Purchased the parts a little while back. Finally had a chance to go the the good ole boy shop to do the work. Saved a lot of money over every other place that wanted to remove the whole rack. The steering rack was much easier then I expected. The trick is to take the post out. They are reverse thread. We also took off the sound vibration bar. I spent $120.00 in labor vs about $600 everywhere else. Plus the alignment is not affected.

My steering rack bushes were not very worn. Better then expected.

The front motor mounts looked in great shape so I decided not to touch them for now. Overall, I am pleased with the small investment. The amount of vibration transferred through the column is definitely less. It feels more solid overall. I can also tell there is less movement with the rear motor mount, especially when she is downshifting.

This is an 04 with 108,534 miles. Anyway, I hope this info helps others. Pretty easy to do with tools and a lift.

 

Where did you get the bushings from?

 

Lexus of South Atlanta online site.

 

Cool, thanks! I'll order some soon.

 

With the bushings replaced, how drastic was the ride difference? And with the motor mount changed, does any noise/engine vibration enter the cabin? As a meticulous Lexus owner, I want to maintain that cloud 9, disconnected feel even if said parts aren't necessarily due for replacement. Thanks.
,

 

The steering rack bushing themselves did not make a lot of difference but some. The originals were not so bad. The rear motor mount helps and the most important are the main left and right front motor mounts. I have not done these yet. Probably will in the next 25k miles or so.

 

hmm that looks like the transmission mount.

 

It is but the correct term that Lexus uses is rear motor mount.

 

ahhh, okay. i stand corrected.

 

That 100-150K mile range in the 1-2LS these rear mounts usually come out in pieces. How are some of the other suspension bushings?

 

My old rear mount did not look bad at all. When it was out you could tell the it was a lot softer even though it was not broken anywhere in the rubber. It just flexed a lot easier. My main mounts visually look great but I can tell they are getting ready. I have 125k now. Overall, the only other bushings I have done are the lower control arm. If anything, lower ball joints are next on the list.

Funny, I asked a Lexus tech once how to tell if the motor mounts are bad. Just just said when the motor starts lifting up and down... lol. I will replace them before this point.

 

You'll feel the broken motor mounts when going over speed bumps. That quick up-down will result in a whump-thump.

Reminds me long ago a buddy with a 454 who enjoyed doing his burnouts. After a spell the torque broke the mounts. When he gave the engine a high rev it would lift off the mounts and hit the hood. On that car, it was a decent 4-5" from carb to hood. He wasn't happy about his air cleaner housing getting dented.

 

Here are the torque specs for our power steering system. Please note that the "ft-lbf" reading is the last number shown within the parenthesis.

 

Great. Thank you.

 

Hey Lav thanks for this awesome write up. Any chance you still have the part numbers?

I am going to order the same bushings from South Atlanta Lexus. I have some sort of weakness noise coming from the steering column, when I move the steering wheel aggressively to the right and to the left I get this sound.

In the beginning I thought it was my end links being loose and causing the noise. So I went to Les Schwab to have them tighten the end links, but they appeared to look fine.

Since this seems like a really easy job, not expensive, I'll fit the new bushings in and see if it'll solve my problem.

I replaced my LCA bushings like a year ago, and they are the only bushings changed in the car by me. Going through this maintenance phase right now though... Trying to keep the car tip top shape.