Front Suspension Niggles

[Parrot of Doom]

I just collected my first LS this weekend, a 98 Mk4. The car drives beautifully, it tracks straight and true at any speed and is fantastic.

However.

First problem, the front nearside wheel tends to "clout" over potholes rather than "thump" over them. There's a bit of movement in the top wishbone balljoint so I'm presuming that's on it's way out?

Second problem, when braking at speed on the motorway, as I hold the pedal down to slow, after a few seconds the steering wheel is vibrating a fair bit. I'd presumed it was a disc but as the wobble gets worse the front offside starts knocking. Jacking the car up today I noticed that the bottom balljoint (there's a big nut underneath it) is moving when the tyre is moved from side to side.

Are these regular failures, and what sort of cost am I looking at for new parts?

[mike213735]

Hi,

I too have a 98 MKIV and have just today ordered a pair of lower balljoints as one of them was an advisory on the MOT back in November.

I paid £49.99 with FREE postage on eBay for a pair (item no 320629288585). Dealer price is about £150 per pair.

Top wishbones are available on eBay (item no 320585663972) for £67.49 each.

Yes, they are common faults too :)

Thanks

Mike

[Parrot of Doom]

Thanks for the reply. Those balljoints are a quarter the price of the same parts on ECP's website. Are you sure they're of good quality?

[david_hornet27]

Great info Mike! I too would be interested to know if quality is good as mine were an advisory on last MOT.

[aaronabbott]

check your steering rack bushes also

[mike213735]

I'm hoping the quality is reasonable. I'm not expecting OEM parts, but if I can get 20k out of them, I'll be pleased.

I'll let you know once they've been fitted and keep you informed as the miles roll on.

Mike

[Parrot of Doom]

I'm just a little bit concerned that they might be cheap Chinese jobs. The Chinese make some excellent stuff but I believe their quality control leaves a lot to be desired.

For now, especially as they're safety-critical items, I think I'll buy from ECP, but please do let us know how they fare.

[steve2006]

I bought genuine Lexus/Toyota bottom ball joints from my local dealer at £100.00 all in the pair,the local factors for pattern parts wanted £54.00 each.

[plastic orange]

I wasn't impressed by the eBay top arms. After a short time, the gaiters burst and the ball joint on one side started to knock. They replaced them but I've not fitted them as I think the same will happen. They refused a refund - replacement only

Pete

[Parrot of Doom]

Lexus Bolton's price for the bottom balljoints was about £65 + VAT each. That's good enough for me, I've ordered two.

The wishbones were, however, well over £350 each, so I'll be going to ECP for those!

[mike213735]

Lexus Bolton's price for the bottom balljoints was about £65 + VAT each. That's good enough for me, I've ordered two.The wishbones were, however, well over £350 each, so I'll be going to ECP for those!

Not sure about your local dealer, but Lexus, Reading offer a 15% discount if you're a gold member on here. That would save you £23.40 on your lower balljoints, which goes a long way to covering the cost of membership :)

Thanks

Mike

[Parrot of Doom]

Well I got the balljoints and me and a mate will be fitting them shortly. I was thinking, on my E-class I twice replaced the ARB link rods (and once the ARB bushings) as they were knocking slightly over rough surfaces. Is that also a common failure on the LS? If so I'd like to try those first (I bet they're original) before thinking about the upper wishbones (someone at Lexus is taking the p**s with the price on those).