LazyAlex

well..i read around about the ball joints..and i decided to just change mine...but when i call lexus (i called about 3 differnt dealers) and they qutoing me over 1000 to change em..so my question is..i see to just buy the joints it cost about 60 bucks each side...so..how hard is it to change it urself?
my brother use to be a mechinc at honda..but then, thats honda,..lol..will it be the same concept? to change a ball joint on a lexus and a honda?

thaimonkee

iTrader: (2)

its very easy...your brother should beable to do it no problem. its the same concept. should only take about 45 minutes for both.
be careful no to drop the hub after taking off the lower ball joint. just gently rest it on something. i did and i guess vibration cause my wheel sensor to go bad. just a heads up.

LazyAlex

thanks for the tip, again i wanna makre sure..its the front LOWER ball joints that everything is replaceing right?

thaimonkee

iTrader: (2)

i guess so. you gotta check it for play though.. dont change it out if they are still servicable.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

yes. front lower balljoints. It's an easy procedure really.

before taking off the balljoint completely, I used my jack to support the rotor (place it under the rotor), otherwise like mentioned, your hub will come crashing down.

LazyAlex

check it for play? how do i do that?...crap..i was just reading about it eariler on this site..lol let me go look for it again

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

pasting it here just incase

LazyAlex

koo thanks

UDel

It should not cost anywhere near $1000 to replace your "front lower ball joints" which is what is the issue with the GS. The parts are $60-70 a piece and a fairly simple quick procedure for mechanics to do which should be maybe $80 to $100 in labor. They may have misunderstood you and quoted you on upper ball joint replacement too which is much more expensive. If they are charging that much for lower ball joints than they are ripping you off and I would not use them anymore.

Joelseff

What mileage should we look for this? Will there be warning signs or will I just kill my family on the freeway one day??? I have 73K on mine and I taxi my little ones around. I don't wan them riding in a potential deathtrap. We should sign a petition or something to have Lexus recall our Ball joints!!! Unacceptable in a luxury car.....

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

You'll hear your balljoint clicking if you ride over speed bumps or simply entering your driveway. Balljoint wear is caused by the condition of the roads and the mileage it has seen. 10k of rough road is worse than 20k of smooth road.

Just jack up your car, put it on jackstand, take off your wheel and lift up the rotor assembly. If you can feel there there is play, then your balljoints should be replaced.

Or just spend less than $250 on parts and labor for a peace of mind.

Black_GS

I take my daughter everyday on the GS, and you guys really make me worry. If it is this bad, why didn't Lexus recall all the GSs? You know Lexus could be sued for this if someone actually dies from this known design issue ...
My lex is due for maintenance service in the next few months. I'll ask lexus service to check this balljoint ... Sounds scary when it fails. I hear some little noise over the bumps, but thinking that's because of custom springs and shocks.
I guess that having someone to check for the condition is a must before you decide to replace it ... it must be noticeably worsen before dead

UDel

Good idea. I would definitely sign that petition. It is unacceptable for a company like Lexus to just ignore this dangerous issue. They need to be re-designed to be strong enough to last the lifetime of the car or at least 300K miles and put on our 2nd Gen GS free of charge, it is too dangerous and unacceptable for them to be having all these problems like this at around 100K miles or less. The main problem is knowing for sure if they are bad which is often difficult to tell, some have said that mechanics told them they were fine when inspecting them or performing a simple test but when they were taken off the vehicle and looked at they were found to be bad, most mechanics do not want to take them off and inspect them and some have said you can damage them by taking them off and putting them back on which is making this a difficult problem to diagnose on our own. Toyota just recalled the Tundra and Sequoia for lower ball joint problems in which I believe there were a few accidents that occurred because of failures and they need to do the same for the 2nd Gen GS.

ib_jimmy

Where do I sign the petition?

BTW, any instructions for the DIY'er?

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

DIY for lower front ball joint

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...wer+ball+joint