Matt93SE

I apologize if this has been covered in the past- as I'm sure it has.. Searched for about 5 min and gave up on it since I'm in a crunch for time.

Anyway, my neighbor has a '94 ES300.. front control arm bushings are shot.

Are there any aftermarket poly bushings available for these cars? I see that ES has some available for the 95-99 Camry, but I'm not sure exactly which parts are shared between the cars.

If anyone know if these will work, or has a source for bushings known to fit, I would greatly appreciate the advice.

Thanks!

gumbytech

I purchased lower control arms for my 97 ES300 from this guy on ebay. The price is excellent and it is the entire assembly, not just the bushings. $140 plus shipping for left and right control arms. Note that these will fit your 94 as well.

I had them installed over a month ago and the shop said they were really good quality. I haven't put a lot of miles on them, but I have no complaints and would recommend this guy.

ebay control arm link

Good luck.

Dan

ssultan

Actually Matt, there's an original OEM control arm for sale right now on Ebay as well. Maybe it's worth it to buy one from Ebay and pick one up from the dealer...or even go with one aftermarket from the seller recommended above...it's just that I always end up leaning towards OEM if I can afford to.

LarryParker

I bought them a year and a few months ago for $150 includung tax and shipping. (One pair of bushings for each side). But they are one piece--not two pieces. Being one piece means you have to press them in with a hydraulic jack--that is a tad tricky.

Supplier of bushings:
All Toyo Lex Auto Recycling
1060 Otay Valley Road
San Diego, CA 92154
Phone: 619-661-0055
Toll free: 877-778-6968

espwr25

I get majority of my OEM and aftermarket parts from www.luxurymods.com, you should give them a call about the aftermarket bushings. I spoke to this guy name Leo and he told me that they are going to build a strong inventory for the Lexus ES.

Matt93SE

Thanks for the info, guys..

I'm assuming these are OE equivalent type bushings in the ebay control arms and such?

I'm looking for some poly bushings to firm up the steering response. the steering feel on these cars feels like the steering wheel is injected with morphine!! (Then again, the entire suspension on my daily driver is heim-jointed and I'm running 500lb springs.. so the ES feels like a Caddy compared to my car!)..

I see on suspension.com's website that the Camry and Avalon have bushings listed for them for certain years.. (http://www.suspension.com/toyota.htm) Will these work for the ES as well since the control arms are interchangeable?

I have pretty much a full machine shop, so pressing in a few bushings isn't a problem. I've been doing a control arm 'core swap' program on 3gen Maximas for several years and order OEM and ES bushings by the dozen (see my website linked in my profile for the goodies I make for Maximas).. I just don't have any experience on Toyotas yet!

markman

I got a set of 8.3117 Energy Suspension bushings. I was hoping to get rid of the pops of my old ones (105K miles and most of it's life spent in southern CA) and maybe firm up the steering a little. I was hoping to get the car to track just a little tighter on the highway.

It took me forever to get the original bushing out, but I did. Poping the poly in was easy. Special tools where an arbor press, a large socket (1 7/16 or something like that - I don't recall exactly) and a 2 1/2" exhaust coupler. The bastard didn't exactly just pop out, but by bending in the edges, it came.

I only replaced the rear bushing, because it appeared to be really worn and I don't want the sound of poly in that front bushing. The rear bushing just deflects a bit, but the front one really rotates and I'm sure it would end up squeeking. Rubber has it's benefits. Plus the rear one looked easier to replace without knowing what I'm doing.

I went to put it back on the car and just couldn't swing it. The normal removal procedure is to remove the ball joint bolts, then the front bolts to the sub frame, then the rear bolt into the frame. Installation is exactly the opposite. I got the rear bolt in OK. The front bolts into the subframe took a little more effort. But the new rear bushing was sooooo stiff, I couldn't bend the ball-joint-end of the arm down to get the bolts through. It made me worry that this new bushing could actually damage the mount over time - I've heard of poly doing that in certain designs.

After trying a couple things like reversing the installation order, lowering the car down with the rear bolt half in place and then trying to push it up (to align the center shaft of the new bushing), I gave up.

In the process, the ball joint end of the control arm did manage to slice into the ball joint cover. I think I'll end up letting the dealer replace that thing. It just looks like it takes too many special tools and know-how I don't have.

In the meantime, I have one of those cheap ebay arms on the car. I don't really like it. It doesn't have the nice cone-nut lining up the front of the arm, which I assume Toyota designed to hold the alignment better or something.

Checking around, I have found that there is a new Toyota part number for those control arms. I'm thinking of just ordering a new pair of control arms (around $350) and be done with it. Maybe the new arms are a little better.

~ screwwed in iowa