When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
YOU made a claim now you want me to prove it for you? Back up your claim or don't make it.
I like your spunk. Honestly I’m an OEM man myself, but I do trust what I hear from all good mechanics or else I wouldn’t be here. And I don’t think anyone here would be guilty of using substandard parts for profit. The word “apparently” comes from experience and background rather than a star rating somewhere and I can honor that.
I’m with the OP, cry once. Because if you choose otherwise, you’ll always be “waiting” or anticipating for it to fail. I chose the best Monroe struts they make for the rear of my ‘05 and I chose them because of money and we did it right and they’re doing fine. But d*******t, I find myself listening for that first clunk.
The CL link I posted didn’t speak of any failures of the Moog products and appreciated a grease nipple, but I’ll probably use Lexus parts for all of my suspension parts when the time comes and remain amazed at how crappy the cup holders are.
Ready to do the lower control arms on my ES330. Curious to what others have used. I see OEM LCA but they don't come with a ball joint. Moog and others come with the ball joints but looking at some of the reviews on Amazon, it seems like people have issues with doing an alignment afterwards, trouble with the ball joint which sometimes is smaller than OEM, or longevity issues.
OEM is about $160ish a piece but you still have to do the ball joints which are about $60 each for OEM. For Moog and others, they are about $60 a piece, ball joint included. With what is involved, I'd like to do it right the first time though it's my son's car, so it's only getting about 2,000 miles a year or less of just easy city driving.
To those who have done this job, please share your parts experience. I searched and really didn't see anything with details.
Thanks.
I did Aftermarket LCA and ball joints. Ball joints lasted year before clunking and LCA look worse after year than my OEM 13 year old. Got Senkai 555 made in Japan 3 years and counting. Also replaced rubber on LCA with poly.
In general, OEM parts are constructed with the best quality. Its up to you to outweigh the costs to see if its worth it for you. Keep in mind, control arms on the ES330 are labor intensive, since you have to lift the engine and remove the engine mount to access the LCA bolts.
If you are going aftermarket, MOOG or other, you should get it from a retailer that offers a lifetime warranty. A lot of aftermarket parts come from various global manufacturers that are hit or miss with quality.
It's interesting that a lot of people recommend Moog, but there isn't any actual experience with the LCAs for the ES330 here on this forum. I went ahead and ordered the Moog arms for the car, one of which arrived today. It's made in Taiwan and looks to be decent quality. The real factor for me was the use of the car and it's mainly just back and forth to school for my son.
I will document the whole install process so that hopefully it helps out the next person and we will actually be able to see the longevity of the Moog LCAs. We are planning to install them on Friday. Thanks to everyone who responded. FWIW, the OEM pieces (LCAs & ball joints) were $420 shipped from Bell Lexus.
It's interesting that a lot of people recommend Moog, but there isn't any actual experience with the LCAs for the ES330 here on this forum.
No, incorrect. As related above, I reported my actual experience. Also, "fortitude" installed them as have others. There is experience related in this thread and also if you search the forum for it. I can't recall anyone having problems with them, but you could search.
I've read about at least one person that had a Moog ball joint sheer off. Moog parts are made all over the world could be good could be complete crap.
I've also read many reports of the same. From DIY idiots who blame the parts when they forget to do things like adequately pin castle nuts.
No way I trust internet junk /reports/put downs unless it comes from a machinist/mechanic.
I spent a time as a moderator at Toyota Nation and I watched nonsense back/and/forth about parts, quality/etc. that was senseless because it was all DIY "AND I HAD NO IDEAD WHAT I WAS DOING" posts.
So I discount BS and highlight results from non-idiots.
Some good info, though from what I've seen so far in doing research is that the rubber piece is or can be prone to premature failure on the Moog lower control arms for our cars and even other vehicles also. Could just be a few bad experiences so that is what makes this a hard decision. At this point and considering what is involved with doing the work, I'm probably going to adopt the 'buy once, cry once' mentality and just go OEM. Even spending $400ish on OEM parts, I'll still come out ahead in doing the labor myself since I have all the tools necessary already. This should help ensure that the ES stays on the road for many years to come. I'd hate to go with another brand and have a failure after a year or two and have to do the repair all over again.
Waiting for a few quotes on the parts. There are some odds and ends floating around on eBay and Amazon and I want to make sure that I'm getting actual OEM parts and not knock-offs with OEM stickers...
I think you just revealed a key concept to a lot of repairs and parts. How long you plan to keep the car...
Halfway through the job, what a pain in the butt. I ended up going with the Moog arms. I made this choice due to price and how the car is driven. We will see how they hold up. We completed the driver's side and it was quite a chore to get everything lined up just right. Undoing the tie rod end really helped. We have the passenger side disassembled and will tackle it in the morning. It should go a lot faster now that we know the process.
An electric impact and several pry bars are key to doing this job. Make sure you seat the rear bolt first... learned that the hard way.
It's just barely off but trying to get it that little extra bit was impossible. Like I said, the passenger side should go a lot faster now.
All done. Passenger side did go a lot faster though getting the ball joint out was quite a challenge. Car does ride better and the clunking noise we were having has not returned. We will see what the longevity of the Moog arms and ball joints is.
Old ones were pretty smoked at 131k and appeared to be original OEM. Again, thanks to everyone who posted.
A little followup to help the next guy... make sure you pay attention to the ball joint cotter pin and the orientation of it when you bend it. I wasn't careful and the axle boot hit it making a small hole on each side. This resulted in a HUGE mess of grease on the driver's side and a small amount on the passenger side. I fixed the cotter pins and now have to replace the axles. $150 lesson learned. Oh well, would need axles eventually...
01-19-20, 10:41 PM
