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After post 249 the thread has been skewed to the smaller front bushing, not the larger rear the majority of this thread has discussed...
Any chance that's the confusion BOCA ?
After post 249 the thread has been skewed to the smaller front bushing, not the larger rear the majority of this thread has discussed...
Any chance that's the confusion BOCA ?
Yes, there was some confusion when the focus was changed to a different bushing. Sorry about that. I'm not familiar with this bushing, only the larger LCA bushing which is available separately. Sorry for the confusion.
It took me five hours today to replace front camber bushings. It was a very difficult job for me. Not only it was a huge problem to unpress the oem rubber - oh god it was stuck there until the end of the world - I had to cut the metal from one side and use air hammer and press to remove the remaining bushings.
the real problem began when the arm ready for installation back into the “subframe”. These MOOG bushings are oversized - it didn’t fit there. I had to waste 2.5 hours just compressing them again and extending the diameter of the small fitting place. I bet if anyone sees the difference between original diameter and oversized bushings, you ll make the following conclusion:
Buy original control arm with pre installed oem bushings and save tons of time.
It took me five hours today to replace front camber bushings. It was a very difficult job for me. Not only it was a huge problem to unpress the oem rubber - oh god it was stuck there until the end of the world - I had to cut the metal from one side and use air hammer and press to remove the remaining bushings.
the real problem began when the arm ready for installation back into the “subframe”. These MOOG bushings are oversized - it didn’t fit there. I had to waste 2.5 hours just compressing them again and extending the diameter of the small fitting place. I bet if anyone sees the difference between original diameter and oversized bushings, you ll make the following conclusion:
Buy original control arm with pre installed oem bushings and save tons of time.
🙈
Sorry about your ordeal with the install. What you mentioned is the very reason for going with OEM, even for the extra expense.
Again I did the 48655 and went to the trouble of having an indie press out and in. But in retrospect, I truly wonder if Mevotech is the way to go and call it a day--it has the large and the small bushing included and costs less than a OE large bushing. Let's say the OE is good for 80k and 10 years. I truly don't think that it's safe to say a Mevotech is good for 6 mos. and 500 miles lol Shops use them yes to make a big profit, but they also warrant for 2 yrs. / 24k (Mevotech is lifetime warranty for a DIY'er)--that's how they get you to agree to Mevotech over OE, which they would warrant only 1 yr. / 12k. Their motivation is to make a higher margin, but in the real world, say a $500 job could cost $800 with OE, when a shop is doing it. They would rather you pay $500, not $800. Because not only do they make more money, but their reputation in intact as far as not making you spend more unnecessarily. You feel like you spent $500, not $800 there, or $1600 at the dealer. I'm making a generalization on how indies run their shops. And there was someone who had a LS460 with suspension parts replaced with Mevotech (not an old one may have been 2014 etc.).
Again I did the 48655 and went to the trouble of having an indie press out and in. But in retrospect, I truly wonder if Mevotech is the way to go and call it a day--it has the large and the small bushing included and costs less than a OE large bushing. Let's say the OE is good for 80k and 10 years. I truly don't think that it's safe to say a Mevotech is good for 6 mos. and 500 miles lol Shops use them yes to make a big profit, but they also warrant for 2 yrs. / 24k (Mevotech is lifetime warranty for a DIY'er)--that's how they get you to agree to Mevotech over OE, which they would warrant only 1 yr. / 12k. Their motivation is to make a higher margin, but in the real world, say a $500 job could cost $800 with OE, when a shop is doing it. They would rather you pay $500, not $800. Because not only do they make more money, but their reputation in intact as far as not making you spend more unnecessarily. You feel like you spent $500, not $800 there, or $1600 at the dealer. I'm making a generalization on how indies run their shops. And there was someone who had a LS460 with suspension parts replaced with Mevotech (not an old one may have been 2014 etc.).
Its junk compared to stock. It will rust in a month while the other arms on a car that are 12 years old will not, bushings are cheap and overall it's the part you buy for people who don't really care or know any better. Way better to use the stock arm and press new stuff in.
Guys, the front (forward/small) LCA bushings have to be removed with fire. You have to burn them, then they are easily removed.
I replaced mine with Moog.
They made a huge difference in handling feel and tightened the front end.
BUT. Subjectively the ride over small cracks/bumps became noticeably harsher. You will feel it.
I'm not sure if it's the difference between the old Vs new bushings or the OEM that were softer Vs Moog.
After 10k miles there are some tiny cracks, not sure how deep they are.
I'm not going to say that I thought of this because I didn't but I definitely have not seen this mentioned in the 430 forum yet. Over on the IS forum, a lot of people have resorted to running poly bushings because the OE ones (i.e. the ones we are using on our 2 ton barge!) are too soft for their application. Problem with poly is 1)increased NVH and 2) after a couple of years they start squeaking. So the best solution? Use OE RC-F and GS-F lca bushings for $52 each! So many people on the IS forums say they are the best of both worlds -- they have the isolation properties of the OE rubber but maintain the handling capability and deflection resistance like poly. I will be purchasing and installing soon.
Thanks for posting Peacebay. If you are still around, did you ever install these on an LS? I was about ready to pull the trigger on the IS bushings but I am intrigued about these RC-F/GS-F bushings for our heavy boats. Does anyone find the IS bushings to be a little on the soft side? Opinions?
Thanks for posting Peacebay. If you are still around, did you ever install these on an LS? I was about ready to pull the trigger on the IS bushings but I am intrigued about these RC-F/GS-F bushings for our heavy boats. Does anyone find the IS bushings to be a little on the soft side? Opinions?
I went ahead and ordered them earlier today. I will post some sort of review after I get them installed with a few miles on the car. They will be replacing OE bushings with 230K on them so I wouldn't expect a negative report if they fit fine. I did a little research based on your post and don't suspect they will be unbearably harsh.
I installed the OE RC-F/GS-F bushings today on my 02 LS. Install was easy and totally worth replacing my very worn and cracked OE bushings. Results = good. I can't compare them to the IS bushings, they look the same in pics. I used the part numbers Peacebay posted. Feedback may be slightly harsher, nothing I'm concerned about at all. These seemed to solve a low speed clunk over dips/cracks I was having. The front end on this car feels pretty tight and I wasn't sure what was going to fix that super annoying low clunk. These seem to have taken care of it. Steering seems slightly tighter. On the highway I have noticed zero difference so far.
I installed the OE RC-F/GS-F bushings today on my 02 LS. Install was easy and totally worth replacing my very worn and cracked OE bushings. Results = good. I can't compare them to the IS bushings, they look the same in pics. I used the part numbers Peacebay posted. Feedback may be slightly harsher, nothing I'm concerned about at all. These seemed to solve a low speed clunk over dips/cracks I was having. The front end on this car feels pretty tight and I wasn't sure what was going to fix that super annoying low clunk. These seem to have taken care of it. Steering seems slightly tighter. On the highway I have noticed zero difference so far.
Hope this helps someone.
Nice! I actually ordered them a few days ago along with new inner/outer tie rods, ball joints, and KYB shocks just to completely renew my LS. Also bought Brembo rotors and Akebono pads for all four corners. $1k later... lol. These cars may be reliable but they ain’t cheap!
Nice! I actually ordered them a few days ago along with new inner/outer tie rods, ball joints, and KYB shocks just to completely renew my LS. Also bought Brembo rotors and Akebono pads for all four corners. $1k later... lol. These cars may be reliable but they ain’t cheap!
Which tie rods, ball joints and shocks did you go with? If OEM, could you please provide a link? I'm thinking of replacing the same components
02-08-20, 09:59 AM
