hoonami

planning on taking my 98 es300(with 115k miles) on 800mile trip to atlanta nextweek. and have questions, my front strutmounts and possibly struts are toasted and wondering is it safe to take? don't have time to get it done before the trip....

nolexhere

How exactly is the mount broken? I mean is it cracked, bent, messed up studs? If it's anything major to the point where it could break while driving it'd definitely not a good idea to be driving it. If it were just the struts you could drive it. You are talking about the top mounts correct?

hoonami

yeah, because it's been making rattling + clunking noise when going over bumps and potholes and uneven roads.

PlatES300

iTrader: (1)

I've been driving on stock struts/mounts for 230k miles before changing them out. I drive mostly highway so it wasn't too noticeable except when I hit dips and big bumps. you really won't have to be the body roll is flat out annoying. changing out the struts/mounts shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.

HamBurglar

How would you be able to tell if the rear strut mounts are damaged or need replacing without physically looking at them? Is there a way to tell or is it noticeable when driving?

Also if you remove the back seat, would you beable to see it kind of like how if you open the hood you can see the front one?

Sorry guys for the noob questions, I'm still learning about suspensions.

PlatES300

iTrader: (1)

for the rear struts, you usually hear an "oomph" sound when you hit a dip or go over speed bumps. im not understanding you question about the rear seat.

HamBurglar

Sorry I don't know too much about suspensions but am trying to learn.
I believe you need to unbolt something under the rearseat to remove the rear struts, never doing so myself I assumed it was something similar as the front.
When you open the hood you can see the mounts (?) connected by 3 bolts and 1 bolt in the center.
Maybe I'm wrong though?

The question I asked earlier was about the rear mounts not the actual struts, sorry if I worded it weird.
Is there a way to feel while driving, if the rear mounts are broken or need replacing or is it something you just have to physically look at?
Thanks.

hoonami

well when my rear struts were toasted(when i bought it) it sounded like wheel was about to fall off... i mean literally it sounded like something was falling off

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

Mine do the same thing and i have KYB struts in the front.. Its so annoying when going over bumps.. I guess i should have also done the strut mounts

PlatES300

iTrader: (1)

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...l-worklog.html

to get to the rear bolts on the struts, remove the seat (pull up and it comes right out. there are 4 bolts holding the back seat to the car (12mm bolts i believe). take those out and lift the back of the seat up then out forward. remove the black lining and you should see the 3 bolts for the rear struts.

dallison

one way to see if your struts are worn is to look at the tread pattern. If it is cupped(tread is rough) the struts are bad.

It's not the only way though. If you use your knee and push down with all your weight on the bumper and then release it quickly, it will either rebound and not bounce(ok) or rebound and continue to bounce, that usually means worn out struts.

If you have worked on cars before, it will take 4-6 hours your 1st time around. After that it should take 2-4 hours.


Don't forget the alignment.

HamBurglar

Thanks for info guys. Sorry OP for stealing your thread.