms..Mine are shot and I haven't replaced them yet, this is next...

But I tell you, my car drives so much better.. I can't blame the car, it's a 1991 with 170K miles on it and those things are just going to wear out..

I can't believe the dealer charges $600 to do the rear carrier arms bushings.. LOL.. That's funny...... If you guys don't have an impact wrench, get one of those 1/2" Huge Long Breaker bars and a 12 point socket 19MM.... I had to use a 12 PT socket because I just had the car jacket up, I don't have a lift' and with a 6 point My arms were swinging soo much I couldn't get more than half a turn because I would't line up on the bolt and a 12 point I can slowly remove it, does that make sense...

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Pishta,

I think the carrier arm bushings, the round ones connecting to the frame will take up any vibrations and my lexus dealership said lexus doesn't even make replacement rear carrier arms bushings anymore and they used the ones we used.. the ADUS 505 bushings, so really you don't have any choice, but don't worry about vibrations, this is a good fix for about 2 hours of your time and only $66, lots of bang for the buck here.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Pishta,

I think the carrier arm bushings, the round ones connecting to the frame will take up any vibrations and my lexus dealership said lexus doesn't even make replacement rear carrier arms bushings anymore and they used the ones we used.. the ADUS 505 bushings, so really you don't have any choice, but don't worry about vibrations, this is a good fix for about 2 hours of your time and only $66, lots of bang for the buck here.

Well, found a set on craigslist for 40 bucks for 2 pair, left and right. Cheap enough to not pass up, even if I don't NEED them. I got them in the mail, and I am really dissapointed that these cost more than about 10-15 bucks! I mean, if they do the job, great, but SOMEONE can make these for pennies on the dollar and still clean up at 15 bucks a side. Allow me to point out the basics:

1. They are polyurethane, that means they are made of skateboard wheel material, and the old soft style at that! Around 80a durometer as fas as I could tell by squeezing them.

2. The pin is just Turned steel, I don't think the diameter or wall thickness is special, but the length and bore must be through bolt close and strut rod yoke wide.

3. Get yourself 4 48mm 81a solid skateboard wheels, ( bust out those old skates in your closet!) no deep dish or fancy insides, about 15 bucks shipped on Ebay. You can even get pretty colors! Turn them down and drill them out like my dimensioned drawing on a lathe with a wicked sharp bit.

4. Find some pin material, like spacer stock or thick wall hollow rod (metal supply or make your own) Make sure its diameter is 22mm or larger than the bearing race in the wheel. Drill the id to the bolt diameter. You can make the diameter any size that is convenient, just match the bore of the bushing material with a snug fit.

5. So: Get a machine shop to make you about 20 pins, buy 5 sets of skateboard wheels and spend an evening behind your lathe and sell each set for 15 bucks. Then move on to other LS bushings, simply, no?

6. Want it cheaper, buy 1 ADUS 505 bushing set. Make some plaster or silicone molds of the ADUS bushing and buy some 2 part polyurethane casting resin. At 75a, its very close to the ADUS softness (maybe a little softer) Pour a few dozen and get your pins made and bag'em in sets. Sell to all members of us.lexusownersclub.com!

Well, maybe not that easy, but why are these so expensive??? They really are not that special, but if they get a 45,000 dollar car (new) back to factory ride, maybe we are not the people to talk to about penny pinching....

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Pishta,

I think the carrier arm bushings, the round ones connecting to the frame will take up any vibrations and my lexus dealership said lexus doesn't even make replacement rear carrier arms bushings anymore and they used the ones we used.. the ADUS 505 bushings, so really you don't have any choice, but don't worry about vibrations, this is a good fix for about 2 hours of your time and only $66, lots of bang for the buck here.

Well, found a set on craigslist for 40 bucks for 2 pair, left and right. Cheap enough to not pass up, even if I don't NEED them. I got them in the mail, and I am really dissapointed that these cost more than about 10-15 bucks! I mean, if they do the job, great, but SOMEONE can make these for pennies on the dollar and still clean up at 15 bucks a side. Allow me to point out the basics:

1. They are polyurethane, that means they are made of skateboard wheel material, and the old soft style at that! Around 80a durometer as fas as I could tell by squeezing them.

