Front End Parts Lexus LS400

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Several years ago and old mechanic asked me if I had replaced my ???? on my front end. He said these wear out and make the front end loose and most people don't know to replace them. They were not very expensive and I don't think it affected the alignment. I'm thinking they are rubber????

He's no longer around to ask and I am wondering if any of you know what he was referring to. It wasn't ball joints or tie rod ends.

It was bout 120K miles ago and when he replace them my car's front end got very tight and had much greater steering response.
 
He was probably referring to sway bar bushings, which stabilize the sway bar to the frame mounts.


I doubt he meant control arm bushings, those are harder to change and don't wear that quickly. 150k would be about the wear point for sway bar bushings on the front on many vehicles. On my SUV, I replaced them with polyurethane ones to stiffen it, on the cars I just replace with rubber to keep it less harsh.
 
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number nine in this picture?
https://lparts247.com/media/images/oe/mechanical/E880110.gif
E880110.gif
 
Number 12

I don't know what 9 is?
 
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9 and 10 are both control arms, with replaceable bushings a shown. They are a different design than the "A" arm you see for the upper (#3). 9 is for toe control. 10 is called the lateral control arm.

I made the assumption these had dual A arms and those bushings wear less. It would be worth inspecting those bushings on a car with 270k miles. There's also a bushing between 10 and the steering knuckle that is not shown, it's pressed into the knuckle and not visible.
 
Yeah Brybo it is gonna be the strut rod, probably not the sway bar bushings. Therefore, number nine on the link I posted above.
Sucks because the sway bar bushings are a cheap and easy way out. The strut rods are not. You gotta get the whole thing from Toyota and they ain't cheap. But they do wear out with alarming regularity. I'd say they are the only true wear item on an LS400!
FYI Lexus doesn't sell the bushing separate for the strut rod. Only the whole unit. You can get aftermarket bushings but .. it's an LS400 and they spent hundreds of millions to tune the suspension bushings of that car to make it feel the way it needs to feel.
 
Sway bar bushings - not a bad task to do on these.

Strut rod and control bushings are common things to replace on those older UCF10/20 cars - the LCAs can be a chore. I did the Daizen bushings on a 1991 LS400, it wasn't a fun task and the car wasn't Lexus quiet over the bumps once the lubricant washed off.

The strut rods do affect alignment on these cars - but if you get the control arm and strut rod bushing changed out you'll feel a world of difference but be prepared to lube the bushings with the most tenacious grease you can find every now and then.
 
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