japscrap

Dad has a '00 GS300 Sport with rattling and vibrating in the front.

He started by changing out the warped rotors and pads which gave a huge amount of vibrating/ feedback through the steering wheel. Most of the brake assembly has been changed by now (carriers, etc).

He has changed the upper control arm thing and there was an improvement. He changed the rearward lower arm again, slight improvement. The main swing type arm/ wishbone apparently almost never gives trouble (according to lexus) but we've checked it anyway and it seems fine. He has changed the anti-roll bar bushes and the drop links. All these things make a little improvement when done but generally the car reverts quickly and now its rattlier than ever.

There has been a varying vibration in the steering wheel since he's got it and it's at an all time low, now. It really feels like something is banging around loose and it bump steers all over the road. On back roads, the rattling has worsened to the extent where it sounds like a bag of spanners when crossing a rough bit.

There isn't that much left to change frankly and it hasn't been from neglect. I suspect it could be somthing in the steering rack, googling has turned up at least one guy with a steering rack bracket problem but I'm out of my league now. Will there be a steering damper in this car??

He is thinking of trading it in but at the moment it's practically unsaleable.

japscrap

... and to think someone told me 'if any will know, it will be those great guys on clublexus'.

alexulan

try for a referral to a good suspension shop.

Not sure what area you are in but i'm sure once you ask you will get a recommendation to a good shop that can properly diagnose your problem.

supra_trd

iTrader: (3)

Replace the front tires

phillygs3

iTrader: (5)

turn your radio up jk

ocean350

i think u need to have a certified lexus technician to check ur car, or lexus dealeship. i know they are more expensive, but they did fix my 75-mile vibration after they re-do my roter and alignment.

BossGS4

iTrader: (2)

Can you be MORE specific ? Is it at a certain speed ? Certain RPM ? Only while braking ? While turning ... if so to which side ? If you can isolate the conditioins when it happens that will go a long way towards diagnosing the problem.

If it is RPM related it could be engine mounts or some other engine related vibration issue.

If it is speed related the issue will tend to be wheel/tire/suspension related.
~ are the tires in good condition ?
• if they are have they bee ROAD FORCE BALANCED on a Hunter balancing machine ?

~ you mentioned your rotors are new
• is your Dad or any other driver a heavy braker ? If they are, getting hard on the brakes then sitting at a light or stop with the brakes 100% engaged will contribute to re-warping. When at a stop or a light I keep the MINIMUM amount of brake pressure on the pedal required to keep the car from moving.
• Are your lug nuts torqued to spec ? If they are over torqued you can warp the rotors again.

~ Steering and Suspension
• Have you replaced your balljoints and outer tie rod ends ? I just did this on my 90K GS430 over the weekend and it ELIMINATED a vibration I was getting at 58-62mph an 80-82mph.
• You can also replace some steering bushings and swaybar bushings with aftermarket Daizen Polyurethane bushings.

japscrap

I have come to the conclusion that my local Lex dealer are complete chancers in the service dept. My uncle tells me that his neighbour's son is one of two, second year apprentices working under a qualified foreman, the three of which are the total workshop staff.

Recently, we had them diagnose an engine splutter (I was convinced it was coils) and they simply changed the plugs- $400 please and splutter still there. We eventually diagnosed it ourselves as a split (and burnt, it couldn't have been more obvious) coil insulation sleeve. That's right, the one they would have had to remove in order to change the plugs. This is the kind of main dealer that only wants to change oil, brakes, light bulbs etc. They have also done a lot of work on the suspension, none of which has worked so far.


I'm starting to come to the conclusion that the vibration might be a result of a buckled wheel. The tyres are virtually new. The symptoms appear in all conditions of speed, maybe it's slightly worse under light braking, possibly more so in the LHS but I can't be sure. I'm certain it's not RPM related- just firstly road conditions and speed (ie, how fast/ hard he hits the bumps)

~

Tyres are almost 100%. What do you mean by 'road force balanced'?

He is the only one who would drive the car except me on occasion but we're both very gentle brakers. 95% of his driving is open road driving so thankfully, he doesn't often come across these bad conditions for brakes, thankfully, but he does know to hold the car on least braking possible. But having said that, there was a set of aftermarket rotors that warped within days. These are another new set. We looked up the correct torque online and they are all set correctly and we were completely **** about doing things right.

He has changed the swaybar bushes with OEM ones. As for the outer tie rod ends, I think they're pretty much next on the list. Haven't done the ball joints (yet) but these are something which hav been given a clean bill of health (but we are sure of nothing at this stage- the more we change out, the less sure we are about it could be next).

The real problems is that every time we do something, it has a positive effect for a few days and it seems like the problems just re-appears somewhere else slightly worse.

alexulan

I still say take it to a good suspension shop.

Having owned my GS for over seven years now.
Gone to several dealers and a lot of alignment places only one qualified shop was finally able to set up my alignment correctly. Previously i would get inner tire ware.
If you were in NorCal I would send you to www.customalignment.com