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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...
Whether replacing the bushings (if possible) or the entire sway bar, I realize lowering of the subframe will be required. But what is the reason for not being able to just remove the old bushings and install new ones?Although mine seem fine now, someday I hope to install the poly bushings I have like I did for the front sway bar.
I'd crack the joke that this is becoming more like project bankruptcy rather than project ls600hl but 4 new tires and an alignment really isn't that bad when you think about Mercedes repair bills.
If you take a look at the picture above, you will see that the bushing is pressed between two half-moon metal plates. Even if you manage to separate the plates, as far as I am aware, there no replacement bushings you can purchase and to replace old ones.
I thought I'd bring you guys along on my adventure. Kinda long winded but here we go....
For the past month I've been searching for one that had a bad traction battery or similar expensive item to repair (planned on a prius cell swap or brake actuator change). The only search criteria I really had...
1. Buy the cheapest one I could find.
2. Currently running
3. Not black interior ( It has tan interior)
4. Under 200k miles
I wasn't opposed to a salvage title / wrecked vehicle but for ease of reselling a clean title was prefered. My preference is to troubleshoot / replace components rather than do body work. Another very relevant fact is I couldn't come up with a good line to tell the wife if a wrecker dropped off a mangled car in our driveway. Admittedly rebuilding a wrecked one sounded more fun. With that said I really didn't want to get that "look". Taking a chance on a car that at least looks ok has many advantages to some of us.
The purchase...
A few days ago I purchased a clean title, 2008 LS600hl, 190k miles. It was 700 miles away in another state.
. It was listed for $9700. On the drivers.lexus site I noticed in 2018 a lexus dealer diagnosed it with a failing traction battery. With that info I offered $7000. 3 weeks after I contacted them they got back to me and accepted my offer. I ended up paying $6500 plus $500 in tax. They never admitted the car had any issues. I expected so much...
(side story...) My buddy bought a gs450h a few months ago from a small dealer. I helped him check the car over. It was throwing 10 codes( I scanned it). The dealer said all the warning dash lights being on was normal. He also said all his cars had "those lights on", haha. A quick search on clublexus suggested the codes may be due to a dead 12v battery. We made an even lower offer, paid the man. Then drove the car home. ALL of the codes cleared once we replaced one of the two 12v batteries in the trunk. My buddy was happy with that deal. This site is really helpful which is one reason I try to post my .02 when I can. I appreciate you guys.
Back to my out of state LS600h
Luckily someone I knew lived nearby the car. She was able to test drive it and send a few pictures my way. Right off the bat It had a low tire light and a check brake message. She was able to pump the brake and hear the brake motor turn on. It only ran for a second before the system was charged. With any luck the actuator is good. If not I'm fairly proficient at replacing them. It'll be my 3rd. The hybrid battery had almost full bars. In park with a bunch of accessories on it didn't drop any bars (in park with ice off). During the test drive she did mention a slight clunk at times. I tend to think worst case scenario to start with... clunk=air strut(s). Otherwise the drive was uneventful. She was surprised by how much acceleration it had.
A few more random thoughts...
I really like the adjustable suspension I've had on my other vehicles. I'd like to keep the air suspension alive if the rest of the car isn't a basketcase. The car lived in vegas from 2008-2019. Hopefully one winter in salty roads won't cause too many rusted bolt headaches. As for the exterior color...In AZ all cars turn that ugly sand color without a bath. One of my current cars was tan / gold when I purchased it. I repainted it white. If I hold onto the 600h for a few years I will likely paint it white too.
I anticipate it being delivered next week. Until then my mind will be filled with wild emotional swings while I wonder how bad or good it will be. When it does finally show up there is a good possibility my wife might make me sleep in the garage for a few days. Hopefully the massage seats function!
It’s good to have some projects along this road of life and I hope yours bring you some joy and satisfaction. I to bought a 2007 LS 460L recently as a project car and it is working out fine and keeping me busy learning all about these cars. These days remind me of when my sons were little boys growing up and wanted to play soccer and I made a decision to coach them knowing I knew nothing about soccer but I found a few videos and read a few books and we were on our way. I took one under 8 team to the final four. Now I’ve been able to pass my little knowledge along to younger parents, my sons are all grown up now.
If you take a look at the picture above, you will see that the bushing is pressed between two half-moon metal plates. Even if you manage to separate the plates, as far as I am aware, there no replacement bushings you can purchase and to replace old ones.
