DetMich1

Vlamos (in Australia) makes bushings for all four locations (upper and lower control arm in front and upper and lower in rear) That is total of 16 bushings as each control arm has a leading and trailing bushing. The control arm bushings are available in a range of stiffness from stock to stiffer/sportier. So far I have installed the front lower control arm bushings from him (four total) Car (1992 SC400) had around 330,000 miles at the time (I bought the car new in '92 and drove it extensively for the first 10 years or so. At the time of the install, I also did new Vlamos steering rack bushings, new tie rod ends, new engine and transmission mounts, Daizen sway bar bushings. End result nothing less than new car ride (ie. fabulous). Andrew was a prince to deal with. I went to my bank and sent the money via wire transfer. Parts arrived in less than a week. My mechanic, who had done Daizen control arm bushings before, found the job harder than expected. Toughest part was changing out the bushings themselves. Remove and replace the control arms is just incidental really. Essential that shop have an adequate press to faciltate removing and replacing the bushings. Great news to learn that Lexus is finally providing at least the lower control arm bushings at a price far below that of whole new control arm assembly ($550/side).
I never cease to be amazed at what I learn from fellow CL members, this site is awesome!

Project300

Great thread.

Getting back to the original post, I agree that the Supra LCA's are the way to go, all things considered.

I ordered mine from Carson Toyota and had them shippped to my door. I did the install myself and am very satisfied with the results. I was looking for the least expensive solution and the Supra LCA's were the obvoius choice. They give a slightly firmer ride, you will notice small cracks in the road more, but it is tight and solid.

If you want to resore that stock Lexus ride, check out VFT Bushes (Vlamos). He loves SC's and really knows how to make bushings, seriously. I would dare say his are better than Lexus bushings. I would have got the Vlamos bushings if they didn't require the burn-out/press-in procedure.

London Bill

Yakuza my 1994 / 120,000Mile Soarer is having a blower fitted next week but also needs a BIG service, I have a small "thunk" going from drive to over-run so we got under the ramp and checked the suspension and driveline bushs/mountings.

After inspection we decided to change EVERY single bush in the suspension front & rear and half a dozen mountings as every rubber component had a bit of slop/play, except the leading axle bushes which are so shot the cage can rock backwards & forwards and the front LCA which are starting to get a bit noisy.

We will use Vlamos bushes, all 16 of them on the suspension and 2 for the steering rack plus a couple of Toyota supplied bushes in the rear hub and strut rods. We have been fitting/selling AVlamos bushes in the UK for a couple of years now, no-one has an issue with these products and they restore the ride quality like NEW.

SC4Million

London,

Keep us informed on how the car feels post bush install. Also if you could put in your input on the time spent and how the old ones came out and new went in ect...

thanks
-Rob

London Bill

I was the first in the UK to do my own "poly" LCA bushes on The Beast (2.5TT), hard work and they creaked badly - http://web.ukonline.co.uk/soarertt/f_bushes.htm
I helped at the SSS to change to the Vlamos LCA bushes with a specially made insertion tool, lot easier.
These lot on Yakuza are being done in my absence, so much easier - TIF

You can do the job yourself but if the bolts are siezed inside the pins you need to grind/drill out the bolts - that is a real b1tch of a job without a ramp and all the heavy gear. I managed to damage the rear crossmember the first time I did it myself, not an easy job.

AllBoutDaZ

so which arm causes all this the upper control arm or the lower control arm??
my friend has the same problem but we want to make sure which one is bad

mikeloc24

Will, the front lower control arms are the problem parts. Not the actual arms themselves mind you, but it's the bushings that they hold which wear out. The uppers are typically fine. We can talk about it on Friday when I see you if you want, it'll be easier in person to explain and for you to see while my wheels are off.

AllBoutDaZ

for sure coo man
thanks

YZFR1

I have a set of Andrew Vlamos front lower control arm bushings (bushes) for the SC in the states if anyone is interested.........I could ship them for about what i got them for.


Dan

dean s

hey Dan,what are you asking for the bushings?
Dean S

YZFR1

pm sent! A little less than i got them from Andrew.......


Dan

xknowonex

iTrader: (2)

So those are the part # for the Supra arms? Theyre 156?

cal9126

Those are the part numbers for the supra control arms, but the 156.00 is the price for the lower front and rear replacement bushings and not the supra control arms....

xknowonex

iTrader: (2)

How much do the Supra LCAs cost? Also, should the upper arm bushings or upper arm be replaced too? Or LCA should be the main concern. Im havin a tramlining problem

mungrin

I replaced only my lower control arm bushings as those are the ones that are prone to fail on any double wishbone suspension.If you have the money,you can change em all and you car will basically ride like a brand new car.