FitDesiGuy

Hello all,

Hopefully you are having a great holiday season. I am. I just purchased a 2000 Lexus Es300 with 117k miles for $4k from a guy. There are a few minor issues with it but it is in very good condition. I am attaching pictures. The main issue with it is I get a clunking sound whenever I drive on uneven roads or go over a bump. I've narrowed the issue down to Strut Mount or Sway Bar Links in front. However, I am over 80% sure that it is the strut mounts that are making this noise. I am so certain because I had a different 01 Es300 which got totaled about 2 months ago which made the same sound, fixed the sway bar links and it made no change whatsoever.

I like to put the best parts into my car and so I am looking at putting OEM Strut mounts in. But since my struts haven't been changed in the front and considering the labor involved would be the same, I am planning to just have my front struts and mount replaced altogether. So I contacted my local Lexus dealer and they want $200 per strut and $140 for each mount.


I am in college and that seems like a ridiculous amount of money imo for struts. However, I don't want to have to sacrifice ride quality too much and install cheap junk struts on my car.


What I am thinking is that I would get the two struts OEM, however I would purchase non OEM strut mounts, would that work or not?


Additionally, I am wondering if anyone else has had an issue with the clunking or strut problems with this model, and if so, what strut brand you used and how it is held/holding up.



I appreciate your help

Thank you!

CF01

Have a mechanic do an inspection on the car. If you are in the Twin Cities area, there are some good repair shops that specialize partially or totally in Toyota/Lexus.

JetsonES

The concensus seems to be that oem is the only way to go for mounts. For struts, kyb is the oem supplier and kyb branded struts seem to have good reviews amongst those who have chosen them as replacements.

hypervish

+1, OEM Strut Mounts + KYB Struts

Check the sway bar links for play, as well as the sway bar bushing.

FitDesiGuy

Okay thank you! I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions for a specific model of Kyb struts that would go on there? Also I found oem mounts for $186 at Toyota.

LeX2K

There is only one model of KYB for your car they are branded GR-2 or Excel-G same thing. For your ES you want KYB 334246, KYB 334245 (fronts)