tetoc

I have 2007 LS 460 L with 180,000 miles. Some of the control arms and/or bushings were replaced by past owner. Local Lexus dealership says I should change all of the control arms and wants over $4,400! Ouch to my near empty wallet. I just paid yesterday more than half of that to replace a bad brake actuator. I like to think I am a Do It Yourself kind of guy now that I am retired and have no income but I could not tackle a brake actuator job but I do think I can do the control arms. I would like to do this job once and never have to do it again on this car and I am concerned about cheap parts with poor quality bushing so I am seek how to get the best value; best products and performance for the lowest net price.

Has anyone used the following and be able to provide your experience and feedback with the following: "Complete Left Right Front Upper Lower Control Arm Kit For Lexus LS460 2007-2012" They are on eBay for The "Buy It Now" price of $264.45 Price seem good but I can not tell how the manufacture of the arms and what type of bushings are in these. I also notice the seller has only 1 out of 5 stars for selling these with 51 sets already sold. I cut and paste some information below for the ad on eBay.

Listing Includes:

48610-59125 (Front RH upper control arm)
48610-59135 (Front RH upper control arm)
48630-59125 (Front LH upper control arm)
48630-59135 (Front LH upper control arm)
48620-50070 (Front RH lower control arm)
48620-59015 (Front RH lower control arm)
48640-50070 (Front LH lower control arm)
48640-59015 (Front LH lower control arm)
Fits: 2007Lexus LS460 RWD Models, Production Date From 08/01/2006
2008 - 2012 Lexus LS460 RWD Models

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ALL YOUR ADVICE!!!

jkittlesen

Give Rockauto a look!

mdpresco

I recently purchased and replaced front upper #2 (rear) arms. Purchased one on Ebay that said OEM and one from an online Lexus dealer. Both were in Toyota packaging with the appropriate part numbers. They were identical in appearance with all the factory markings on them. About $600 total. I wanted to stay with OEM parts.

If you haven't already, subscribe to AlldataDIY or other car repair site to read their procedures and the torque requirements. The most important tools: 4# hammer, offset box-end wrenches, sockets, and the correct separators to disassemble the ball joints. The upper arms need a separator capable of opening 3" (from the top of the knuckle to the end of the stud). I found the same puller did not work for both because of the shape of the knuckle.

I did not remove the brackets for the top arms. After you separate the ball joint, remove the bottom bracket bolt and loosen the others to allow the bracket to swing out. Then remove the arm from the bracket. I just did the top arms.

Good Luck.

tetoc

Thank you!!!! Its sounds like it may have been a more challenge job than you originally thought or at least what I thought by reading some others opinions share on the internet.
It seems to be make some sense to think the rubber will all break down at about the same rate and the rest of the bushings would need to be replaced pretty soon. I also think the cost of an alignment needs to be weighed into the job and do one alignment with all new bushings makes more sense than multiple alignments doing partials replacements of one set of control arms at a time.
1. Did you struggle with the idea of replacing all control arms at the same time? Cost alone for OEM parts might have made me only change the ones the really need it.
2. Did you have an alignment after this? I am not sure I would have unless I could tell from driving it was out of alignment.
3. What was the cost of alignment near you?
4. How many hours of labor did it take you?
5. I assume the OEM Lexus control arms had rubber bushing of the same material as the original ones that can with the car. Did you consider the Poly bushings?
6. What will you do when the other bushings need replacing? The same OEM replacement or will you consider just buying the bushing and have them pressed into your current control arms?

Thanks!
TJ

mdpresco

tetoc,
I have about 117k miles on the car.
1. Did you struggle with the idea of replacing all control arms at the same time? Cost alone for OEM parts might have made me only change the ones the really need it. About 3 years ago, at 86,000 miles, the other six arms were replaced. under an extended warranty. These two were not. I have a rattle coming from somewhere I was trying to solve. These were worn and split in the rubber bushing so I decided to replace them.
2. Did you have an alignment after this? I am not sure I would have unless I could tell from driving it was out of alignment. No, I haven't. The steering wheel hasn't moved.
3. What was the cost of alignment near you? Chatham Lexus is around $90.
4. How many hours of labor did it take you? About 1.5 hours. I did one side up at a time.
5. I assume the OEM Lexus control arms had rubber bushing of the same material as the original ones that can with the car. I would expect that since they were supposed to be OEM. Did you consider the Poly bushings? No. I didn't know the condition of the ball joint joints. Not as tight as new ones but they had no looseness.
6. What will you do when the other bushings need replacing? The same OEM replacement or will you consider just buying the bushing and have them pressed into your current control arms? I would try bushings only if I knew the ball joint was good. To do that you have to remove the arm and check it. Here is a photo of the driver's side just before hitting it once with the hammer.