Builds The YotaMD Build - Cypress

[suprarx7nut]

Rear control arms install complete! Took somewhere around 2 hours total with a significant portion of that fighting the new lower arms back into place. Lateral arm and uppers were real straightforward. I did the swap with AHC in L - unsure if that helped or hurt. I did not lift the vehicle off it's own weight. Service manual says to do so for the lower and uppers, but I didn't find it helpful.

Will report back soon on how the ride feels.

 

[suprarx7nut]

New rear bushings ride report: Meh.

It feels more supple and solid pulling out of/off of my driveway curb, but on the road the differences are minimal. I had hoped for more. Some of the bushings coming out were showing large cracks, but none were obviously loose on the bench. I've replaced truly "dead" bushings and these were definitely not dead, but they were showing their age. Less old rubber is always a good thing so I'm glad I made the swap, but I'll continue to hunt down opportunities to reduce harshness at 25-45 mph. I suspect my E-rated KO2's might be the majority of the harshness I feel.

Here's some eye-candy of the new arms:

 

[LndXrsr]

Bummer, I’ve had my eye on doing new rear arms (maybe metal tech) for a while. But my bushings look better than what you have in some of your videos, so I guess probably not worth it at the moment.

 

[jLB]

New rear bushings ride report: Meh.

It feels more supple and solid pulling out of/off of my driveway curb, but on the road the differences are minimal. I had hoped for more. Some of the bushings coming out were showing large cracks, but none were obviously loose on the bench. I've replaced truly "dead" bushings and these were definitely not dead, but they were showing their age. Less old rubber is always a good thing so I'm glad I made the swap, but I'll continue to hunt down opportunities to reduce harshness at 25-45 mph. I suspect my E-rated KO2's might be the majority of the harshness I feel.

Here's some eye-candy of the new arms:

View attachment 2581826

Mine had 7+ years, and +30k miles, on yours, but the biggest difference that I noticed was that I lost a little rear “wiggle” or “slop” in (20mph+) curves. Before the change, there was a feel of a slight delay in the rear following the front, followed by a light thump/thunk.

It also smoothed/quieted low speed bumps a bit, but to a lesser degree.

 

[Njck22]

New rear bushings ride report: Meh.

It feels more supple and solid pulling out of/off of my driveway curb, but on the road the differences are minimal. I had hoped for more. Some of the bushings coming out were showing large cracks, but none were obviously loose on the bench. I've replaced truly "dead" bushings and these were definitely not dead, but they were showing their age. Less old rubber is always a good thing so I'm glad I made the swap, but I'll continue to hunt down opportunities to reduce harshness at 25-45 mph. I suspect my E-rated KO2's might be the majority of the harshness I feel.

Here's some eye-candy of the new arms:

View attachment 2581826

Those new arms are gonna look super crisp. What was in the decision for doing the entire arms vs pressing the bushings?

 

[suprarx7nut]

Mine had 7+ years, and +30k miles, on yours, but the biggest difference that I noticed was that I lost a little rear “wiggle” or “slop” in (20mph+) curves. Before the change, there was a feel of a slight delay in the rear following the front, followed by a light thump/thunk.

It also smoothed/quieted low speed bumps a bit, but to a lesser degree.

Yeah, I think that's a good way to describe the difference in feeling. A little mellowed and less tail wag.

Those new arms are gonna look super crisp. What was in the decision for doing the entire arms vs pressing the bushings?

In a word, time. I got all 5 carefully replaced in about 2 hours. Had I done the bushings alone, you'd probably have to triple that figure.

Also, the Toyota bushings are quite expensive. It's not a huge jump to just buy the arms. Plus now I can screw around with the old arms on my own time and perhaps sell those to recoup costs.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Replaced driver's side tie rod today. Quick job. 60-90 mins start to finish I think. Old one had some play. Hoping this will tighten up the on center play in the steering.

Also took a good look into the UCA bushings up front and they're dry and cracked. I'll likely order up new arms from Impex for the UCAs. Maybe LCAs and that lower bushing as well. Trying to freshen up all the rubber bits I can to really maximize the comfort level on this thing. It's good (better than my 99 with stock conventional Toyota shocks), but I know it can be better.

