Suspension- Control arms- front and reat- upper and lower

[stevechumo]

Found a place today they do rebuild upper and lower control arms and new bushings. This shop specialized in Lexus. If you are interested, please let me know.

Yeah, I'm interested in some parts on the upper & lower control arms. All I need are the dust boots for the ball joints. I tore them by accident. Could you give any contact info.? Thanks.

 

[Miles B]

I did the front Lower Control Arm bushes with Vlamos ones. My ride is still pretty harsh. I dunno, could be the shocks too. I'm not putting any more money into it. Those 4 bushes and fitting was expensive enough without much perceivable benefit to me. I'm sure it could be fixed with all new bushes and shocks, but I've got more important stuff to spend my money on for now.

Plus I'd be afraid of spending $1000+ just on the bushes, and then breaking a ball joint and it's time to start over on that arm. I can take a few bumps for now.

 

[YZFR1]

I just ordered Andrew Vlamos's bushings for the front lower arms as well as the steering bushings. This was after researching it a lot on the web. I just bought my 95 SC400 2 weeks ago....... Flew to Florida and drove it to CT I hope they will be here soon enough.

Thanks.

Dan

 

[WDoherty]

Nict t, yes i'm wondering about the rear alignment as well. My car has excessive negative camber in the rear which will cause the tires to wear quickly. I thought i might fix this problem by taking in to lexus for a 4 wheel alignment. It looked the same when when they were done with it. I know the rear camber is adjustable, but i wonder it they adjusted it all of the way. In that case, i wonder if it is the rear lower bushings or rear upper bushings, or a combination of both causing the negative camber.

 

[Miles B]

Just saw this thread on ClubLexus, looks like they may actually sell an OEM bush for the LCAs???

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=144793

Bushings are made for `97 and up SC, but fit all model years. There are two different bushings for the LCA, the front and rear, with different numbers. Youll need one of each for each side.
Front: 48654-24040
Rear: 48655-24050

Just checked on the part# and price. The #'s are correct and the killer is this:
- $32.18 List for the Front Lower Front Bushing
- $48.83 List for the Front Lower Rear Bushing

$162.00 Sounds pretty damn good for to do all the front lower bushings with Lexus OEM parts.

Your cheapest bet is to order control arms with new bushings off car-parts.com, to go back to OEM bushings. Many have new bushings on them if you read, and are around 275 or so(better than buying just the supra arm, you get bushings, and the arms should last a long time being cast iron)

You can get the set of front lower control arm bushings from Carson for $156

If you want Supra arms (bushings and ball joints included) those go for $190 each and you'll need 2 of them if you choose to go that route. Just remember the Supra is a sports car and the SC is a luxury cruiser, I believe the Supra arms are slightly shorter so your ride comfort will be diminished slightly

Front bushings look the same like ones in my ctrl arms, rear bushing are redesiged, made to be much stronger

 

[stevechumo]

Sway Bar Bushings

I had superpro bushes (urethane) bushes installed in my soarer and find the ride quality absolutely terrible, since it is difficult to get orgininal rubber bushes, i would a guy on the www.lexus.australia.as forums named Andrew Vlamous, and he makes rubber bushes (factory specs) and now have the awesome ride of a soarer back!!

I had the same problem since I replaced the sway bar bushings (front & rear) from Daizen. Although they improve the stiffness, they also make noises whenever I backup and brake hard.

 

[SCV8]

The Supra Swaybar bushings are a direct swap and have a liner that keeps the bind/squeak from happening.

 

[stevechumo]

what is the aloted time to install these new bushings? aprox 6hrs?

I've never done front end work but am curious so my garage won't Rape me in costs for labor.

It took me two days to do the upper and lower fronts. Perhaps the most consumed time was knocking the ball joints off the knuckle, and the time to find the right size washers and the pit arm puller to press them out, plus the time to melt the rubber around the metal cores and clean them smooth.

 

[stevechumo]

Daizen bushings' pros and cons

I did my front lowers first, as those were the ones that went bad. Absolutely no change in ride, but holy smokes the handling and driving were out of this world!!!!! After that I decided to do the front uppers, the handling improved even more which I was astonished!!!! I was sold so I did the rears too and it's like a totally different car. If I get my twin turbo I can smoke a Vette in the turns at the track for sure!!! I just can't get em in the straights yet!

