Gs300 Judder

[breezeblock]

I've had my T reg GS300 for a couple of weeks now and the dealer has already replaced the ball joints which were causing a slight judder. I've had it back two days and the main judder throughout the front of the car appears to have gone - however the judder has continued in the steering wheel (it rattles and shakes 25mph and upwards).

I'm going to take it back for them to check but it's a bit of a drive and I want to go there with some pre-emptive knowledge. What could the cause be? Track rod ends?

Any help anyone? Thanks in advance.

[kam05]

Are the wheels balanced? Check the tyre pressures as well. I'd check these basic things first before spending money on replacing suspension components such as ball joints, track rod ends etc.

[Anees]

You might not think it but have you got them to check the rear ball joints? I had a shaking through the steering but couldn't feel anything at the front end. It was rear ball joints transmitting vibrations through the car and the steering. Otherwise l'd check balancing but usually with wheel balancing you can drive "through" the speeds where you get judder/vibration and its normally at the same speed all the time.

Good Luck!

Anees

PS You are not far from Charlesworth Motors in Glossop; they known a thing or two about Lexus cars ;)

[breezeblock]

The car is still under warranty (direct from the Lexus dealer) so it's not a problem having the work done but I'd just rather know in advance what I was asking about before I drive to Bradford and ask them to fix a just a 'judder', especially when they didn't spot the ball joints when they sold it.

The dealer also told me they had the wheels balanced.

Do you think it's worth calling by Charlesworth in Glossop for a check over?

[dave1]

Is it a normal dealer warranty or is it a Lexus Approved warranty. If it is the latter any Lexus dealer can carry out remedial work under warranty.

[breezeblock]

It's covered by the Lexus dealer and also by a third-party 3 month warranty. However this would be an issue for the dealer and they have already told me only their guys can do the work because they don't have any agreements with other dealers.

[breezeblock]

Had the tracking done and it was 4 degrees outs but that was according to a kid at Kwik Fit no older than a primary school kid with a spanner. It does drive better but the judder is still obvious to me. Whenever I go over a small bump it seems very exaggerated and the steering wheel does rattle...compared to my Rover 75 this is a smoother die but only on a smoth road!

Is there anything else it could be? I take on board the rear ball joint issue but is there anything else at the front it could be other than track rod ends?

Cheers

[Mark W]

Few things that could be prob;

1) wheels are buckled or have run out

2) most garages seem incapable of balancing wheels correctly- ask any place to take off the balancer and then put back and wheel will show as not balanced-find somewhere that does road force balance with a hunter 9700 machine- can also correct for wheels with run out.

3) torque on nuts and tightened correct order- 13524. Torque settings on GS are lower than most cars- you wouldn't believe what difference this can make on gs. Trust me I've tried

4) ball joints- GS is heavy car and prone to getting through them

5) tracking does not equal geometry - see wheels in motion site for explanation- I fully recommend going to wim to correctly set up.

6) assume they are standard Lexus wheels and not aftermarket- gs oem wheels have offset of 50mm - anything other than that can cause probs

Let us know how you get on and good luck.

[breezeblock]

Thanks for the advice Mark. The car is still under dealer warranty (but they are a bit of a drive away) but I think I'll just call them and ask for one of their mechanics to take it for a drive to get his opinions. I'm worried I'm being too picky and maybe the car is just not as smooth as I expected...but I'd rather find out before the warranty runs out!

Many thanks.

[Shuja Khan]

Few things that could be prob;

1) wheels are buckled or have run out

2) most garages seem incapable of balancing wheels correctly- ask any place to take off the balancer and then put back and wheel will show as not balanced-find somewhere that does road force balance with a hunter 9700 machine- can also correct for wheels with run out.

3) torque on nuts and tightened correct order- 13524. Torque settings on GS are lower than most cars- you wouldn't believe what difference this can make on gs. Trust me I've tried

4) ball joints- GS is heavy car and prone to getting through them

5) tracking does not equal geometry - see wheels in motion site for explanation- I fully recommend going to wim to correctly set up.

6) assume they are standard Lexus wheels and not aftermarket- gs oem wheels have offset of 50mm - anything other than that can cause probs

Let us know how you get on and good luck.

Hi Mark,

I live in London, do you know any garages, that can do the job as per points table mentioned by you above, I was not aware of such thing, if possible can you please post some more info about this thing specially point 2,3 & 6

Thanks

[Mark W]

Hi Shuja,

Point 2) Go to http://www.pro-align.co.uk/amc/centrelocator.htm to see locations that have a Hunter 9700 machine - not an exhaustive list and I'd call the place before you go to double check. Also take a look at http://www.hunter.com/pub/product/balancer/4159T/index.htm for details on the hunter machine and why its the dogs....

Point 3) See the post here http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=51222 - ie tighten up 1st, 3rd, 5th, 2nd, 4th in that order - otherwise you can create probs.

Point 6) GS original wheels have an offset of 50mm - Most aftermarket ones are ~35mm mark - Changing from 50mm to 35mm ultimately widens the track of your car by 15mm each side (30 mm total) - Its like putting 15mm spacers on. - If you need info on offset google wheel offset - basic info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offset_(wheel)

You having probs?

[breezeblock]

Update: car went into the dealer today and they called to say they problem is with one of the shocks. The new one is due to be delivered tomorrow moning and fitted straight away (under warranty).

In the meantime I've got a brand new IS200d courtesy car which is horrible by comparison - I'd rather have my T reg GS300 anyday. How sad is that?

[Mark W]

hopefully solved your prob...let us know how you get on.

[dave1]

In the meantime I've got a brand new IS200d courtesy car which is horrible by comparison - I'd rather have my T reg GS300 anyday. How sad is that?

I know just what you mean. Coventry have given me 220d and 250 as courtesy cars at various times and they feel so cramped in comparison to the GS. I also don't think much to one which had oatmeal type colour interior but black above it around dash etc. which I thought looked strange.

[breezeblock]

UPDATE: collected the car this afternoon and it is fixed. It now drives smoothly with no judder or vibration (so far).

And the best news of all - I can give them back that awful IS200d - so no more breaking my kneecaps getting in and out of the car.

Hurray!