Changing Front Lower Suspension Ball Joints

[Mark Bradley]

Hi All,

Just received news from the local lexus dealer that my IS200 W-Reg 2000 has failied it's MOT upon and I quote "Nearside/Offside front suspension joint has excessive play in lower suspension ball joint".

They also kindly quoted to repair as you'd expect, costing £271.38!!!

I've sourced the parts already from a local supplier who can get them ordered for pickup this time tomorrow at just £40 plus VAT.

Now my father-in-law and I aren't afraid of getting ones hands dirty, so would appreciate any information, instruction and or guidance as to whether or not we should do ourselves, how it is done, how easy/hard it is, any pitfalls, additional equipment/tools that are essential, etc, etc.

Cheers Mark "Maddog" Bradders

[gsportcars]

I have never done this on an IS before but I think the ball joints come complete with the suspension arms. In which case you will need a ball joint breaker to remove the joints and arms and the new ones should just bolt back in again. If the ball joints come seperate all together then I think they will need to be pressed in and out using a hydraulic press.

Someone who has done it will tell you for sure though.

[TigerFish]

The lower ball joints bolt onto the bottom of the hub with a couple of bolts. You will need a ball joint splitter to seperate the ball jount from the bottom arm, and a breaker bar with a socket to fit the bolts that connect to the hub. That should be it I think. I've seen a walk through with pics somewhere (not neccesarily for an IS but the setup was the same) but can't remember where though.

[Mark Bradley]

The lower ball joints bolt onto the bottom of the hub with a couple of bolts. You will need a ball joint splitter to seperate the ball jount from the bottom arm, and a breaker bar with a socket to fit the bolts that connect to the hub. That should be it I think. I've seen a walk through with pics somewhere (not neccesarily for an IS but the setup was the same) but can't remember where though.

Thanks for the advice. My father-in-law just popped in for a cuppa and after further searching we found a post with the following link http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=44611 (Thanks MacRS200) which I think is the walk through you're talking about. He says yep shouldn't be a problem and he even has the tools required.

Any ideas on the price of parts? Is £40 + VAT each side reasonable? Anyone got a reliable parts supplier?

Cheers Mark

[Rob]

go to http://www.bahamutcars.com/workshop/IS_98-05/index.html then repair manual> suspension and "front lower ball joint"

SKF make the ball joint and the price is around £45 inc

also be careful with the type of ball joint splitter u are using - if its the hammer in fork type be aware they can split the rubber

[Mark Bradley]

go to http://www.bahamutcars.com/workshop/IS_98-05/index.html then repair manual> suspension and "front lower ball joint"

SKF make the ball joint and the price is around £45 inc

also be careful with the type of ball joint splitter u are using - if its the hammer in fork type be aware they can split the rubber

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the extra information, just bought the parts from http://www.jmotorcomponents.co.uk/ for £40 plus VAT, so we'll be fitting later this week.

Thanks Mark 'Maddog' Bradley