acarapella

what brand did you use? glad you're back to new!

I cant wait to do mine. Going to do control arms, ball joints, tie rods, struts/mmounts front and rear. Going to be like a new car!

ilkinandr

I honestly would not touch any of those things unless they are making noise or there is an issue with them. I changed mine after 170k because i was doing preventative maintenance and it made it worse.
Aftermarket control arms looked same or worse as my 13 year old OEM once after one year. Go with OEM or buy Whiteline bushings and just have them replaced. Same thing with ball joins, started clunking and play after a year or so. Buy OEM, TRD (Toyota Racing Division) or Sankei (555/Three Five) Made in Japan. Still running original Inner and outer Tie rods, wheels bearings, etc. Don't plan on touching it, unless there is an issue with them. Cant stress enough to buy quality parts, talking from personal experience.

Here is a parts list for my 05 Lexus ES330

Front Strut Left
Reused OEM Spring - No sagging after 185k miles.
334387 - KYB Strut
SM5649 - KYB Lower Coil Spring Insulator
48609-06090 - OEM Strut Mount
90903-63014 - OEM Strut Bearing
48157-06083 - OEM Upper Spring Insulator (Aftermarket don't cover the rod fully so dirt can get in.)
48331-33032 - OEM Strut Bumper (Aftermarket is not same quality.)

Front Strut Right
Reused OEM Spring - No sagging after 185k miles.
334386 - KYB Strut
SM5649 - KYB Lower Coil Spring Insulator
48609-06090 - OEM Strut Mount
90903-63014 - OEM Strut Bearing
48157-06083 - OEM Upper Spring Insulator (Aftermarket don't cover the rod fully so dirt can get in.)
48331-33032 - OEM Strut Bumper (Aftermarket is not same quality.)

Rear Strut Left
334389 - KYB Strut
SM5175 - KYB Suspension Strut Mount Kit (OEM was way too expensive, this one seems just as good.)
SM5716 - KYB Lower Coil Spring Insulator (Drivers Side)
48341AA010 - OEM Strut Bumper
48231-33541 - Reused OEM Spring - No sagging after 185k miles.
90080-38148 - OEM Collar Reused

Rear Strut Right
334388 - KYB Strut
SM5175 - KYB Suspension Strut Mount Kit (OEM was way too expensive, this one seems just as good.)
SM5715 - KYB Lower Coil Spring Insulator (Passenger Side)
48341AA010 - OEM Strut Bumper
48231-33541 - Reused OEM Spring - No sagging after 185k miles.
90080-38148 - OEM Collar Reused

Steveadams

I had to bump this thread, I replaced all 4 strut assemblies, are there bearings I'm not aware of that would make the back not unk after bumps? Or do they come with the assembly

ilkinandr

Only front has bearings as it needs to turn and not the rear. If you have clunking after replacing struts and you use quick strut assembly, it's most likely the strut mounts. That is the known issue with aftermarket.

Steveadams

Thank you for the reply

We did use oem struts he mentioned doing the strut mounts along with the struts, is this a different part I'm not aware of that needs to be ordered on top of the strut assembly? I brought this to their attention after the front struts didn't fix the problem and we did the back struts next. I also got the front away bar links done as well

ilkinandr

There is nothing that goes on top of the strut mounts. Some people would use felt as a layer between the car and the mount and it would help. Who did your work, was it actually at the dealer? If it's local shop they might say it's OEM but it won't be. Also do you have an actual list of parts replaced, if so post it. Have you replaced stabilizer bar bushings? Those are usually first to go out and cause clunking on bumps.

Steveadams

I did the sway bar links in the front, stabilizer bars are the same as sway bar I imagine ? I kept bringing up the bushings but they didn't see any wear on them I believe, I was Going to have them have a look at the rear sway bar next to see if there's any issues . Are the bushings part of the link or further in ? Thank you again I'm gonna find out what strut was put in

Steveadams

Wasn't at the dealer but they are a well known shop in the area that hooks me up, they do super duties and jeep with wild suspension so I figured they'd be a good choice

ilkinandr

It doesn't matter if it's well known shop or not. As this was not dealer most likely they did not put in OEM parts unless you specifically requested it. And yes stabilizer bar and sway bar are the same thing. Stabilizer bar bushings are on the bar itself. It's where it connects to the body of the car. Mine looked fine to the eye as well. You can test it by yanking on stabilizer bar while car is on the ground.

Steveadams

Yes I was there with them when ordering the parts and they bought oem for me since I paid for them, they yanked on the fronts I should make them yank the rear to see if theres any movement

Marle

Is it possible that I can change out the old strut Mounts on es330 lexus if the original strut itself are working perfectly fine or not?and if so what brand thanks

Arsenii

Hello,

Yes it is possible to swap just strut mounts, without having to replace the whole strut, though you will need a spring compressor for that, you can rent one at any major car parts store for free. You can find all the Part Numbers here, though that said, I will probably suggest you to go to RockAuto and get either Moog or KYB parts, they are pretty good quality and quite a bit cheaper than OEM. While in there, I would also suggest ordering Spring Insulators, since they are cheap and are likely in rough shape if your mounts are bad.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

Scott61957

I was having the same problem: clunking sound at low speeds when hitting bumps or going over speed bumps. I replaced the sway bar bushings and links, but that didn't help. Changing the rear struts worked. Funny though, the clunking sound was masking a squeaking sound. Now I have to find that! I think it may be trailing arm/strut rod bushing or the mating bushing in the knuckle.