430Dreamer

My 2004's left front has recently been 'groaning' when turning to park or when braking below 5mph. No major clunks, just low creaking sounds.

My local mechanic, who I think does good work, cannot figure out where the noise is from. Today, after a 2nd trip in to figure this out, he tells me everything looks correct and tight and the car is safe to drive.
HOWEVER, the local Lexus dealership thinks the lower control arm bushings are due for replacement ($950+) since they appear to be torn....something I could not see, but may be true.

What is the best solution here? I get that every situation is different, but I really don't know what to think.

(and FWIW, I creak and groan now a bit , too----)

caesosa

Probably true, however, I would probably have your Indy do the work for about half….

infojunky

If they are the original bushings, they are probably due to be replaced. I went with the IS bushings witch include the mounts and saved $$$. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-repair-6.html shows multiple options. IMHO $950 is high.

bigal426

I also replaced my lower control arm bushings with the Lexus IS ones found on eBay. They fit good and stopped a clunk I had on my 02 Lexus LS 430. I replaced them at 135,000 miles and have 145,000 miles on the car now. I did the job myself which was not too bad of job to do.

Bocatrip

I've been on the forum since 2006 and have read regularly that lower control arm bushings on the LS430 are "money makers" for Lexus dealerships. Mine were cracked from the day I purchased my car (11 years ago) and I left them that way without any issues whatsoever. Even after the original fluid (OEM factory bushings were fluid filled) leaked out, the car made no noises and drove and handled fine. I was told numerous times over, that unless the rubber was completely gone (metal against metal) i would not notice any difference when changing them. A few years ago, I found a deal on the OEM original bushings from a Lexus dealership, and I purchased them and had my Indy install them. Guess what? Absolutely no difference...... but now I know I have new bushings. FYI.. It was a pain getting them out and installing the new ones. I would suggest that if you cannot absolutely isolate where your noise is coming from, there is no need to replace the control arm bushings. The Lexus dealerships love to replace them and they can show them cracking and use scare tactics for the customer. Good luck and let us know how you make out

PS...Forum members have used the IS set up, but personally, I have always preferred to go OEM to keep the original ride and handling

430Dreamer

Thanks for the link to that discussion. A wealth of info on that thread!

CA2WALS430

@Bocatrip , great stuff! Thanks! I am picky about my car and sometimes almost get "romanced" into repairs on this site that I likely do not even need, and I was actually thinking about doing them for the heck of it.
Agreed on OEM. With resources like oemvehicleparts.com, Amayama, discountpartsmonster, and MyLparts, there are ample options for saving money and getting original equipment.

Romanova

Another vote for the IS bushings. Didn't affect ride quality at all and they are really easy to install. Been happy with mine for several years now.

bigal426

You mentioned that they were a pain to removing and replacing the bushings? I am not doubting that your Indy had trouble doing the job, but I did both sides on my 2002 Ls430 in 3 hours with taking my time and I am 71 years old. Just a straight forward pretty easy DIY job. I did not see any improvement in drivability, but my clunk was gone and the rubber WAS cracked all around the original OEM bushings. I agree with you that Lexus dealerships love replacing known parts that fail in our rides. Their labor prices are close to criminal.

white_lx

You are not specifying which bushings are suspect: caster (rear replaceable bushings) or the bushings that are part of the control arm?

I experienced weird sounds and even clunks at low speeds a few years ago. I knew about the problems with the caster bushings, but it was very difficult to see on the car that they were torn. I took a guess and replaced them. It was not till I removed them from the car and started pressing them out of the housing that I could see how badly they were cracked. If your indy mechanic has no experience with these bushings, it would not surprise me if he thinks they look ok.

mykvr6

I replaced my bushings when I got my car because one was pretty beat. You could get the wheel to move pretty significantly with a little pressure. It didn't look bad, I'm sure the fluid in it was long gone but didn't look particularly shot, it was just not holding anything very well. The passenger side had been replaced by one of the previous owners after putting the car in a ditch (found this info on Lexus service records) and was pretty tight. I replaced with IS bushings and have been happy since. 159k-ish on it when I bought it, almost 181k on it now. I would check for movement. If you think about what that bushing is doing, its holding the rear pivot of the lower control arm, if its worn out you'll get front to back movement of the tire and all kinds of alignment changes while turning and braking.

infojunky

This is what mine looked like when you would pull bushing to the side. It corrected the creaking sounds you described. There are plenty of people running the IS bushing with no issues.