Exhaust: I replaced the muffler a short while back and now the noises from further upstream are more noticeable. I'd love for it to purr quietly like it's supposed to. I can't tell where the noise is coming from, but I suspect the manifold or the joint between the manifold and the next piece down. There's no "tick" so much as just general exhaust noise.

I'll also be using my measurement mic to figure out what frequency my exhaust drone is at idle in D. It's annoying. There are 5 or 6 different masses you can add to cancel out that frequency, pending exactly what frequency is to blame.

 

[Joshuak172]

Replaced driver's side tie rod today. Quick job. 60-90 mins start to finish I think. Old one had some play. Hoping this will tighten up the on center play in the steering.

Also took a good look into the UCA bushings up front and they're dry and cracked. I'll likely order up new arms from Impex for the UCAs. Maybe LCAs and that lower bushing as well. Trying to freshen up all the rubber bits I can to really maximize the comfort level on this thing. It's good (better than my 99 with stock conventional Toyota shocks), but I know it can be better.

Exhaust: I replaced the muffler a short while back and now the noises from further upstream are more noticeable. I'd love for it to purr quietly like it's supposed to. I can't tell where the noise is coming from, but I suspect the manifold or the joint between the manifold and the next piece down. There's no "tick" so much as just general exhaust noise.

I'll also be using my measurement mic to figure out what frequency my exhaust drone is at idle in D. It's annoying. There are 5 or 6 different masses you can add to cancel out that frequency, pending exactly what frequency is to blame.

View attachment 2588380

Have you taken a look at the

Replaced driver's side tie rod today. Quick job. 60-90 mins start to finish I think. Old one had some play. Hoping this will tighten up the on center play in the steering.

Also took a good look into the UCA bushings up front and they're dry and cracked. I'll likely order up new arms from Impex for the UCAs. Maybe LCAs and that lower bushing as well. Trying to freshen up all the rubber bits I can to really maximize the comfort level on this thing. It's good (better than my 99 with stock conventional Toyota shocks), but I know it can be better.

Exhaust: I replaced the muffler a short while back and now the noises from further upstream are more noticeable. I'd love for it to purr quietly like it's supposed to. I can't tell where the noise is coming from, but I suspect the manifold or the joint between the manifold and the next piece down. There's no "tick" so much as just general exhaust noise.

I'll also be using my measurement mic to figure out what frequency my exhaust drone is at idle in D. It's annoying. There are 5 or 6 different masses you can add to cancel out that frequency, pending exactly what frequency is to blame.

View attachment 2588380

have you swapped out the engine/trans mount yet? I also ordered the rear control arms off partsouq and had to walk away from the lower arms. Tried it on the ground in normal height and they were like 1/2” off.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Have you taken a look at the

have you swapped out the engine/trans mount yet? I also ordered the rear control arms off partsouq and had to walk away from the lower arms. Tried it on the ground in normal height and they were like 1/2” off.

Taken a look at what? Leaving me in suspense here!

I have not done the engine/trans mounts. But I have those on my radar.

Yeah, the lower arms were a bear for me to wrangle into place. I'm sure lifting the vehicle off the ground as the manual states would make that easier.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

If your front UCA bushings or BJs are worn out, you will notice a huge improvement upon replacement! I am still rocking 23 yr old 270k mile front LCAs but replaced all other control arms and the difference in ride comfort and was so obvious that even my 7 year old could tell!

 

[suprarx7nut]

If your front UCA bushings or BJs are worn out, you will notice a huge improvement upon replacement! I am still rocking 23 yr old 270k mile front LCAs but replaced all other control arms and the difference in ride comfort and was so obvious that even my 7 year old could tell!

Wow! That's good to hear. I was surprised how worn those bushings were. Here's a still from a video I took. What do you think? Noticeable difference expected if I replace that?

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Wow! That's good to hear. I was surprised how worn those bushings were. Here's a still from a video I took. What do you think? Noticeable difference expected if I replace that?

