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As for air struts, 3 of 4 (yes. only 3) are still reproduced. I think its around $1000. What I want to know is, can you get a junkyard gs300 strut to keep you going and NOT deflate the other 3 or damage the system buy having the one disconnected?
I did that on my LS460 as I changed over from air to coils, one shock at a time. I capped off the lines as I went. As long as I didn’t utilize the height high option, the car worked fine on three air shocks and one coil shock. When the height high option was on, I heard some air hiss out of the capped line from time to time.
also, are the line fittings proprietary or are they some kind of standard?
thanks!
The air shocks were blown so having functional shock absorbers was an upgrade in ride quality. The air line fittings were definitely proprietary. I used a fuel line remover fitting to get the air hoses off.
I hate to do that to the majesta but we could get a whole other JDM for the kind of coin it would take to replace these if they go. Kind of a cross roads. The car has never seen salt, it doesn’t get above 85 here very often, and it’s in climate controlled storage for the winter. Maybe they’ll last?
as for a daily driver, I’d remove the TEMS and air in a heartbeat.
I hate to do that to the majesta but we could get a whole other JDM for the kind of coin it would take to replace these if they go. Kind of a cross roads. The car has never seen salt, it doesn’t get above 85 here very often, and it’s in climate controlled storage for the winter. Maybe they’ll last?
as for a daily driver, I’d remove the TEMS and air in a heartbeat.
Well, there are also a couple of other alternatives besides straight up getting brand new shocks for some ludicrous amounts.
It is possible to find used struts off of Aristo or Majesta on sale in Japan, Russia or UAE. Unfortunately, US-spec GS300 never came with air suspension, only JDM Aristo received it, so those are the only places to get those. That said, you always need to be cautious about used parts, those are more of a cat in the bag and rarely have warranty or return policy, especially considering that they are shipped overseas.
The other solution, albeit I am not particularly sure how viable it is, is to rebuild them. There are strut repair shops who may do that, and the working principle behind Majesta struts is identical to Lexus LS ones, it's just that the latter are bigger in diameter, so they won't fit. If they could find a suitable bag, they should be able to replace it. That said, there are also a couple of pitfalls with it - it needs to be a reputable shop, since you won't have a second chance with it, they either fix it, or destroy it completely; the second issue is price - from a first glance, it seems like the repair will set you back a few pennies, maybe even as much as the new one, it all depends on the shop.
That could actually be a great continuation for your dealership - if you are planning on selling more than a few JDM cars a year, you should also consider supplying parts. I don't know a single JDM dealership that could also import parts for you, once you are out the door, you are on your own. It will be much easier to sell such unique cars if you can persuade potential buyers that fixing them is not as bad as they all believe. Besides, there are already plenty of cars out there in need of maintenance..
I have a 1995 Toyota Crown Majesta V8, I'm in Minnesota. It compliments my 2001 Lexus GS430. The Crown Majesta has about 50,000 miles and the GS430 has 65,000 miles.
A little history about the Crown Majesta - it spent most of its time in Nakano Tokyo according to the service papers dating back to October 1995 and spent all of its life there. It is in nearly perfect condition with the exception of the wonky power seat motor so I have to move the seat manually with a wrench. It comes with a huge book of service documents that I can actually read since I am from Hong Kong.
It drives very similar to a Lexus LS400 and absolutely floats over bumps. It is an amazing highway cruiser too and is a decent around the town or highway car. I am going to buy another one soon! Hope to meet other Crown Majesta owners.
since starting this thread, I've come across at least 6 people who have recently obtained either jzs149 or 155 majestas and are in love with. Seems they are the ultimate driver for folks that also love early Lexus. Perhaps a common sense statement but it's truth. We've had nissan c34 laurel and y32 Gloria, Toyota jzx90 mark ii, jzs155 crown rsg, st190 Carina, and all have their place, but the crown, especially majesta, is special. My wife is keeping the jzs149.
that said, congrats and welcome. I hope more majesta owners report here.
to those who want one, get it! If you're intimidated, reach out. We do it all the time and can help (or may have one in stock - as this is typed we have a jzs155 crown royal saloon).
Privies are skyrocketing. They will fall slowly as 2025 approaches and the high changes or 1999-2000 models are legal here. They are still doable and shouldn't be dreamed about when they can be owned
They have more or less found me - Probly the you tube channel?
your car is beautiful I was thinking of perhaps keep the crown royal saloon we just imported. Very nice as well WAY simpler and I think a better daily cause of it
I would not worry too much about reliability. A lot of parts are interchangeable with other Lexus/Toyota vehicles and the air suspension has a lifespan of at least 150-200K miles. The airbag itself never fails but it is the strut within the airbag that normally fails and it is easily replaceable. I read a lot of Japanese forums so I feel more comfortable with this car.
Of note, I do also have a Nissan Cedric VQ30DET. It is a nice car too!
The photo with the three cars and the Japanese flag has a jzs155 G And a jzx90 mark ii both sold. The two tone jzs155 is a non-g but loaded. Just got that in; it's for sale.
02-15-21, 05:55 AM
