tjj13401

O.K....

I am now in possession of a pair of Supra front LCA's, 4 bushings for the front UCA, and 2 steering bushings ("bushes"), courtesy of A. Vlamos from Down Under. Now for a couple questions on a subject that has ( I know ) already been beaten to death:

1. How many Labor hours should it take a qualified mechanic to install all of the above?

2. Rear LCA's: Do they have a ball joint too? Does this mean that at 130,000 miles I should replace them as well?

3. Supra's don't fit, do they?

4. If the rear LCA's have a ball joint, how do I know if it's bad?

Dammit Jim. I'm a paramedic, not a mechanic....

TJ

abdul10000

I think you will find those questions answered in my reply in the other thread. As for question 4, if you have the joint separated you usually want to test it by twisting it and checking to see if there is any unusual resistance and bumps while your moving the joint.

SCV8

The SC does not have a lower rear balljoint, so you don't have to worry about it. There is an upper, rear balljoint however.
Balljoints are checked by compressing the top of the stud and the bottom of the joint together with a large pair of Channel- lock pliers; if you see any movement, they're bad. Try to do the check with the arm in as close to normal, straight ahead driving position as possible.
You want to avoid taking apart things that aren't worn out yet.

abdul10000

I don't mean to insult you, but do you know what your talking about? I just took both the rear lca off a supra 1 week ago and one arm off my SC 2 weeks ago. Both arms are the same except in length and both have a BALL JOINT.

In fact, the rear lca is referred to as No.2 lower suspension arm in the Lexus SC repair manual volume 1 page SA-53. The manual calls for using special service tool # 09610-20012 to remove the ball joint. In fact, there is a little reminder under the step to be careful not to damage the rubber boot.

There are two ball joints in the lower rear and one on the top arm. Please check your facts.

SCV8

Uhh, (head bowed down), I didn't know what I was talking about, and can now see that there is in fact a balljoint; sorry if I caused any confusion.
You should be able and apply the squeeze test to it looks like.

abdul10000

No worries man, I thought you were one of the kids that love talking about things they don't know and in the process confuse others. That's why I fired back the information, sorry if I was a little harsh.

tjj13401

Thanks to both of you for the replies. My concern is that it becomes obvious that that you can wind up spending quite a bit of money replacing control arms and the like. I think I'm going to finish up with the front suspension stuff and see how things go for now.

TJ