Hi. I have a 2011 LS460L, AWD, NO air suspension, 98K miles. Front control arm bushings are showing cracks and looseness. Price sensitive, I have never dealt with suspension issues. I read the whole thread but most is RWD-specific and I still have some questions. Any advice appreciated.

Is it correct that there is no improved version of these AWD arms?
Non-Lexus mechanic suggested maybe get new bushings pressed into my old OEM arms. That sorta sounds like a good idea, no? (No evidence that the ball-joints are problematic right now but they could be replaced, too, right?)
I see 3rd party arms on Rock for under $20. Would that be crazy?
I have leaky front axles, too, but that is for another thread unless it bears on this issue.

I pretty much have deal with this right away. Thanks for reading this far.

 

You can install front lower rearward arms off 2013+, other arms the same. Yes, you can replace just bushings but you need to make sure that all ball joints are in a good condition. You can also use 3rd party control arms but reliability might vary.

 

These part numbers are correct. Just sourced these very same parts from Japan via Amayama. $1600 for parts and $350 for shipping (DHL). My suspension expert mechanic installed for $700 which includes the 4 wheel Alignment. The Lexus dealers here in Southern California wanted an outrageous $6500 for the job. Total time from ordering to delivery to my home was 8 days. This was for my 2008 LS460 RWD. Car now drives like new - no more “squeaks or thunks”!

 

Great info for future planning purposes. I've got a 2015 RWD LWB currently in good standing, but good to know that Amayama is reliable/legit for sourcing Japanese parts that I'll eventually need. Great to be back to the 'new' feeling - enjoy!

 

thanks for posting price in SoCAL. I am in SoCal also. I went to my usual mechanic for a quote, and received $1350 for labor only. I was not happy. Some mechanic sees dollar signs when they know it's Lexus. My car, I guess, have fixed itself? I used to hear squeaks but no more. I will go to another mechanic if I need work done.

 

Hi guys,
I replaced my control arms about 3 years ago when my mileage was around 120,000 miles. I used all Rock Auto parts, and now about 40,000 miles later the left main control arm bushing has finally failed again. I replaced all eight control arms with no issues but I used a different method to break the ball joint lower control arm connection. Since The ball joint and lower control arm separation step is the only potential painful part of the job, I decided to post a video showing how to do it very easily. I noticed there are numerous videos showing how to do all the other arms but only a couple that show the main culprit being popped out. I'm not sure how everybody else does it, but I was able to do all 8 of my front control arms in around 2 hours.

 

Are you ok with the non-Toyota control arms only lasting 40k? Or did that make you consider using OEM control arms?
Thanks for the video.

 

I'm just fine with it personally, I did go back and forth before replacing them the 1st time though. With the cost of OEM parts and it still being a crapshoot as to whether the arms last, I think it's worth the trade off. Even the "redesigned" ones still fail in the same manner from what I can tell.

I will say though, the first time I swapped the arms I didn't change the front lower forwarding arms. That may have contributed to the other LCAs not lasting as long. Also, only the driver side main arm failed not the passenger. This time I changed all eight and I'm hoping that we'll lead to even more time before failure.

If I was paying a shop to do the work I would probably consider other options. For me it is a Saturday morning job and a few hundred dollars. I've settled that I will take that hassle for three or four years and 40k miles of life.

 

I hadn't read, on this site, of anyone having failure of post-original OEM arms. I thought I remember if there were OEM failures there were also extenuating circumstances. Like installing them with the wheels off the ground.
But it has been a while since I looked into it.

 

the sound was coming from sway bar links and replacing solved the problem.

 

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Great job and video. I used the same pull tool when I replaced my control arms a while ago. It really made the job easy. The only thing is that I didn't use any power tools. I used all hand tools. It took a bit longer to finish the job. BTW, I also used RockAuto control arms which had lifetime warranty. Did your original RockAuto control arms also come with lifetime warranty? If so, did you attempt to get free control arms under the lifetime warranty?
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Control arm helper tool

What does anyone think of this? I know for LS 460, the ball joints are on top, maybe pry it from the top?

 

Thanks. And yes, I definitely took advantage of the warranty. This round was free except for the elbow grease. As far as the redesigned LCAs, there is a shop near me called Lextechs that don't even want lca jobs anymore. They say it's a revolving door regardless of new or old arms. I am in and out of the Lexus dealer nearest me and the service manager mentions the same, it's a crap shoot.

 

I think it would be very tough to get enough space and angle because of the top mount baljoint like you mentioned. Honestly the axle puller tool is it, I don't think there is anything easier.

 

Hey LILEVO,
07 Base LS460 with 115K miles. Been watching for years all the things guys have tried with the LS460 lower arms and dreaded getting a bad result. Then I saw your posts about the later model parts guidance. Ordered fresh parts from Japan (rubber ages and I didn't want to get some cheap but questionable stuff). Took my car to my friend's shop today and handed him the 2012+ model number lower arms. Installation was straightforward as you said. No more braking clunk or wandering alignment. This car didn't feel bad before but now it just feels 'right'. FOR THE WIN! Thanks Man!