Lexus Upper Control Arm

Last year, we took our Lexus to a shop for a state safety inspection. The shop failed the car because the "passenger side upper control arm has a lot of play in it." They wanted $3000 to fix it.

No.

Our regular mechanic, who we trust, said that was baloney and that the car could pass the inspection, though we would need to look into getting the control arm replaced sometime in the next year.

It's next year.

Since that last inspection, the car has gradually started to shake more and more severely. So, I ordered the control arm off of ebay for about $80. Granted, the power dime garage was pretty bare on tools. I had a set of box wrenches and another of socket wrenches that my Dad gave me when I was in college. For this repair job, the following items were purchased:

2 3-ton jack stands
Torque wrench
24" breaker bar
20" breaker bar
19mm box wrench
Rope
Tie rod puller
Needle-nose pliers

First, the garage needed to be prepared. It was full of stuff, much of which was leather and other supplies for Power Dime Mommy's shoemaking business, Chebran. The lower-level bedroom is going to be her workshop, so her things got moved there. I hung that bicycle on the ceiling with two $2.00 rubber-coated hooks from the local hardware store. It's so awesome to have a functional garage again:















'Moved the car into the garage, jacked it up, took off the wheel, and got to work. Here's the tie rod puller pulling the steering knuckle off of the upper control arm. This has got to be my favorite tool:















If any of you are looking for do-it-yourself information, the internet is full of awesome sources of information. You'd be surprised how many free tutorials you can find on sites like youtube or eHow. Fortunately for me, some one put up an entire website on do-it-yourself car repair for the 1990-1994 Lexus LS 400. This guy owned a 1991, the year previous to my car. The site is full of clear explanations and photos; all of the pictures are accurate and help me get oriented to my car really quickly. I don't have to interpret ... "How does this photograph apply to my vehicle again?" The site requests that if you find the information useful, that you make a donation, which I haven't done yet, but will.

For this particular job, I had to pull the shock absorber out:

"Give me your tired, your poor ..."


















Here's a quick video comparing the old and new control arms:



Just to recap, the shop wanted $3000 for this repair. My mechanic probably could have done it in two hours, so $100 worth of labor, plus the part would cost $100 if I provided it, or he could buy it new for $300-$400. My wife and I figure we saved at least $100 worth of labor. In actual parts, I spent less than $100. I did have to buy a couple hundred bucks-worth of tools, but I get to keep the tools.

If you're looking to live on a power dime, NEVER go to a big franchise. Just do it yourself. It's so much fun!