Pros. You're right about the handling of the Daizen control arm bushings. They're awesome. The ride and its handling for turning & lane changing is what I've been looking for after I've installed the upper & lower front bushings from Daizen. I missed this kind of ride since I bought my SC 400. I was kind of dissappointed with the stock SC's handling due to its softness and over-turn for fast lane changing, which almost made me lose my control over the tight head to head cut-offs. As for a real sports car fan, I believe this ride is it. I had a chance to drive a Viper, a few new BMW 3 series, a few Hondas with fully lowered suspensions, and a Vette, all I can say is this ride in general is on par with those cars, not to say it's slightly better. Well, I like its firm handling especially on curved street. With all due respects to those who like the original softness of Lexus, then I'll say the Daizens wouldn't make you happy.

Cons. However, there's one thing I don't like about it. It's the noise whenever the car goes to a stop. I don't know it's whether the bushings are so new and need to be broken-in, or maybe the brake pads had to push in harder with the harder bushings. If anyone has the same sympton, please let me know so we can discuss.

For the grease that goes with the Daizens, I can tell it's the best grease that I've ever seen. It would stay with the bushings forever. The first reason is that it's trapped inside the bushings and the washers, so it won't be exposed to outside dirts or water. The second reason is its bonding property. I tried to spray it with Brake Cleaners & Throttle Body cleaner, but it's still there unless I wiped it off with Acetone.

 

[Tafarilion]

I have a 1994 Lexus SC400. The balljoints and the bushings are bad on both lower control arms. I was told i can change the bushings but not the ball joints. I am looking for two brand new lower control arms. Can anyone give me some info on where i might purchase these other than the Lexus dealership?

 

[stevechumo]

I have a 1994 Lexus SC400. The balljoints and the bushings are bad on both lower control arms. I was told i can change the bushings but not the ball joints. I am looking for two brand new lower control arms. Can anyone give me some info on where i might purchase these other than the Lexus dealership?

My '95 SC 400 has 145,000 miles and the ball joints are still good. Before replacing the whole arms, make sure to regrease the ball joints and recheck their tension. If you need to replace the arms, use the Supra 93-98 control arms. They fit perfectly on SC control arms, and cost much cheaper with better handling. Also, there're some rebuilt arms somewhere but I don't recall them. Do some researchs for them.

 

[Tafarilion]

I am looking for a V161, V160 or a R154 gearbox with bell housing to use on my V8 (1UZFE) conversion. Anyone has one for sale?

 

[jibby]

I personally think the daisen bushings suck, to rubbery and spongy feeling. I changed my lower control arms on my 1992 sc400 with brand new supra lower control arms and man it feels great.

I have a poly bushing set for the sc that I got on ebay that I and never installed and these are much better, stiffer and cheaper then the daisens. Made for nascar. There are more listed on Ebay. The daisens can also cause a little drift in the steering, be careful. I have a set of daisen lower control arm bushing sitting in my back yard still mounted on my old arms. You are welcome to have them, but you will need to take the arms too, I do not feel like seperating the bushing from the arms and they are new from Todds screw up at Tm Engineering!!!! Still bitter as you can see.

 

[Tafarilion]

Supra control arms

where can i find a pair of supra lower contro arms for my SC?

 

[jibby]

Junk yards, Ebay, Recycler.com, etc.... Used ones will wear out fast becareful, I suggest you buy new if you like your cars steering, suspension and safety, or buy one from a newer model. Even if you change the lower control arm bushings the pivot joint still wears out, rubber housing cracks, and can become dangerous if that pivot joint fails and breaks. I bought my Supra arms at a dealer discount through a friend from the Toyota Dealer, two new supra arms for $400. Hear are the pics of my old 1992 sc400 with new daisens but messed up pivot joint, if you look closely you can see the cracking of rubber housing at the pivot joint, and the new supra arm with the stiff stock bushings. Basically the same arms but there are slight differences.

 

[jibby]

Oppps, that other pic is my rebuilt supra 1993 supra 4 piston front brake calipers, those also make a wonderful difference. $400 Ebay. I should have bought a Supra, it seems all the Supra parts are just far superior to the sc's!!! Late-

 

[jibby]

Dude, you live in Hollywood, Florida, and are from Jamacia? That's a trip I am moving 10 miles away from you on the Gulf in or near Destin, Florida. I also was just in Negril and Kinston visiting and scuba diving came back with some good music, buja, garnet silk, etc.. What are the odds? Good luck with your control arms. Respect, mon

 

[yardbuzzard]

He has everything. Just let me know what u need.

I have a 94 LS with 120k needing front and back bushings. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[stevechumo]

I have a 94 LS with 120k needing front and back bushings. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

That's right. David (Lextreme) might have some good quality bushings for your LS. I'm sure they'll give better ride than stock bushings that are so soft and unreponsive. You can still search on Ebay for some affordable priced but with lowered quality bushings. However, the cheaper polyurethane bushings would be ok for the job, given they're installed correctly without the squeakings.