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I was hoping to do it the same way as you guys. In my case the bushing bolt would slide out and hit the air strut. I wasn't able to completely remove the bushing bolt until I shaved the 3/16 of metal. It gave it that added bit of clearance to sneak behind the air strut and drop out. Speaking of which I think I dropped each bolt 4 or 5 times while trying to slide them back in. It was tricky to line up the arm and bracket with one hand while reaching behind the air strut with 2 fingers to put the bolt in. Lot's of jiggly bits.
Not at all judging you on how you decided to tackle that......if anything that's very clever, however why didn't you just remove the air shock? It has room to "fall" down enough to allow easy access doesn't it? That or I'm just not aware of how tight an AWD version is, all the ones I have messed with are RWD
Removing the air strut was a possible option. I didn't consider unbolting the top tower to lower it a bit. That might have worked too. Like Lwphat66 pointed out in his post I didn't want to mess with them since they are working. The wiring and pins on top of the strut are pretty weak.
Removing the air strut was a possible option. I didn't consider unbolting the top tower to lower it a bit. That might have worked too. Like Lwphat66 pointed out in his post I didn't want to mess with them since they are working. The wiring and pins on top of the strut are pretty weak.
Understood and makes sense, I usually have sections of pool noodles to protect the top connections if I drop them as described. That way I don't need an assistant, I work on enough German stuff it comes in handy.
I think the super pro bushings I put in are too soft for the weight of this car. Also the super pro bushings have some play side to side in the bracket.
I had it aligned at firestone a few weeks ago for the 4th time after installing my superpro bushings. ( thankful I got the lifetime alignment). It will accelerate straight without pulling. However during cruise road imperfections will pull it to the right or the left fairly quickly. I suspect it is the new bushings but it's very possible another bushing is bad on the back of the car or the alignment was done poorly. I still need to remove the back tires to inspect those bushings.
Update:
I just pulled a rear tire off. The rear sway bar bushings are shot. Can the sway bar bushings cause these kind of alignment issues? I replaced my inner and outer steering tie rods today, no change. I also ordered another set of trq upper control arms. They are not here yet.
This alignment issue all started a month ago after I had a local shop balance the wheels. I suspect they took it on a wild test ride and ripped my upper forward control arm bushings. My cheap aftermarket bushings couldn't handle their driving lol. After picking it up from the shop my front bumper had a bunch of new road rash toward the bottom right. I now have dash cams installed to hopefully avoid this type of issue in the future. Gap between the blue and bracket on the right.
Sway bar doesn't effect alignment. You can remove it (on "race" cars some people remove the sway bars if their coil overs are firm enough) and everything will remain the same.
Sway bar doesn't effect alignment. You can remove it (on "race" cars some people remove the sway bars if their coil overs are firm enough) and everything will remain the same.
Thank you. I just drove it another 10 miles. The wheel tracking is still all over the place. Sometimes straight, left or right. To me it feels like the new arm bushings are too flimsy. Depending on the torque from accelerating or braking the front wheels geometry seems to be changing. If I get lucky and brake just right it'll drive straight for 30 feet lol. I'm quite bummed. I had high hopes for those bling blue bushings.
I had the same issues with the superpro bushings and made a post a while back. Tons of play after very few miles, leading to tracking issues and finally substantial popping when they went to an oval shape. It was shocking how quickly, too. I drive like a grandpa, so it may not be joyriding as you may think. I had people telling me I just installed them wrong or I didn't understand poly how bushings work.
If you do a little searching, there are other cars that have superpro bushings available, and in their respective forums there are a handful users with similar problems after short term use.
Either there are majority variances in quality/consistency, or other owners don't realize they're worn, but IMO those bushings are just not appropriate for the 460. Just too many similar stories.
Can anyone i.d. these dark poly bushings (first 3 photos)? They were the original bushings installed when I bought the car. They are for the upper control arms. I'm contemplating purchasing a set of 4 if I can figure the brand out.
The struggle is real. This is the new oem right lower forward control arm I put in 7000 miles ago. The bushing is already tearing.
I thought those were Armstrong poly bushings but Armstrong does not make such bushings for LS460.
I personally prefer Nisto bushings for RWD. Most of the set is useless for AWD but upper control arm bushings are OK.
I had the same issue with lower control arms. Tracked it back to not correct installation. I installed Beck and Arnley, tighten the bushings. Lowered the car and drove back 20-30 feet. Drove the car on the ramps and loosen the bushings. I heard the bushings releasing stress. Tighten to the bushings. It is being over 5k miles, so far so good. That is what worked for me.
Thank you. I just drove it another 10 miles. The wheel tracking is still all over the place. Sometimes straight, left or right. To me it feels like the new arm bushings are too flimsy. Depending on the torque from accelerating or braking the front wheels geometry seems to be changing. If I get lucky and brake just right it'll drive straight for 30 feet lol. I'm quite bummed. I had high hopes for those bling blue bushings.
Mike, as you know the FIGS are not in a fixed position as compared to OEM style, so they are designed with more length to prevent working themselves out of the control arm. However, there should not be any play in the metal sleeve and the control arm bracket. The design allows the poly bushing to rotate around the sleeve.
