Shmee

iTrader: (3)

how bad is it hitting?
how much did the new LCA fix the problem?

I mentioned before you could also have a bend hub or even knuckle....
the hub would be obvious as you'd have a very intense wobble at all speeds that would get worse the faster you went along with a exceptionally soft brake pedal.

another possibility is that you have reached the point at which the stock arm is angled upward so much that you're LBJ nut is hitting the rotor from the change in roll centre..

might be time for RCA Spacers.

Also, more pics would help especially at ride height if you have ramps or access to a rack.

Shiryo

I been awake for 36 hours and have another 5 hours till I can get some sleep, so excuse me if I make no sense. Feels like a heavy dose of Benadryl right now.

Just a slight grind at almost every dip or unevenness in the road, was like that since they were replaced. Other day, when I had the radio off, I also noticed that there is a very very subtle grind (LBJ to Rotor contact) when in a very slight right curve of the road (steering wheel at maybe 1-o-clock 55mph).

The LCA fixed the problem from not being able to make left turns to being able to make full left turns with the wheel locked as long as the road is flat and even.

I bet the knuckle is bent now that you mention it. No way the knuckle was left untouched with how bent that LCA was.

I doubt I need RCA spacers, no way. Car is barely lowered compared to other cars. I don't even hit the inner fender well covers and can use car ramps without much issue.

Megan EZ Streets with dampening set to highest. I'll take snapshots of the underbody/suspension of the front end on ramps when I am not extremely exhausted.




I also don't know if this will be much help but I think the numbers are kinda weird for some reason (Kinda annoyed how I paid like $80 for the alignment and it doesn't seem much was done.)

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

hmm wondering why the new castle nut is different from the OEM one. you sure it's OEM toyota and not OEM replacement? i see that type of castle nut on aftermarket parts.

regardless get some sleep and tackle this with a clear and alert mind. i'm surprised you can hear the scrape at 55mph. i assume you torqued everything to factory specs.

Shiryo

These cars are pretty quiet... I was able to hear it tap at ~80mph on the highway lastnight between LA and Riverside, highways suck and the flow of traffic is worse. Hate going that speed with wheel adapter spacers.

I'ma have to check the knuckle, i've had the knuckle off before when i got a new wheel bearing replaced. Sadly there was no need to replace the wheel bearing on that corner now that I know it was the LBJ hitting...

Shmee

iTrader: (3)

Ahh, the plot thickens... Who replaced the wheel bearing?
I've seen guys bend knuckles with ham-fisted wheel bearing r&r's on cars with knuckles like ours.

It's entirely possible you had a host of problems, so be sure to have a good look at both sides!

Shiryo

My friend's co-worker over at a Pep-Boys (I know, I know... Nearest place that would do it. Lexus dealership is an hour away).

I'm betting a bent knuckle, Would be kinda nice if that's all it is, minus the fact it''ll run me about $500 to replace it through Sewell :/

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

why not just find a knuckle from a wrecked car? They're pretty decently priced and you can even put in a new wheel bearing into it easily before you put it on the car.

Shiryo

I was thinking about that, but scared of bent stuff, all these bent and blown suspension parts have me all scared. The car has me in the downs because of how high the ratings are on reliability and so far, when I think I have mine sound and good, something else happens, just like my VW lol.

I was thinking going that route and throwing in a Timken bearing into the replacement knuckle, just worried I buy a bent knuckle. I don't know how to identify a bent from straight knuckle.

As for throwing in a bearing, doesn't it need to be pressed in? I don't have a socket big enough to press one in myself, Lexus has such huge bearings. Moreover, I didn't want to rick pressing in a bearing myself on the LS, just such a delicate car to me lol. Tips?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

i'll wager and say you'll be hard pressed to find another bent knuckle lol, it isn't exactly a common problem.

Dranom

iTrader: (7)

where in Socal are you? if your close to corner3 garage you can take it there to get it fixed properly
hopefully you can get it sorted out goodluck

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

i would imagine bending a knuckle is very hard to do, unless a curb was struck at a good speed. they should be very strong, but like PD said, it'd be a rare occurrence to get another knuckle that is bent again.

Shmee

iTrader: (3)

Bending a knuckle from a curb strike is indeed a tall order.

What is more likely is that it was bent when the wheel bearing was replaced.
A ham-fisted job can easily result in a bent knuckle if the guy doing the job supports the knuckle at either end at the balljoints bosses. It does not take a lot of force to bend a knuckle when supported like this but then factor in that it can take 3-20 TONS of force to press out/in cartridge style wheel bearings and its even easier to bend knuckles like ours...

Not saying this is exactly what we have here, but its a strong possibility...

Shiryo

Okay, i'ma run to my local yard in the coming weeks and get a knuckle off them, few have em in good condition for $100 and a timken bearing is about $50. I ran into a guy lastnight that has 2 LS400s and said he could even fab up a knuckle for me if I wanted to. However what really made me somewhat shocked was that he said I could have just chucked the knuckle in the oven and the bearing in the freezer and it just drops right in. Wish I knew that before.

Shmee

iTrader: (3)

Have you verified the problem is in fact a bent knuckle or just grabbing one hoping it will fix the problem?

Shiryo

Other than taking it to a shop, how would I visually be able to tell if the knuckle is even bent? I mean the LCAs were barely noticeable until it was off the car.