wb407

Hi. Occasional reader, first-time poster.
I apologize for revisiting a topic that's been discussed ad nauseam.
I'd really appreciate it if somebody knowledgeable would quickly confirm my understanding.

to summarize:

• my dad's car: 2011 LS460L AWD
• he went in for an oil change and left with $6,000 in repair quotes from a mechanic with a very good reputation who my dad is inclined to trust
• $3,500 of the quote involved replacing control arms because they said the bushing were beginning to tear

unrelated:

• $850 to replace both high pressure fuel pump seals
  • not aware of any indication of any problem with existing seals
  • not leaking any kind of fluid, and certainly not gas
• $1,200 to replace CV axle boots
  • not sure how many CV boots are on the car (AWD) in total
  • not sure how many are included in this quote

regarding the control arms:

• please correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding from light reading is that:
  • this was a very common issue in 2007-2010 RWD
    • lesser so in mid-2010+
    • even lesser so in AWD because the bushings were designed differently from RWD
  • bad control arm bushings allow side-to-side movement in the tires, which:
    • can be felt up the steering column
    • can be heard as clunking.. especially when accelerating rapidly from a stop
    • causes very uneven wear in tires
• my dad's car drives beautifully; there is no clunking, no vibration, and tire wear is even

my questions regarding the control arms:

• if one or more of the bushings are beginning to tear
  • is there any urgency in having them replaced?
  • is there any safety issue?
• if allowed to get worse
  • will any other (more expensive) parts be damaged and require eventual replacement?
  • or will the same work simply be required at a later time?

my dummy questions regarding the control arms:

• there are 8 of them in total?
  • all are connected in the front of the car..
  • 4x per front tire..
    • 2x upper and 2x lower per front tire?

OK. Sorry if these are repetitive or dumb questions.
It's just that I'm not a mechanic, and I don't want my dad to be taken advantage of.
If this is all legit and will keep his much loved Lexus on the road for years to come, then so be it.
If new bushings aren't necessary and he can live with them until it gets worse and becomes a noticeable issue, that would be preferable.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated

swfla

iTrader: (1)

Welcome. Good concerns you have here. Lot's of questions which are readily available by doing a search. Suggest using google. type: clublexus ls460 awd control arms
You'l find multiple threads to answer all your questions. PS Several aftermarket solutions available to potentially reduce cost for similar results. No need to rush to repair
before researching.

swfla

iTrader: (1)

BTW that's a lot of repairs and money. It would be wise to get a second opinion and price from another shop on all counts. Don't go to Lexus dealer though, it will be even higher cost.

Doublebase

I think if all of that did need replacement, you should get a second opinion on all of it because I would think you could at the very least, get that work done for a couple grand cheaper dele ding on where you take it.

Hogh pressure fuel pump handlers would be leaking oil, as they are on top of the valve covers towards the rear. Just check them with a flashlight...if they’re not leaking? I wouldn’t worry about it.

Control arms? You could probably get all 8 for $800 bucks aftermarket and pay someone about the same to install them. Axles? If they’re the fronts, that should be a straight forward job...maybe $500 for the pair of refurbished axles.

So, like I said...I think you can do these repairs for maybe $2,000 less. Give or take, yet you could spend even more at a dealer. If this guy is reputable, the price isn’t all that bad I guess.

Anfanger

Control arms issue persists even for 2013+. I would replace only bushings/control arms that have damage.

You can argue that if one of bushings fails, there is more load on remaining bushings. It might accelerate failure of other bushings and/or ball joints.

Yes, there are four front control arms per wheel + steering.

There are no refurb/remanufactured front axles for AWD. I know because I looked for a long time, unless you get lucky. I ended up buying a new one and it was expensive even directly from Japan.

Some control arms are available from OEM only, there is no aftermarket replacement.

texas008

Control arms seems not big deal to replace.
My 2009 LS460 got all 8 front CA replaced in Dec 2015 (actually Scotty Kilmer, at Houston at that time, replaced one lower CA for me, and another shop replaced the rest 7). Its been almost 6 years and ~ 60k miles and they seems still work fine. I bought the CA's from ebay and rockauto.com, no-name brands. parts cost ~$550 total, labor cost ~$600. just FYI.

ill57

Hows MEVOTECH branding for arm replacement.

Persocon

I did all the front 8 arms bushings by myself for a very reasonable price, plus 2 ball joints that attached to the lower aft arms (went with all febest bushings), the only ones that crapped out within 10k miles is the lower aft arm bushings. it’s not a safety issue even with totally failed bushings, i drove around with 1 side totally shot, as in every time i brake hard, the lower aft arm would slide forward in it’s rod and change the steering toe angle. it’s definitely bad for tire wear but not going to make you crash.

so when you get the front lower aft control arms, make sure you get the 2013 or newer redesigned arms. I installed them in my 2008, direct swap exact dimensions no issues. The rest of the bushings can all be pressed out of the original arms and install new bushings back in.
here’s pics of my 08 with new ‘13 arms
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...on-2008-a.html