mikemareen

kinda like a cracking sound when I turn steering wheel and when I come to slow stop.

I tried using wd40 on all the rubber bushings and still the noise remains.

any advice ?

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

The WD in WD-40 stands for Water Displacement.
It is more of a solvent than a lubricant.
It works great for cleaning old grease from metals and protecting the insides but that's about the only thing it should be used for.

I wouldn't use it anywhere near the rubber bots (they contain grease inside, which would be dissolved by WD-40 if they got in).

ancdmd

Most likely the inner eccentric lower control arm bushing is loose. It needs a lot of torque to be tight, but odds are if its loose it needs to be aligned also. Have an alignment shop check your alignment and tighten it and see if that fixes it. The part can also be worn, if so then the lower arm needs to be replaced, costs around $400.

cpcc

CV joint is what it sounds like

mikemareen

ok I'll look into cv joint.

it also happens as I brake at low speeds. noise gets quieter as car warms up.

Haylands

LS430 is rear wheel drive, there is no CV joint at the front.....

Rice

I 'll put my money on the lower ball joint.
Have the shop check it out.

mikemareen

noise seems to occur when I the brakes, I did have the calipers removed to install my extended lug bolts for my 5mm spacers. I did also reuse the caliper bolts.

can this affect my lower ball joints ?

the noise only comes on when I brake or a bit after I brake.

jcat_350

ditto. i would assume a similar part to the GS, in which case this part becomes a huge issue down the line once some miles get on it.

mikemareen

ok I don't think I've greased the lower ball joints yet.

when u say issue, do u mean the lower ball joint can just break off or is it a bushing that erodes and makes noise ? the part itself is like a 50 dollar part so I'm kinda relieved.

jcat_350

the part will actually separate from the lower control arm and the wheel will turn perpendicular to its normal position (i.e. inside of rim facing front bumper, face of rim facing rear) nasty, nasty little problem.

i think its something to do with either the bushing, the way the bushing is mounted to the actual ball joint, or the ball joint itself.

either way, get it checked out.

Rice

The ball joint will only separate under extreme conditions and after extreme neglect. I wouldn't be concerned about that.
It can not be greased, but it can be easily checked and replaced if needed.
If it is bad, I recommend replacing both - If one went bad, the other one isn't far behind. Also, do a wheel alignment after that.

jcat_350

well seeing that you have a 2005 i would have to say that it was definitely corrected by then. Us 2gs guys are all too well versed in the notoriously bad lower ball joints in our cars, and while they are recommended to be replaced in the 90k service, but have been known to go bad around 60k.

definitely +1 on the realignment and replacing both if only one is bad though.