Ls400 Lower Arm Bushes

Alex C Brown · September 18, 2009

I have a 1998 LS400 (65k) with a handling issue. The car has the Dynamic Handling Pack (DHP) which by all accounts meant 17" wheels, stiffened suspension, etc.

The issue:

The car tends to wander off-centre in both directions, sway (rock) from side to side when the road is uneven, and any hard knock to the wheels is fed right back up to the steering wheel. At higher speeds the car feels like it is floating at the front and requires more effort to drive than a much smaller car.

I initially thought it was tracking so took the car into a Wheel Alignment centre who completed an assessment of the tracking, etc, and put it all right. They did have to replace the front tyres as they were worn on the inside edge. Some of the vibration-type issues were dealt with but the "wobbly" steering remains.

My friend who is a mechanic has identified the lower arm inner bushes as being slightly worn. He has also stressed the other joints and there is very little play in the Upper components. My questions are:

Where can I get replacement bushes/arms from? Lexus came in at £200+VAT just for a single lower arm. Uppers were £350+VAT each.

Could the upper components actually be seized, causing some of the handling issues? I am tempted to do both upper and lower arms if I can find the parts at an affordable price.

Are there any other parts that should be replaced as a precaution (e.g. the sway bars link).

One of the ideas is to buy 2 "used" lower arms, a bushing kit, and have them put together, then installed on the car to minimise the time it spends in the air. Is that feasible?

Any ideas welcome.

wildybeast · September 18, 2009

have a look on eBay.com under lexus bushings.or try piracing.com.or try polyurethane bushes.good luck.

Alex C Brown · September 19, 2009

Thanks, found the links for the bushes and have sent off for a price incl. postage. Going to also hunt around for a MK4 being dismantled in the UK and try getting the arms off that.

Alex C Brown · October 17, 2009

Well, found the lower arms for £50 and 2 sets of lower arm bushes for £68. The local garage has punched out the old bushes and replaced them for me with the new ones for £40. No mean feat as they needed a good 2 hours to coax out the old ones that had seized up pretty tight.

The new bushes do fit but are definitely not up the standard of the OEM parts and this will probably come back to haunt me in 18-24 months. The new - larger - bushes on the strut bars were about 6mm narrower than the old ones, leaving about 3mm either side of the hole. Not sure whether this is correct or whether the part is wrong. Certainly the circumference is right as it is a very snug fit when inserted, just not as wide as the arm itself.

Going to try and get the arms fitted in the next 2-3 weeks when I have a spare moment. Fingers crossed the handling will be much better afterwards.

Alex C Brown · December 10, 2009

Finally had the work done on Wednesday 9th December. Also replaced UCA's and lower ball joints, however the UCA's were still reasonably OK. What a difference in ride!! A lot of the lower rumbling has gone, as has the wandering sensation. Seems the bushes on the lower arms and most importantly the struts, were definitely cracking up. The very large bush on the castor adjuster had cracks all round.

Then had the tracking done (4 wheel alignment) at another local tyre garage but they simply couldn't release the castor adjustment bolt on the strut arms. Not sure if these are important as they still managed to get the toeing and camber corrected anyhow (?)

Can't thank JAPEX in Kings Langley enough. Did a great job and really do know their stuff.

Chopskee · January 1, 2010

I am having exactly the same problems with my Mk4, it wanders really badly at speed. I have chenged the upper control arms but now looks as if I will have to replace the lower control arm bushings. I looked on the Daizen website but they seem to do them only up to 94. Where did you get yours from?