View attachment 2589169

Absolutely! These bushings together with BJs filter all the feedback from road imperfections, way before the shocks and springs can do anything about it!
I mistakenly went with Nitro UCAs with the poly bushings and uniball type bjs. While I liked the extra caster and the tight front end, they just transmitted too much feedback to the cabin. I understand Nitro has changed their design since then.
Once I installed the OEM UCAs, even with 2"+ lift the ride has been way better!

 

[suprarx7nut]

Absolutely! These bushings together with BJs filter all the feedback from road imperfections, way before the shocks and springs can do anything about it!
I mistakenly went with Nitro UCAs with the poly bushings and uniball type bjs. While I liked the extra caster and the tight front end, they just transmitted too much feedback to the cabin. I understand Nitro has changed their design since then.
Once I installed the OEM UCAs, even with 2"+ lift the ride has been way better!

That's great to hear. My conclusion after seeing those UCA bushings was that new ones would help quite a bit.

Agreed on poly bushings. That's a silly thing to add to a 100. Or really any non-race car. Not even Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche use anything other than rubber in those bushings - on their $250k super cars. The exceptions being the cars they sell as..... you guessed it: racecars (Ferrari Challenge, motorsport versions of the Porsche GT line, etc...)

Poly is popular in the aftermarket because they're really cheap to make and can be made at home (or in an industrial setting with very little tooling investment. It's an easy item to sell as an "upgrade" and sell at a high margin. I'd like to see poly bushings marketed more truthfully as "Harsh Plastic Bushings". I suspect they'd sell far fewer.

At any rate, I'll put the UCAs at the top of my future buy list. I've been spending like a sailor on this thing so I may have to wait a month or two before dropping another big parts order.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

... I've been spending like a sailor on this thing so I may have to wait a month or two before dropping another big parts order...

And that right there is the sad truth about these trucks! Of course the good news is that once you fix something, it stays fixed for a long time!

More on topic, I have convinced by self that between new bjs and new bushings, it is just more cost effective to buy the whole arms, especially if you have any amount of rust (like I do!)

 

[suprarx7nut]

And that right there is the sad truth about these trucks! Of course the good news is that once you fix something, it stays fixed for a long time!

More on topic, I have convinced by self that between new bjs and new bushings, it is just more cost effective to buy the whole arms, especially if you have any amount of rust (like I do!)

Yeah, for sure. OEM bushings are not cheap by themselves and my time is more limited and/or valuable every day.

*The UCAs are $260 each shipped from Impex. Not bad.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Look into Beck n Arnley at Rockauto , I think the UCAs are repackaged OEM at sun $200 price point!

 

[suprarx7nut]

Look into Beck n Arnley at Rockauto , I think the UCAs are repackaged OEM at sun $200 price point!

I can't give Rock Auto any more money. Been burned too many times. Had a few dead on arrival parts (Denso starter most painfully) and they couldn't have cared less. Got a window that was just flat out mis-labeled/marketed (was heavily tinted when it was labeled clear). Again, they didn't care. I had the option to ship back on my dime for partial credit (it was a window so I think shipping cost more than the credit they offered). I should have filed chargebacks against them, but didn't. I wouldn't buy from them at any price.

 

[komorebi]

Hello, did you end up going OEM for your muffler replacement? My muffler is shot and like you I want the quietest available within $ reason. I’m also in a 2006 LX.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Hello, did you end up going OEM for your muffler replacement? My muffler is shot and like you I want the quietest available within $ reason. I’m also in a 2006 LX.

Yes, OEM Lexus/Toyota. I bought via Partsouq in UAE. Fast shipping, great pricing and some of the best packaging I've ever seen on a large shipment.

 

[komorebi]

Yes, OEM Lexus/Toyota. I bought via Partsouq in UAE. Fast shipping, great pricing and some of the best packaging I've ever seen on a large shipment.

Thank-you. I just looked up pricing on Partsouq and was surprised, not too bad! I’ll sort out gaskets, clamps and bolts and place an order. The noise is driving me crazy.