UCF11 suspension component dramas

[Gary]

Hey fellas

got some problems with roadworthy at the mo, tryin to get out of it with my wallet intact but it's proving tricky

my problem is my two front lower ball joints (control arm) are stuffed, and my RWC bloke wants em fixed. Fair enough, nothing wrong with that in itself, my problem is getting the ball joints

Toyota want $199.40 each, which is ridiculous.
Roadsafe (aftermarket brand) dont make them
I've tried second hand, but they're rare so a)i gotta find em and b)they've gotta be in good condition which isnt likely. Ive found one bloke but he wont let go of them without the control arm and wants 280 each side. useless to me

any such thing as a ball joint from another car being compatible? Can I reco my existing ones? I spose getting bits to reco them will be rarer than the ball joints themselves so perhaps not. anyone know what I could do?

[Darola]

Hey there mate...

i may be able to sell you mine soon..
im putting the 95 ls400 ball joints into my car when i fit the 4pot calipers

ill have to give them a check to make sure there still decent, im sure they r cause my car passed a blue slip last year..

Ed

[Gary]

cheers man, if i havent sorted this out by then i'll hit that up

[LeeRoy]

Second hand ones are more than likely going to be worn similarly to that of your own, and will probably require replacement again in the near future. For the time it will take you to change them the first time, if they do require changing later on then your better off just paying the rediculous $400 and doing it right the first time.

Theyre not something you can really gauge the wear on until theyre in the car either, so if you pick some second hand ones up then your taking a bit of a gamble.

[grotty100]

Hi Gary,
PM sent.
Grotty.

[CrUZida]

I just had all the upper and lower front joints rebuilt on mine, $375 was the cost.
So just getting the two lowers done I'd assume $200.

Note this does not include new bushes, the Toyota one may include new bushes which are $150ish for the pair.

[Gary]

interesting, that might be the go too... im waiting for a few prices back, hopefully come through alright

ive done something else particularly silly, partly due to misinformation from a person i though was quite well versed in ls400 suspension. the rear control arm for the celsiors, the U section arm (not trailing arm etc), has a bush thats pressed into the hub. the bloke told me its common for them to ass up and wanted it replaced cos he said it was broken. He told me that he ended up making his own for a previous example. I double checked with him and made sure we were talking about the same mount. So i bashed it out thinking it was just a rubber bush. turns out it was more like a ball joint sorta thing and I may have broken it.

Anyone know what I'm on about? I'm a touch new to multilink so I dunno what scar non. Is it just a rear hub ball joint? I'm gunna chat with my roadworthy bloke tomorrow and see what he has to say for himself. I'm 900% sure he wasnt talking about trailing arm bushes cos he would have just called em that in the first place, and i cant see anything else hub side that you'd replace with urethane either

thanks for the help so far fellas

["Z" UTE]

Gary, there is compound that can be pumped into the ball joint which fills the gap between the ball and socket. I had this done as a temporary fix, cost $100.00 for 2 upper ball joints on a UCF11. Talk to a suspension shop. The car was only off the road for a day.

cheers Chuck.

[Gary]

thanks

i've found a couple more palatable options I thought i might share, though the re-co option seems the most cost effective I'm selling this car a while after I fix it up so I wanna be sure she'll be right for the next owner

ebay! I tried searching before, 0 results. now all of a sudden when i search google, there's a stack of what i want on ebay waiting to be bought. Must be an ebay US stores thing, you'd think it'd pop up through ebay australia though hey

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LOWER...spagenameZWD1V
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-L...spagenameZWD1V

those two are an aftermarket brand, the ones below claim to be OEM, have done so on a couple US based sites too

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1990-...spagenameZWD1V
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1990-...spagenameZWD1V

these might be their (USA's) second gen, so careful (only saying that cos their model years are a bit different)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LEXUS...spagenameZWD1V

also found a store in the US that'll ship internationally (most of them only do ground shipping): http://www.drivewire.com/

I've just ordered OEM from ebay for $200 shipped to my door... still pricey but considering the joint is part of a whole cast arm section I dont mind too much. Plus i need em, if that werent enough to make me buy em

Hope it helps

[Balljoint]

Hi, Ball joints are my thing and I can rebuild all 4 for $341 plus postage and handling. to like new or better with a 2year 30000km warranty.
This is not some tempary fix I have customers with over 100000km on joints I have done. Call 0408 752 070 ask for Alex