04GTOLS430

Hey guys,
i m the second owner of a 02 ls430 with 147k. Ever since i bought the car @135K it has always had a little wobble sometimes the front,the rear, or both around 50-65 MPH range. I have had 3 different sets of wheels and tires and still continues. Currently i have 245x40x19 Pirelli p7 attached to Niche Milan rim and i have to say this is the worst yet. I have had them road forced a couple times and all shows well. i do know i have 1 bad lower ball joint and a bad strut in the back. Could those 2 things cause that much issues with this car? Any points, tricks, or guidance is appreciated.

THANKS

rkw77080

There are numerous suspension parts that can contribute to "shakes". Bad ball joints and bushings (see sketches below) are the most common causes, but bad wheel bearings or struts can also play a part in the shaking problem.

Johnhav430

Just my history, vibration at 60....worse vibration at 70+ when I got my car in Oct. front rear LCA bushings got replaced, seemed like 60 mph vibration was gone, but as I went faster, still had a vibration at 70-75. The indie stated he rebalanced the front tires as they were improperly balanced. Oddly, they came from an online eTailer, but what could I say, he said no charge. If I am honest, I believe that the rebalance did nothing? I ended up getting an alignment and suddenly I was in awe of the wheel being perfectly centered. Then, when I reached 75 mph, smooth as silk. I was just remarking that to myself yesterday night driving home, this car is now smooth and eeerily quiet. That's my experience with having slight vibrations, to now. But it's a moving target, the work was done when I had snow tires, now I have summer tires, so I am still smooth on another set of rims that have never been balanced under my ownership, and I swapped them rear to front as well. I tend to think it's the LCA's plus alignment...but YMMV....indie swore that replacing the LCAs based on the condition of the old ones, should have no effect on anything...

Animosity

I have a 2004 LS430 Ultra and my front driver's side wheel has the same issue...I'd have to agree with rkw77080 as I luckily still have original OEM air struts though the non-replaceable nylon bushings in the fronts are probably contributing as they all will be replaced at same time since one will surely follow somewhat close to first and so on. Also wheel bearing/hub replacement isn't a bad idea especially DIY as per the front pair of bearing/hubs per front run like $90 and the steps and few tools can get a fairly easy job covered whether mechanically inclined or not. As for other contributing factors and multiple sifted descriptions including rkw's I'd say replacing my upper and lower control arms as well as all joints and cv's if needed to just ensure she'll last another 100k; though reaching for that number would definitely include belts and pulleys kit again as mine was done approximately 40k miles ago. Great initial 04GTO as well as detailed follow-up rkw77080 as that really adds more supportive clarity to a currently unresolved issue since I just haven't got around to it and would prefer DIY instead of dealer unless absolutely necessary especially for obvious items like OEM airstrut replacement they want approximately $1000/per airstrut or corner not including the few hundred per corner for labor. Thanks for y'all's post fellas.
I just researched the wheel bearing/hub replacement and estimated costs estimate via dealer versus doing oneselves: if anyone happens to not be able to locate this particular thread message me and I'll find the attachment and shoot it your way if it'll help.
Animosity

04GTOLS430

Thank you for your responses. I am wanting, when i replace parts, to make performance upgrades. I have seen on lexuspartsnow they have 3 different options of struts. I'm thinking about going with performance strut (non-air ride). Because when our cars look and sound as good as they do why not keep it going. My summer car is a GTO and i want to have that feeling year round of a nice tight feel. any opinions on performance upgrades or is the exact OEM part that much better?

I wont be able to get under my car for a week or so because of my work schedule right but as soon as i do i will be updating what i find

THANKS!!!

ACarter

I had a car at one time that would do those shakes at those same speeds. I would let off the gas around 50 mph and it would shake. I thought it was way too dangerous to even attempt to drive.
I took it to a mechanic and it turned out that the bolts connecting the struts to the control arm were loose. very loose. After they were tight , the handling was as good as it once was. No more wobble!

Scootymad

When I read the title of the thread I thought you were doing 8 second quarters and getting tyre shake at the 60ft mark :P

04GTOLS430

someday.........

