Suspension Question

[ED.]

Had the front two wheels off today to do the pads (which had life in them but looked like crap. Don't know what's going on there...) and was giving my suspension pieces a look over to see what may be causing the 'subdivision clunk' I get in this car. The low speed ones you get in neighborhoods.

When this happens on my BMW boards most guys start with replacing the stabilizer links which are about 10" long and I forget where they go. I did them on my one 7 that didn't need them but never on my 7 that did. They are still in the trunk :o

I noticed the Lex equivilent were much smaller at about 4" but they looked ok. What caught my eyes (literally in a second) were the connections off the rack and p joints to the bottom of the strut. I went under there and looked and the little boot was nearly cracked in two and inspection only put dust and debris in my nice eyes! That's always fun. I didn't think anything off the steering would cause a 'clunk' like I was getting. Could it be the new drivers air bag that was put in ate everything up as I feared it would? I wish I had brought my camera for pics. Next weekend for sure.

Here is my part two:

My aunt asked me how much it would be to take the car in for a flush (she has a 99 Camry) and I said I was talking with the guy @ Toyota about coolant and he said they had a sale and when I asked the price was put on hold for service and hung up. My best guess was $110-120. She asked if I would do it for her for $50 and I said I would do it fo free she just pay me back for parts and we argue over that because they want to pay and I don't want to charge them.

I will do it next weekend when I do the LS but was wondering is the same kind of rules/steps apply? I know the LS has a thing on the rad tank saying how to do it where Toyo is just the radiator and the cap. My guess is the Toyo is eaiser but my middle name is 'mess something up and make it harder' so we shall see!

[ED.]

I was looking up parts last night and was thinking maybe this low speed clunk is from the ball joints? They didn't look as bad as the steering thing but did look dirty.

[glenmore]

I just changed tie rod ends over the weekend. I was experiencing a bit of noise over bumps so I too looked at the tie rods boots. I could have swore they were cracked and split but after changing them, the boots were intact and the joints were still smooth but easily moved around. The new ones I put it were very stiff compared to the old ones. I bought the rod ends on ebay for cheap ($40), and them seemed of reasonable quality. AutoHaus was about $90 and Lexus $105.

So try and wipe away the gunk around the boots and make sure they are really split before changing them.

glenmore

1990 LS400

1991 300CE

2000 C280

[ED.]

Did new pieces help eliminate the noise?

When it gets on my nerves I turn the air susp on and mentally I think it makes me believe being on HIGH is going to be quieter. Who knows!

[glenmore]

Actually haven't been able to drive the car yet. Just before the tie rods, I did the plugs, wires, caps and rotors and now I'm stuck as the car is not idling right and I need to figure out what went wrong.

glenmore

[nc211]

ED, you know this answer man! Slow driving over bumps causing clunks...strut rods are your first culprit! :)

[ED.]

I am going to search for prices on those right now! Thanks for the help.

My aunt just had her SC in the shop for an oil leak and while they were in there he recommended doing new plugs and wires and all that and she said it was running a lot better. I bet your LS will feel nice and strong now!