tibug

I know many ES300/330 owners have had the failed rear strut mount issue resulting in knocking/clunking from the rear end, and to my knowledge, essentially all aftermarket strut mounts are absolute crap and will not last. Previous owner installed aftermarket ones and of course they're no good. I haven't removed mine yet but I wanted to know if anyone had some creative fixes for this (perhaps modification of the aftermarket mount or something?), or if I should just bite the bullet and buy OEM? Any suggestions are appreciated.

Arsenii

Hello,

What kind of issue are you having? Clunking from the rear can be caused by a number of different problems, while mounts are one of them, they are not a sole indication that it is strut mounts in particular that went out. Before committing issues with struts, you need to check that everything else is in order; a common cause of clunking on those cars is worn out stabilizer links and/or bushings, as well as control arms.

It is not a problem to just swap out a bad mount instead of having to replace the whole strut, here is a Parts Catalogue containing all the OEM Part Numbers for your car, P/N for the Right side is 48750-33062, and for the Left is 48760-33062. KYB also makes good suspension parts, they can be found at RockAuto website. With that, you will need a spring compressor, which can be rented at any major parts store.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

LeX2K

Definitely no way to fix the mount it is comprised of rubber bonded to metal you can't begin to duplicate. Given the work involved I got OEM here even though they are 3x or more vs. aftermarket. Take the above advice and make sure the problem is not the mounts, any idea what brand was installed?

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

Ditto you got the two best forum technicians replying to you Try that first.

tibug

Clunking over bumps from the rear end. Very annoying haha.

Control arm bushings look perfect. No odd tire wear either. Endlinks are good as are the sway bar bushings. Had it up on a lift and was trying to wiggle and pull on every possible culprit--all tight. Quite sure it's the strut mounts. Previous owner even said he replaced them and the clunking went away, then eventually returned.

I know I can replace the mount but I'm hesitant to buy another aftermarket one after so many horror stories about them failing in short order.
​​​

tibug

Don't know the brand yet but it's definitely aftermarket per the previous owner.

One thing I read was placing some felt material somewhere (sorry it's vague, I don't recall exactly) that's supposed to quiet them down.

I've no problem doing the job twice timewise, but of course I'd prefer to at least have some reason to hope for longevity, and saving some creative solution, I will not have such reason, and will swing for OEM. Thanks for the input from both of you.

LeX2K

Bite the bullet buy OEM you'll never do the job again. OE mounts with KYB struts is a combo I've done quite a few times never had any issues.

tibug

Yeah that's what I've always done on Subarus except the KYB mounts work great on them. Rare occurrences in my experience where KYB is not good enough a substitute but I guess the Toyota mounts have inherent flaw in design that make it difficult to reproduce aftermarket equivalents of similar quality at a competitive price.

LeX2K

KYB mounts on 2001 and prior Lexus/Toyota have not been good, they may be okay for your ES don't know. I've seen front mounts go bad (not common) have yet to see rear mounts fail (outside of rust) on any Toyota and Lexus they have an easy life compared to the fronts. The boots tend to rot out and fall off.

tibug

Oh yeah...this isn't because of rust but damn have I seen that for sure on many cars. Even had the strut towers fail entirely on my old Impreza but that had 285k on it so I wasn't too upset. Spring perch rusted off my dad's rear strut on his Outback. Bro's ford escape...strut towers totally destroyed.

That's why I undercoat all vehicles now with Woolwax or Fluid Film. Has kept my truck completely rust free after i replaced the frame 8 years ago.

Arsenii

I can testify on that, passed big 2 recently and my struts are still original, even though the car appears to sit just a touch lower than normal, which I actually like.. No drivability issues so far though.