Rear End? Starting To "whine" / Front Suspension

[90LS400Lexus]

I noticed yesterday when on the highway a "whining" sound coming from the rear of the car. It only does it at speeds above 55mph and only when I am lightly accelerating. When I press the accelerator it stops and when I release the accelerator it stops. What kind of problem am I looking at now? I still have not even been able to get rid of the vibration, or the clunking front suspension. I do not know how much all of this is going to cost.

Also too- my front suspension does not seem to absorb bumps any longer. The cars body moves too harshly when I hit a bump with the front tires. My car looks to be setting too low in the front, so could my springs simply be bad?

Thanks for any advice/information.

BTW- my car now has 229,200 miles.

[silvermate]

if the whining is coming from the rear of the car, first you might look into changing your rear end gear fluid.

as for the front suspension the clunking is coming from worn out front end bushings and ball joints.

with that many miles on the car, i'm sure all of the front suspension parts are worn as well.

[90LS400Lexus]

if the whining is coming from the rear of the car, first you might look into changing your rear end gear fluid.

as for the front suspension the clunking is coming from worn out front end bushings and ball joints.

with that many miles on the car, i'm sure all of the front suspension parts are worn as well.

Just fine. Here goes, what- about $1000 to have the front suspension repaired?

Thanks for the info about the rear noise. I will have it changed. Thanks again.

[SRK]

If the noise is a rather musical ringing tone, then all is well. Most hypoid gear sets make a whine like that. A noise which has a growling tone to it is a bearing, or a gear set that is failing. Many times people hear it only because they suddenly discerned it, when in fact the noise has been present for some time. Don't worry about it.

[99lsguy]

$1000 is in the ballpark for the front suspension work (both sides). My guess it could be a little lower if done by Indep. Lexus shop ($750-850).

It will certainly be $11-1300.00 @ Lexus Dealer....... ;)

I would also change the Diffy Gear lube. It could be low/certainly old. It's a GL-5 gear oil, probably 80-90W. You'll need 2 quarts (1.43 actually). If you're not DIY, a local shop would surely do this for $50 max labor. Fill point is just to the top of the Fill plug, let it drip to a stop if overfull.

[VBdenny]

I think you are all wrong.

Sounds like a universal joint going bad on the driveshaft. Let's look at the symptoms, vibration, clunking, whine. All symptoms of a failing universal joint. They are cheap too. You really need a lift to check it and even then sometimes you can't tell unless they a really bad.

[blake918]

I think you are all wrong.

My brother's truck had a bad universal joint. We noticed 2 of your syptoms the entire truck vibrated like crazy and it did whine a little! Replaced it, and the problem is gone! Great suggestion, Denny! ;)

[90LS400Lexus]

Thanks folks! Then that would explain my vibration problem I have been having at speeds between 35-65 mph. However, it does not vibrate, or very lightly if the temperature is 80 degrees or higher. Does this still sound like the U-joint could be causing the vibration? I have never heard the "whine" before, because I drive with the window down and I always have the radio going. I just happened to have the window up the other day, because it was very windy and the tape I had in the cassette player was rewinding, so it was quiet in the car- hence me hearing the "whine". Does this car just have one universal joint, or are there others?

I will probably get that changed and get new fluid in the rear differential as well.

I will probably just live with the "clunking" front suspension. I cannot hear it when the window is down and the radio playing. :D Still handles fine and tracks straight. No pulling and no play in the steering.

Thanks again guys.

[99lsguy]

Here's a diagram for a Gen III LS......yours is hopefully similar.

That "center Bearing" is what the manual describes as a suspect area. To me, the "u-joint" looks likes its to the rearward side of this center bearing....

Check it out while you get fresh Diffy fluid in their. Check the torques and such too!

Either way, I'd give it a test run after the diffy fluid to elimate things one by one - unless its just obvious. This way you'll know the date & mileage of the gear lube change - every 30K for this service.

comp.pdf

[UCF3]

90LexusLS400:

The front noise you're hearing might be the Shock themselves. Have you done the bounce test or do you know how old they are? The ones in the back could be the Shocks as well. You might want to invest some money into aftermarket Shocks from KYB, Tokico, JICs or TIEN. Yeah you should swap out the old strut mounts as well.

The vibration is possibly the drive shaft, but I have yet to tackle mine.

[90LS400Lexus]

90LexusLS400:

The front noise you're hearing might be the Shock themselves. Have you done the bounce test or do you know how old they are? The ones in the back could be the Shocks as well. You might want to invest some money into aftermarket Shocks from KYB, Tokico, JICs or TIEN. Yeah you should swap out the old strut mounts as well.

The vibration is possibly the drive shaft, but I have yet to tackle mine.

The rear struts are fairly new. I put original "Toyota" brand struts on the rear about 5000 miles ago and they are fine. The clunk is only in the front. I have tried the "bounce" test and the front does not bounce. It is actually pretty firm I think for a luxury car. I think that maybe the front springs are sagging, because at times, it looks like the front is setting lower than the rear. I am nearing 230K, so I am guessing the front suspension and bushings are in need of replacements. Not bad now though, so I will justy let it go for a while. It is strange- everyone complains of the clunking on these cars and others say- its because it has 200K+ miles on it. My old 93' Toyota Camry LE V6 had 220K and it was totally quiet and it was all original suspension parts. One of my old Honda Accords had 210K and one had 202K and same thing- original equipment, but quiet- no clunking. Perhaps it was a little better designed on those cars, but still this is nothing to complain about, considering the car has 230,000.

Thanks again.

[UCF3]

It could be the mounts themselves. When you replaced the Shocks/struts did you replace them? I've come across that problem a couple of times.