ttam281

My 1998 LS400 has started riding very rough. It absorbs bumps just fine, it's that I can feel every little bump in the road and the shock and vibration come straight into the steering wheel.

About 10000 miles ago I replaced all the shocks on all four wheels, kept the stock springs (southern car, no rust looked brand new if not dusty), replaced the upper and lower control arms in the front and got an alignment. I ordered the parts from rock auto and am worried the quality is far worse than I expected (Edit: looked up my order they are Mevotech and should be okay quality). I knew they wouldn't be Lexus OEM quality but 10,000 miles is garbage. I recently had to drive on a very bumpy gravel road.

Does this sound like maybe ball joints? It definitly feels like the shocks and springs are fine but the interface between the wheel and the shock is bare metal if that makes sense.

EthanS

Did you change tie rods as well?
Swapping those out might be worth a try if you are feeling bumps directly through the steering wheel.

ttam281

No but it's not just the steering wheel it's the whole car.

400fanboy

What shocks did you put on?

The front lower ball joints are a potential problem area and wear more quickly than they otherwise would.

Have you replaced the front strut rods? Do you get clunking?

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-thread-9.html

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Plenty of suspension areas that can be a potential issue as the miles get up there. How many miles on car and what if any suspension maintenance has been performed?

ttam281

Classic case of convergent diagnosis, I was just looking up what that part was called on a diagram. Did a visual inspection and it looks like the bushing is completely perished. While jacked up and the wheel hub was hanging, the edge of the strut rod was almost touching the bolt that holds it on. I have gotten a clunk before but not frequently, just thought it was a rock stuck in a tread or something. I'll check that thread out and get those replaced. Thanks!

ttam281

I believe I found the issue or at least found something else that needs to be fixed anyways, bushings on the strut rod are looking trashed. Thanks for the reply though!