indigo6

LeX2K

Nothing duplicates the ride of the factory struts unfortunately. Upper mounts use OEM same with springs. The rest of the parts in your list the car will need to be inspected to see what you do and do not actually need. Also check out this thread

Oro

If your car is sagging that much all around, your springs are severely worn, front and rear. A quick strut would simplify things for you.

I would likely brake this into two jobs. Consider buying four KYB quick-struts - this is the only aftermarket brand I would trust for this. They are not unreasonably priced. The quick-strut will have what you need in one package, and you don't need to buy boots, insulators, mounts, etc. KYB is the OE strut supplier and their product will likely be the closest you can get to stock outside the dealership. I am using their shocks (Excel/GR2) and the original springs in front (were not worn) and Moog aftermarket springs in rear and the ride is excellent; I have had them in for about 50k miles. I saved a fortune off dealer parts and after breaking in, cannot tell a difference. Nothing could be called "harsh."

While you have the struts out, you can take a close look around for other worn parts. Ball joints, Tie rod ends, lower control arm bushings, rear control arm/stabilizer arm bushings, etc. (Sway bar bushings rarely go bad on these cars IME, and the front one - at least on the 2002 and up, are nearly impossible to replace). List what you want/need to replace and then come back and do that as a 2nd job hitting what is needed instead of taking a fire-hose approach all at once. Know that replacing a front strut will require an alignment quickly to avoid wrecking the tires. Lower control arms might necessitate that too (in the front).

Before you do the struts, jack up the front and wiggle the front tire in different planes, and spin it while holding one hand on the spring. See if you need bearings, lower ball joints, or tie rod ends (you can google how to evaluate that). If the suspension is that worn, these parts should be suspect, too, and evaluated.

As to the struts - even if replacing all together with a quick strut - one thing I would do is disassemble the OE struts and retain the OE upper mounts before tossing them. A little bit of a pain but can save you pain later just in case. This is a common failure point many people mention on aftermarket units. I tend to now think the failure rate is likely due to installation error and under-torqueing the upper bolts, which is often a little tricky to do and I think many DIY mechanics get it wrong.

Another point, I noticed you had radiator on your list. I replaced ours last summer and got the heavy duty OE Denso radiator for $50 delivered from Amazon Warehouse. So shop around, there are plenty of high quality OE and aftermarket parts for these cars out there for cheap. RockAuto always has bargain bin parts at low prices, but also quality aftermarket stuff at good prices, too.

last point, what color is your radiator fluid? I "think" Toyota switched to HOAT red in '96-ish and your factory fill would have been red. You need to be careful with this when you change radiators.

indigo6

indigo6

ALISC400

In my personal experience, I've found scrapyards / accident cars to be my best bet for cheap parts. IT does take a while and I'd say a mechanic could help but this has helped me rebuild and save a lot of money in the long run. IF its absolutely necessary and I can find OEM then I'd get it from the local dealer

ES300TX

It depends on what you are looking for. I would use partsgeek or rockauto.com for all sorts of parts. I have used them for suspension parts, struts, brakes, and just about anything that comes up. Sometimes Rock doesn't have what I need, so I migrate to other sites. That doesn't happen too often. I am very happy with them.

I am pretty sure that you can find discount Lexus parts online. I bought a valve cover and plenum gasket when I was attempting to do a spark plug job.

I think you are doing the right thing. Sure, you might be able to find another car that is nicer, etc, but you don't know what is going on with it either, although your car has suspension mods, so it might end up costing you some money. You still know what you have at that point.

Unless I get a burr in my saddle about getting an LS430, I'm staying with mine for a long time as it was only about $5500 when I bought it.

samsonn25

Unfortunately the factory struts are about $1700 for all 4. Then there is little stuff like springs, isolaters, strut top mounts, boots, etc. Not including labor, this is easily costing more than the car is worth if you bought another one similar to yours.

I got the KYB branded struts made for these year and model (Lexus es300, not Toyota Camry) for about $260 and reused the factory springs and, top strut mounts with 135k on them. Then later did the front lower ball joints, and sway bar end links for front and rear. And also sway bar bushings. The last thing im gonna do is the outer tie rod ends for the front L and R.

LeX2K

OE struts are not $1700 for 4 unless you have the TEMS system, otherwise you are looking at about half that.

Oro

If you do the outer, do the inner, too. They wear together, and if you put in a tight outer it will accelerate wear on the inner. BTDT.

Right now amazon has a silly deal on premium AC Delco inner tie rods. I bought a pair last week for $10.59 each ($45/ea at RockAuto). I will put them on the shelf and when I do tires at the end of the summer, do all tie rods and align it. Since you have to get an alignment for any tie rod and most ball joint changes, might as well do both parts of the tie rod when you are at it when it is that cheap for good parts.

samsonn25

Sorry I meant 1700 for a full package, Minus LCA.
FRONT:

48520-39186
Absorber Assy, Shock, Front LHLocation:Front Driver SidePart Name Code:48520Replaced by:48520-39605
$174.51

48510-39506
Absorber Assy, Shock, Front RHLocation:Front Passenger SidePart Name Code:48510Replaced by:48510-80137
$174.51

48158-33020
Insulator, Front Coil Spring, Lower LHLocation:Lower Driver SidePart Name Code:48158C
$23.47

48158-33020
Insulator, Front Coil Spring, Lower RHLocation:Lower Passenger SidePart Name Code:48158B
$23.47

48131-33830
Spring, Front Coil, LHLocationriver SidePart Name Code:48132
$200.93

48131-33830
Spring, Front Coil, RHLocation:Passenger SidePart Name Code:48131
$200.93

REAR:

48540-39266
Absorber Assy, Shock, Rear LHLocation:Rear Driver SidePart Name Code:48540Replaced by:48540-39565
$224.18

48530-39386
Absorber Assy, Shock, Rear RHLocation:Rear Passenger SidePart Name Code:48530Replaced by:48530-80142
$224.18

48258-32020
Insulator, Rear Coil Spring, Lower LHLocation:Lower Driver SidePart Name Code:48258CReplaced by:48258-0E010
$14.39

48258-32020
Insulator, Rear Coil Spring, Lower RHLocation:Lower Passenger SidePart Name Code:48258BReplaced by:48258-0E010
$14.39

48231-33240
Spring, Coil, Rear LHLocation:Rear Driver SidePart Name Code:48231B
$117.08

48231-33240
Spring, Coil, Rear RHLocation:Rear Passenger SidePart Name Code:48231A
$117.08

48760-33020
Support Assy Rear Suspension, LHLocationriver SidePart Name Code:48760B
$179.23

48750-33020
Support Assy, Rear Suspension, RHLocation:Passenger SidePart Name Code:48750H
$179.23

About $1700-1800 for the parts.

With TEMS is an additionbal $1500 on top of that for the 4 special struts.

Assuming Labor is free, that might add another $300-500

So for a possible bill of almost $4000. You could buy 2 used cars in good condition for that price unless you love your car that much.

A much better alternative is to go aftermarket, get the similar kyb, reuse springs and other parts and only pay $270 for parts.