Chillymorn

Hello,
question about rear strut noise. Stated hearing a clunk from the rear. Jacked up the car put a big steel pipe under the tire and pulled up trying to find the noise. Then noticed spongy material falling out of the strut.
the strut itself looks ok. I seen rock auto sells a bumper and cover kit to repair it. Has anyone used one of these.

LeX2K

A bad bump stop won't cause the noise you're hearing, the upper mount/rubber may be failing. If in the rust belt the metal rots out requiring replacement. Another common noise source is bad sway bar bushings.

Those generic boot kits are okay but you will be using it along with the factory rubber as it goes between the coil and mount.

Oro

+1 - this is the most common cause of that noise. If the struts have ever been replaced, you might just try tightening the nut as it is very common to not get them torqued properly; it is a little tricky.

Chillymorn

what if the bump stop crumbled out into your hand. So now there is no bump stop. The sway bar bushings look fine I man handled them and no noticable play. No rust on this car anywhere. 84k garage kept!

Chillymorn

I think I'm going to throw some gabierls from rock auto 80$ a side. Any strut recommendations?

LeX2K

Gabriel is usually made in Mexico the ones I've seen were very poor quality and didn't last. I've installed Monroe OESpectrum made in USA quality strut but longevity tends not to match OEM or KYB. KYB is excellent but very firm, some consider them harsh. OEM is still available last I checked about $165/side online. The OEM part is no longer Lexus specific it is a Toyota part meaning the valving is not as nice. Still the best replacement.

HomerJay

As suggested earlier I would first replace the sway bar bushings, it's inexpensive and easy to change. I experienced a similar noise and although they appeared tight, replacing the bushings fixed the problem.

Chillymorn

just replaced them seems like it did the trick. 👍

Oro

If you don't want to pay for OE, to my mind the KYB is by far the best bang for the buck. Very close to factory ride imo.

I had the chance this week to drive three different 4th gens - a) 2003 with 37.5k original miles/original suspension. b) 2006 with 96k original miles/original suspension. c) ours 2002 320k miles rebuilt with KYB struts all around and moog springs in rear (original springs still in front) rebuilt about 80 to 90k miles ago/6 years ago. Basically no difference between any of them in ride quality/characteristics.