INNER TIE ROD BAD?
Few weeks ago I was restoring my steering wheels free play & noise on my 00 Gs400(125k miles). Replaced Rack & Pinion bushings, Poly sway bar bushings & outer tie rods. Now I'm hearing the NOISE again. The steering is starting to feel like its having free play again. ONLY MAKES SOUND WHEN SLOW DRIVING UNDER ABOUT 20MPH AND SLIGHTLY TURNING STEERING WHEEL LEFT/RIGHT. ESPECIALLY AT A STOP I TURN MY STEERING WHEEL SLIGHTLY LEFT/RIGHT, ITS VERY LOUD FRONT UNDER. Since I replaced my OUTER TIE ROD and still got noise, does this mean the INNER TIE RODs needs to be replace too? They seem to have NO FREE PLAY at all when I replace the OUTERS and tried to wiggle the INNERS. They're solidly in place.

I know its normal but this is the noise I'm hearing. Only during the first 90* degrees left or right turn of the steering wheel(at stop or low speed driving).
WHEEL BEARING ISSUE(F&R)?
Been hearing "humming" noise lately when I slow down. Is my FRONT wheel bearing BAD, WORN OR LOOSE? Most of the time at hwy speed braking, the front end shakes. Tires are Brand New Continental DWS(stock 17" rims). Rotors are new. All new OEM struts. These tires are rated most quietest so that lead me to believe my wheel bearing is making humming noise. Besides the steering wheel issue above, can the front wheel bearings be worn that causes slight LOOSE of the front wheel to throw it off a bit(steering wheel free play & unstable driving at hwy speed)? Also, can a worn rear wheel bearing cause the car to feel like worn struts over bumps on the hwy? bc my rear rolls a bit when I hit bump/dip on the hwy. I try moving the wheel while on jack stands, it seems pretty solid(F&R). Any ideas?

Car has NEW:
-Continental DWS TIres w/stock 17"
-Oem Struts
-Energy susp. Sway Bar bushings
-Poly Rack & Pinion bushing

Car will get Caster Poly Bushing soon.

 

?????????????????

 

lower ball joints???

 

Now starting to feel shakes during braking. Rotors are all new. Less than 5k miles. Now I'm suspecting the bearings are bad/loose causing the shake during braking because the front end will dive pressing on the bearings. Any thoughts?

 

I am not sure, but as far as I know it shouldn't be wheel bearings. Did you check ball joints? If it's ball joints replace them asap.

 

Bad bearings will be ever present when you brake (entire front end will shake), also note, bad rotors/pads will also cause this. Easiest way to check bearings is to pop off the wheel and see if the hub has alot of play. Also for the inner tie rod, just remove the outer tie rod, if there is alot of play, replace the inner tie rods.

Hope this helps.

 

Sounds like it could be castor bushings. What do they look like, cracked? Mine didn't look bad but made a world when I replaced them. I felt safe at HWY speeds again. If there is no play in your inner tie rod then they are still good.

The humming you speak of... is it a constant hum or is it a pulsating hum? From my experiences, wheel bearings tend to make a pulsating sound rather than a constant. I guess it could be constant if it had been neglected for some time. I recently realize my passenger bearing was going out when I was on the hwy with my windows down going over a bridge.

 

Just replaced ball joints and yea they both are bad. Both have play in them. Now over bumps steering wheel doesn't jerk to left/right. Also did new wheel bearing. Still get the constant humming noise when slowing down or coming to a stop. Caster bushing looks ok. No cracks. I have new poly bushings to replace them but couldn't get the 2 bolts that holds the caster arm loose. My 1/2 impact wrench @ 950ft lb/tq doesn't even budge the bolts at all so I gonna hold on to replacing those bushing for now. I dont want to risk breaking the bolt using cheater bars.

 

What impact gun do you have that you can't break them loose? Unless they're severely rusted, most decent gun should remove the bolts. Try tightening the bolts and loosen it again. Sometimes you need to do that back and forth a few times and with luck, it'll come off.

 

Sounds like strut bearings, which are located in the top hat of the struts. Its the part that bolts the strut to the body. Thats my best guess.

 

I believe gs don't have strut bearings since they are not macpherson struts they are shocks

I have the same humming issue you have and the same tires. I read the same articles you read about the tires being quiet but that is on the continental dw not dws. When I went to get the tires I was not paying attention and now I have the dws. I still think my noise is the bearing but I had the bearing replaced. I am guessing the mechanic intalled it wrong but I am debating if it is the tires or the bearing. Keep this updated when you figure out the humming cause. By the way my humming is at low speeds (below 25 mph) and louder depending on driving surface and it is not very loud, it has a holllow sound to it. Can you describe yours better?

 

I'm pretty certain its the lower ball joint. I say "pretty" certain because I'm sure there are other things that could create the same sound.

Check the boot on the LBJ and look for tears. Also, lift the car and turn the wheel and see if it goes away. I just replaced almost everything on the front suspension and after the alignment I was hearing the same sound. I put it on the lift and used a mechanics stethoscope to find it. It sounded like it was coming from both sides, but because the rack is pretty much one complete part, it transfers accross. Anyways, found it coming from the LBJ. Reason be, the LBJ's I got come empty and I had to grease them myself (didnt know) so it was creaking inside.

As for the caster arm bolts, I just changed these bushings too. Get a 1/2" drive socket and use a 4-5ft extention and it comes off like butter. I used the back end of my shop jack, worked like a charm

 

Jokster, are you talking about the humming sound? Because he already changed the ball joints. Do you think the ball joints could cause a a humming sound?

 

A 950/lb gun won't budge them? I use a 250/lb for a daily and use a 650/lb for stubborn stuff and it usually just breaks the bolt head off when set on max, I've had it break 7/8 truck leaf bolts. It's pretty rare I've ever broke a bolt with a manual breaker bar. I might would give a careful try with a moderate length bar.

 

I was talking about the sound when he moved his steering wheel. My sound came after I changed mine. Depending on if you used Lexus part or not, he could be experiancing what I did with a joint that needs to be greased. As I wrote my explination, I guess I forgot that he already changed them, so checking for tears would be out of that question