I know you've done a substantial amount of front end work, so pardon me if I may have lost track. But I worry that there may be an underlying suspension/control arm/alignment issue, and the install of the FIGS could have possibly amplified it. I have all 4 TRQ upper arms with the FIGS bushings I installed (and the black steel TRQ lower forward arm, unaltered) and like you, the 3-year Firestone alignment deal. Only about 3k miles since replacing all 8 arms, and all is good. While the car tracks straight, the FIGS do cause more "effort" in the steering wheel but also make the steering more responsive. So for the most part, the rubber bushings will be more stable (steering input wise), yet the reaction to steering wheel movements will be more sluggish when compared to the poly. In short, the OEMs made the front end feel heavier and more planted to me than after installing the FIGS poly bushings.
Thanks for the replies.
Anfanger....
It's quite possible I torqued the lower oem arm with some tension in the lower bushing causing the rip. I should swap out that arm to eliminate it as the problem. From what I can tell the other bushings look good. My upper trq arms should be here in a few days. At least they're not time consuming to replace.
Lwphat66...
The figs metal sleeve is secure within the bracket. When I man handle the tires I can see the blue bushing compressing. I know they have some play by design but I don't have to force the tire with very much force to get the bushing to smush slightly to one side or the other. I need a helper to muscle the tire around while I look for other possible issues. I tried to take a video while moving the tire. The video quality was poor, it wasn't helpful.
I had the same issues with the superpro bushings and made a post a while back. Tons of play after very few miles, leading to tracking issues and finally substantial popping when they went to an oval shape. It was shocking how quickly, too. I drive like a grandpa, so it may not be joyriding as you may think. I had people telling me I just installed them wrong or I didn't understand poly how bushings work.
If you do a little searching, there are other cars that have superpro bushings available, and in their respective forums there are a handful users with similar problems after short term use.
Either there are majority variances in quality/consistency, or other owners don't realize they're worn, but IMO those bushings are just not appropriate for the 460. Just too many similar stories.
Sorry I somehow missed your post. Thank you, this reaffirms my suspicions.
After replacing the upper front control arms for the 3rd time this year the car was still not tracking correctly. It was better but not to my satisfaction. I ended up parking it for a few weeks as I didn't feel it was safe to drive.
During those few weeks I loaded the parts cannon and fired away. Listed below in more detail are the parts I replaced including all 4 tires, 1 rim, 4 lower bushings on the lower fwd and lower rear arms ( all on the front of the car).
The lower fwd oem arm bushings had some slight cracking so I started with those. These turned out to be kinda tricky to press out. There is no easy way to press this bushing out.
I used a cutoff saw to cut part of the bushing off. Another section of the bushing rests right on the control arm. I cut through it most of the way with the cutoff saw then finished removing the chunk with a screw driver and hammer.
With that small section of bushing removed I was able to support the arm on my press to remove the bushing.
The metal block is holding the section of arm where I removed the small piece of bushing.
I left the ball joint attached to make life easier.
Bushing is out! My cutoff saw did scratch the arm a bit.
The new bushing pushed into the arm easily. Getting the arm reinstalled into the car is easier than it looks.
The shock and sway bar link are difficult to install at the same time. I discovered if you install one then try to install the other it won't slide in lol. I installed the shock, sway bar link, main bolt, then jacked it up to bolt the main ball joint to the knuckle.
Getting the lower rear arms lined up into the knuckle / ball joint proved to be tricky. I couldn't get enough leverage by hand to line them up. The new bushings were tight! ( picture of the left front looking forward)
On both sides I used a ratchet strap as a helping hand. ( right side of car looking forward )
The ratchet strap worked great. It pulled the knuckle into place and the arm fell right in. ( right front )
I also partially removed the lower rear arms. After removing them I discovered their bushings were pooched. These were the original arms and bushings that came with the car when I purchased it. In hindsight I should have started by checking these. I do believe these were the root cause of my tracking issues. It's very likely these were the cause of my strange steering behavior during u turns. In the video I'm hardly using any force to move it around. Once removed I could see daylight through the old bushing. The replacement bushings I pressed in appeared to be built sturdier. They have much more rubber in the bushing for support than the old ones I removed.
It's filled with more rubber than the one I removed.
In addition to the control arms I had issues with tire vibration around 75mph, at 80 the hood was bouncing. ( freeway limit here is 75mph)
I had 2 shops confirm one rim was bent(front left). I purchased a new rim on ebay for $400 :/
A shop also claimed my front right tire was out of round. This was the new tire I had put on in the spring. One of the original rear tires that came with the car had some uneven wear. Between the tire issues and bent rim I opted for 4 new tires. On cyber Monday at Discount tire I ordered 4 Pirelli cinturato p7 all season plus 2 245/45r19. After 2 weeks they arrived. I dropped my car off for the install and 15 minutes later Discount tire called to inform me one of the tires shipped was for a 20" rim. Apparently the new sticker on the tire indicated 19". I ended up waiting another week for the install. A few days ago I had the alignment done for the umpteenth time. It's finally drivable again. No major steering issues at the moment. This winter I plan on replacing the rear sway bar bushings and air struts. My other 3 rims look like trash
For the past few months the air strut compressor has been running very often, for longer duration too. I hear it multiple times during a 30 minute drive. I still need to install the new rear struts I bought in the spring. I assume they are causing a slow leak. In regards to the air compressor has anyone replaced the rubber mounts for the air compressor? Mine is quite loud. It sounds louder inside of the car than outside. That's why I assume its rubber mounts have deteriorated. I'm thinking the front bumper needs to come off for better access.
Where did you get the bushing kit for AWD lower front control arms?
Rear sway bar bushings are not replaceable. The whole thing needs to be replaced and the only way to do it is to lower the rear subframe. Mine will need attention soon too...
11-04-21, 06:00 PM
