RX300 - bushes, lower front control arm , front wishbones

[djgrubber]

Hi All,🙂

I have a Lexus RX300 from 2005 ( no air suspension) and my mechanic said that my front lower bushes may need a replacement. I know that newer models require an engine to be lifted in order to get access to the bolts of a wishbone. Apparently it is a big job. 

My mechanic had looked at his manual and recommended amount of time to do this job and for RX450h it was around 9 hours. But then he looked at my model RX300 and it was 2 hours.

Do you guys know if for older models there is no need to lift up the engine and replacement of lower control arms is more straightforward?

I have read a post from clublexus ( a US forum) where there was a guide on how to replace these wishbones and in pictures the guy had a 2-gen Lexus and he needed to jack up the engine but perhaps it was RX400 and these have a different suspension?

I am a bit worried that my mechanic manual wasn’t precise and I may face a huge bill 🙁. 

Thanks for help 😉

[ColinBarber]

The 400h has essentially the same suspension set up as the sprung petrol variant. It is really just spring rates that are different due to weight differences at the rear. They both use the same wishbone, although different engine mounts.

Either way both the 300/330 and 400h manuals both list the first step as remove engine assembly with transaxle as you need to remove the engine mount which sits over the wishbone. Whether you can just raise and support it enough to do that without disconnecting all the wiring etc. I don't know.

It's a slightly bigger job on the petrol version as you have to disconnect the prop shaft which the 400h doesn't have.

 

Look at page 23 (SP-20) here:

https://cardiagn.com/suspension-2006-rx330/

 

[m4rkw]

I had the arms done on mine, my local garage quoted a huge labour rate but Russell at Toyotec did it for a lot less. There’s a trick to it apparently, so find the right tech and it’ll not be too expensive. I’ll dig out my invoice for you a bit later

[m4rkw]

The arms were 1.5h per side, plus 1h for geometry and adjustment which needs doing after changing them.

[m4rkw]

From memory I think my local garage quoted the book time (8-9h) because they don’t know the shortcut that an experienced lexus tech knows.

[m4rkw]

The arms themselves however are quite pricy and Lexus-only, about £515 for the pair.

[djgrubber]

10 hours ago, m4rkw said:

I had the arms done on mine, my local garage quoted a huge labour rate but Russell at Toyotec did it for a lot less. There’s a trick to it apparently, so find the right tech and it’ll not be too expensive. I’ll dig out my invoice for you a bit later

Unfortunately I am based in Scotland (Edinburgh) But I will give my local Lexus a call and ask for a quote , just in case.

3 hours ago, m4rkw said:

The arms themselves however are quite pricy and Lexus-only, about £515 for the pair.

I found these on EBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOR-LEXUS-RX300-RX400H-LEFT-RIGHT-2X-LOWER-SUSPENSION-WISHBONE-ARMS-BALL-JOINT-/122640742503 , they are available in other shops too. The thing is that if I decide to use a local dealer they will probably not accept non-Lexus parts 🙄

 

6 hours ago, m4rkw said:

From memory I think my local garage quoted the book time (8-9h) because they don’t know the shortcut that an experienced lexus tech knows.

Oh dear, that is a bit worrying 😱. Initially my mechanic said the same, but then checked again and said that it could be done for less.

I am going to take the car to a different garage to look at these bushes myself. I’ve read on US forum that bushes deteriorate slightly (exterior) but if there is no movement they don’t have to be done and one can drive like this for years. Apparently even cars which are 5-6 year old will have bushes which don’t look perfect , but still function for years. I need to double check this because I don’t see the point in replacing them if they still work properly (the car drives perfect).

 

[m4rkw]

On mine the arms were an MOT advisory (it did pass though). I wouldn’t even consider using aftermarket control arms, the Lexus ones last 80,000 miles. Aftermarket ones likely won’t last as long and could possibly even be dangerous, in the past I’ve had mechanics tell me they won’t fit aftermarket arms as they’ve seen them break.

If there’s no play though you may be right and they might not be needed now.

[Gliderpilot]

I did the arms on my 400h and did not take the engine out. I raised it on a jack as far as it would go and it was a struggle but I did manage to do it. There is one bolt on one of the engine mounts that is a sod to remove as it's so long, It screwed into the transmission housing by about 30 mm, very excessive in my opinion. Got the arms and ball joints of eBay for a reasonable price. 

[djgrubber]

4 hours ago, Gliderpilot said:

I did the arms on my 400h and did not take the engine out. I raised it on a jack as far as it would go and it was a struggle but I did manage to do it. There is one bolt on one of the engine mounts that is a sod to remove as it's so long, It screwed into the transmission housing by about 30 mm, very excessive in my opinion. Got the arms and ball joints of eBay for a reasonable price. 

Well, this is comforting news. Perhaps this is the reason why my mechanic said that the job would be a few hours rather than 9!

 

On 8/29/2020 at 3:23 PM, m4rkw said:

On mine the arms were an MOT advisory (it did pass though). I wouldn’t even consider using aftermarket control arms, the Lexus ones last 80,000 miles. Aftermarket ones likely won’t last as long and could possibly even be dangerous, in the past I’ve had mechanics tell me they won’t fit aftermarket arms as they’ve seen them break.

If there’s no play though you may be right and they might not be needed now.

I am going to take the car to the garage this Friday and see these bushes myself. Maybe they don't need immediate doing.

I get your point about the aftermarket parts. However, the reality is that it is a 15 year old car, 76k mileage. It is quite mint, but I won't keep it for longer than 5-6 years so at this point there is probably no point in investing in Lexus original parts and pay the premium. I won't do more than 25k-30k miles in this period. It is used as a third car. To be honest, if one uses aftermarket parts of reputable brands (SACHS, KYB, DELPHI, FEDORO , PAGID etc.) these are ok for suspension elements or brakes. I wouldn't probably buy aftermarket parts for sensors or electrical components (touchwood) since LExus /Toyota  show really good quality, but it is unlikely that a wishbone would break. Unless one buys some really cheap ones of unknown brands.

Thank you all for all comments. ;-)