Animosity

Other than the info rkw posted followed by myself, though ACarter makes a very good point as well: as this is more of a definitive issue on sportbikes or cruisers too due to the amount of vibration of not only the everyday roads and hazards but the vibrations from the motor/tranny themselves causing parts especially nuts to back off of bolts and so forth. Thus always before riding I'd finger check nuts and bolts especially those that are easily accessible as well as those that in fact are crucial in keeping parts intact on frame and subframe. This being the case, and though much more prominent on bikes the same does apply to cars and trucks as well just doesn't happen as often and might be caused more from undertightening by mechanics and or yourselves, whomever was working under your ride for whatever reason as we all know "**** happens" sometimes even unintentionally. The Toyota Celsior aka Lexus LS430 are some of the best built not just luxury sedans but cars built period for their reliability, stability, and of course their safety and luxury standards though we all already pretty much know this, just saying that it definitely won't hurt to check your under carriage when you get ample time as you said your pressed now for time due to work; that's definitely something you do not want to completely leave unattended and end up unfastening as that could/would be catastrophic bud. Hope my posting also helps solidify what rkw initially and ACarter added, apologies for not ending able to see your zip rkw or if I got ACarter wrong bud. Oh BTW here's the 2004-2006 attachement from earlier thread about Lexus LS430 wheel bearing/hub replacements for those who couldn't locate or haven't seen as this could add even more clarity.___________________
**Sorry never attached a thread on ClubLexus.com before and am sad to say a noon as far as that goes but if you search in search engine for "Replacing Lexus LS430 wheel bearings/hubs 2004-2006" it'll be the top post from ClubLexus via search results! My bad about that, but this should suffice.

Anyways you fellas take care,
Animosity

04GTOLS430

Update: i took it to the dealer today since i still have an extended warranty i bought and according to them they have normal wear and tear not worth running through the warranty company. What they did find is that both sides on the valve cover gasket to be leaking and they are hoping they can get the struts front and back replaced even though they aren't leaking oil.

I guess i will see what turns out from this....

tallcaguy

My '04 had the "tires need balancing" shakes. The local Goodyear tire shop does great work. They did the rebalance. Some but not much improvement. They did again (using a different procedure) and now the car's perfect (up to top speed). Owner says it's hard to get balance right on these cars. Doing load force balancing sounds like a good idea but local Lex dealer wanted several hundred dollars.

nthach

Pretty much all the OEMs require their dealers to have a Hunter GSP9700 road force balancer in house as required equipment - problem is that many flat-rate techs aren't trained in how to use it or treat it as a regular dynamic balancer. I used to work at a dealership that had one but many of the techs there didn't use the features in them, I taught myself how to use it. Some higher-end tire shops also have them as well - but many dealers and shops won't have the Hunter service rep come out and do a recalibration of the machine.

Tires matter as well - all tire makers can make duds, but a known major brand like Conti, Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear should balance up nicely versus say, a Primewell or Sailun. The Japanese tire makers - Bridgestone, Yokohama, Toyo/Nitto and the Sumitomo brands(Dunlop/Falken/Ohtsu/Sumitomo/Sumic) and maybe some of the Chinese brands mark the "light" point of their tires with a yellow circle - that is intended to line up with the "heavy" point of the wheel - either the valve stem or on some cars a colored dot on the rim.

Polabareus

I just recently purchased my first LS, an 04. Vibration at 55-70, thought for sure it was the tires, out of round, balance, etc. After going down that route, to no avail, I thought about replacing everything in the front to be sure, bearings, tie rod ends, ball joints, struts, etc. However, everything was tight and I just didn't think it was the route to go. I decided to just do the struts first, and sway bar links (which of course would not do anything but make noise). The struts were not leaking at all and after replacing my vibration is GONE. Oddly, I've always found this sort of vibration to be a tire issue, minus the times I've driven a car that had such bad shocks it would shake after hitting bumps, ie it couldn't rebound. I think something that might be leading to the shake from the struts, before they even start leaking oil, is the fact that it's a rear wheel drive car. I'm guessing but it makes sense to me that there is a little bit of lift on the front struts as the car is being "pushed" instead of "pulled" and once they become weaker they just can't keep the tires on the road as tight as they should. So replacing struts should help if not fix the vibration issue. That said, it could also be tires or other things causing the vibration. Sure can be loads of fun narrowing it down though, lol.