I know it's difficult to see in many of the photos, but I'm pretty certain the metal clamp does not wrap fully around the bushing. Below is a photo from this 460 listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/23398479318...7CMake%3ALexus
Interesting, I think, you will have to cut the old bushings out before you can install new ones. And once you install new bushings, are you certain the plates will clamp together enough to prevent bushings from slipping?
Interesting, I think, you will have to cut the old bushings out before you can install new ones. And once you install new bushings, are you certain the plates will clamp together enough to prevent bushings from slipping?
Yup, I think (I hope), it will go as smoothly as my front bar. The OEM front bushings were already split, just had to cut the new poly ones. I don't foresee any issue cutting the stockers to remove them. The polys' outer lips are stout, plus the notches should keep them secure. Front sway bar with poly bushings (3,170 miles since I installed them):
No worries Lwphat66 the more pictures the better. I purchased these febest ls460 rear sway bushings a few years ago. They look different than the oem's. Here are some close ups of mine. The oem bushing does appear to have a factory cut down the middle for installation like the febest one. I'm not sure I have room to remove the bolts let alone cut the old bushing out.
It doesn't appear to be shaped like the oem bushing. I wrote LS460 rear sway on the box 4 years ago. I don't see them offered on febests site.
close up of my 600 rear bushing. By looking at it I do get the feeling the bushing is glued or melted in.
Anafanger
These were the bushings I installed on the front lower arms. They were cheap $35 for each pair.
That's a great pic of the bushing Mike, thanks for posting it! Sure has seen better days, hasn't it? LOL
I was wondering the reason the rears are round and not flat on one side like on the fronts, where they mount to the frame. Looks like once the bolt is undone, just need to pry the clamp apart enough to slide it of the bushing then just cut the bushing off. Sounds easy enough....yeah, right! Great to hear it's driving alot better now. Regarding the lower rearward arm in the video, was the other side just as bad?
Yes, the left rear arm was also shot. Once I had the arm removed I could move the bushing with my fingers. On rough roads the new Tenacity bushings do seem to transmit more road noise / vibrations into the car. It could be that my old bushings were so worn they were able to absorb more movement than normal.
My ride height compressor was making a ton of racket while running. Oddly enough it was louder inside the cabin vs outside. With new bushings I can only hear it running with the ice off. Even then it is only a slight hum. It used to sound like a diesel engine with a rod knock
The mount bushings cost $3 each from my local lexus dealer. Finally a repair under $10 lol. I removed the right front tire and pulled back the fender liner. The compressor bolts were easy to access.. I swapped out the bushings one at a time with the compressor still installed. This is a very easy 10 minute task.
I used a mirror to verify they were fully installed. They are easy to reach and replace from under the car but difficult to see from the top without a mirror.
They were past their prime. The joys of maintaining a 200k mile car.
The fun continues...
My ride height compressor was making a ton of racket while running. Oddly enough it was louder inside the cabin vs outside. With new bushings I can only hear it running with the ice off. Even then it is only a slight hum. It used to sound like a diesel engine with a rod knock
The mount bushings cost $3 each from my local lexus dealer. Finally a repair under $10 lol. I removed the right front tire and pulled back the fender liner. The compressor bolts were easy to access.. I swapped out the bushings one at a time with the compressor still installed. This is a very easy 10 minute task. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1bA7SBonwo
Dang, more bushings to replace in my future! Great that you figured out what was causing the excessive noise and that they weren't expensive. I believe the procedure in the repair manual shows bumper cover removal to access the compressor, so kudos to you for finding an easier and far less time consuming way.
How did you support the compressor? It has a high pressure metal line with some kind of quick-connect system. Did you disconnect the line or kept it connected? Did you replace the filter and/or the rubber intake line?
I always had at least one mount bolt in supporting the compressor while replacing the other bushings. During the bushing replacement the compressor remained installed with all fittings connected. It's a very easy task there is plenty of room in there.
The only thing I didn't mention was removal and installation of a plastic air duct for easier access. The air duct mounts just above the splash shield with 2 bolts and drops right out. This video at 1:51 has some good views of the duct. In the video he removes the entire fender liner which isn't required, at least for bushing replacment. For access I removed the bottom splash shield section under the compressor. I also took the wheel off and a few inside fender bolts out but I suspect you can do this without removing the wheel. I left the upper part of the fender liner installed.
12-21-21, 03:26 AM
Great to hear it's driving alot better now. Regarding the lower rearward arm in the video, was the other side just as bad?