2. The pin is just Turned steel, I don't think the diameter or wall thickness is special, but the length and bore must be through bolt close and strut rod yoke wide.

3. Get yourself 4 48mm 81a solid skateboard wheels, ( bust out those old skates in your closet!) no deep dish or fancy insides, about 15 bucks shipped on Ebay. You can even get pretty colors! Turn them down and drill them out like my dimensioned drawing on a lathe with a wicked sharp bit.

4. Find some pin material, like spacer stock or thick wall hollow rod (metal supply or make your own) Make sure its diameter is 22mm or larger than the bearing race in the wheel. Drill the id to the bolt diameter. You can make the diameter any size that is convenient, just match the bore of the bushing material with a snug fit.

5. So: Get a machine shop to make you about 20 pins, buy 5 sets of skateboard wheels and spend an evening behind your lathe and sell each set for 15 bucks. Then move on to other LS bushings, simply, no?

6. Want it cheaper, buy 1 ADUS 505 bushing set. Make some plaster or silicone molds of the ADUS bushing and buy some 2 part polyurethane casting resin. At 75a, its very close to the ADUS softness (maybe a little softer) Pour a few dozen and get your pins made and bag'em in sets. Sell to all members of us.lexusownersclub.com!

Well, maybe not that easy, but why are these so expensive??? They really are not that special, but if they get a 45,000 dollar car (new) back to factory ride, maybe we are not the people to talk to about penny pinching....

Follow up:

Installed both sides today and OMG! Now this is what the car is supposed to drive like! Rear is completely stable. No more !Removed! wagging when you go over a bump in a turn. The rear does not sag anymore. I think my shocks are actually good! Noise over lane bumps is much quieter. This repair has really helped this car. I am impressed again, and to quote myself, "they really are not that special" I was wrong. They ARE special in the way that they make the car drive again, but they still are not that physically special.

The old ones were so soft, only 1/2 inch of rubber at the core of these bushings, the rest is void. My control rod could twist with light hand pressure, now it is solid. To appreciate what these bushings do, unhook the rod and move the carrier around, it is fairly easy to do and these bushings basically push the car forward and haul the car to a stop as well as keep the rear wheels tracking true. Lots of forces on this set of bushings.

A few points to stress when you do this job: Use jack stands. Dont bother drilling out the rubber bushing or burning it out or even pressing it out (unless you have a 33mm arbor, not real common) Just Tighten the nut/bolt and twist it out, I drilled the first one and pushed/pulled it out. Took me about 10 minutes drilling and cutting. Saw what it was made like and the second one was twisted out in 6 seconds and left alot less rubber in the there to cut through. Use a sawzall carefully. It is hard to see behind the brake shield on the bottom. I uses a rocking motion with the sawzall to cut down to the iron on each side then flattened it out to watch my progress, worked great. 2 sectional cuts, the piece literally jumped out, and the rest of the bushing pushed out with little more than finger pressure. I used lithium grease to lube the polyurethane bushings as they are impervious to petroleum as stated on the MSDS, no need for 5 buck an ounce grease! They pushed right in and the greased pin tapped in with the butt of a screwdriver, snug fit. Now the hard part, the arm does not want to reach back to the new bushing. I thought I tweaked something, but it was just the way the multi link suspension wants to sit relaxed. You need to muscle the carrier forward and turn the carrier inward to line up the trailing arm. It is difficult to do but I found a real easy way to do it. Dont try and lift it, it does not get it any closer, you need to turn the front part of the wheel inward, that gets it close, then you use a strong screwdriver or my tool, a long tapered punch. Put it in and lever the carrier and bushing to align. All these little tricks were from doing the first side and learning better ways to do it. I started the one side at 1:30 and by 4:30 I was done with that side and wondering if I could even do the other side tonight. Granted I did walk to the corner autoparts store to buy the "special" grease, and look for a few lost tools in my tiny garage. I would say a solid 2 hours for the first side. The second side took my 34 minutes from the time I cracked the lugs to the tire back on the ground and that was including some sawzall blade issues. I could do the next pair in under an hour, time me! FLEXY VIDEO

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