abq

PART I

Took the car in for tire rotation and alignment to Firestone, tech indicated that the right (passenger) rear shocks have been leaking and covered with oily grime and that failure is imminent. Verified that to be the case. Current mileage is 66,000, bought the car CPO with about 20K in 2017. These are the OEM Shocks (TOKICO 48531-48111). Advised need to replace both and quoted $830 for replacing both with KYB Excel G shocks. Called Lexus, they said my CPO warranty is available, however it needs to be a "Stage 1 failure" to honor that. I told him what it looked like and he said no problem "we will take care of it". When I asked if they will replace both, they said no only the one that failed.

So I researched and found out that this is a known problem with the OEM Tokico shocks that Lexus uses for the RX line and replacing it with the same was not a wise idea. Further research indicated that the KYB Excel G are the best rated for this application and quite a bit more expensive compared to buying the OEMs myself. the 48531-48111 have been replaced by 48531-48112 and cost $ 122 for a pair with shipping/taxes. Monroe OEMSpectrums were quite a bit cheaper than the OEMs for this replacement.


The Rear Excel-G Shock 2010-2014 Toyota/Lexus Part Number : 575-349203 have a lifetime warranty if purchased from an authorized seller, you can get those for much cheaper on Amazon and elsewhere but wont get KYB's lifetime warranty. On KYB's website they had links to various authorized retail and online sellers. I got the cheapest price at JEGS and paid $175 for a pair with shipping/taxes, I decided to pay extra to have the manufacturer's lifetime warranty especially since we drive our cars past 250K miles before replacing them, if the shocks fail every 50K-60K .... do the math?

I called the local lexus dealer and reached their parts dept and found out that I needed two bolts and a nut for each side. Part Numbers are 90105-A0231 for the top Bolt Flange, 90119-A0395 for the bottom Bolt and 90080-17221 for the bottom Nut Flange. I needed 2 of each... Quoted me $ 57.63 with taxes and that I would get that in 4 days!


bolt, nut flange


I called the various auto parts shops in the area and had no luck locating those locally. I went to the nearest Toyota Dealer, they did not have that in stock, but could get those the next day. Which is what I did. Just picked those up ... cost of two sets - $26.60 with taxes (half of Lexus dealer's quote, could have gotten those online with shipping/taxes for $20.22 and am ready to get this done tomorrow. Many choose to reuse the existing Nut and Bolt Flanges, some others swear that new hardware is the way to go, either way an additional $26.60 for peace of mind is invaluable.

Will take photos and post those along with the process after completing the job tomorrow. I found a few videos on you tube ( ) that show that replacement process, looks pretty simple. Thanks to SalimShah for sharing the torque specs for each bolt/nut in an earlier post. So far total cost of all parts to be replaced is $201.86.

PART II

Started the job on Sunday (Jan 19, 2020)
The leaking side (passenger) was done (replaced) in 25 mins, which included jacking it up, and completing the job with tightening the bolts and lug nut to the correct torque specs and then lowering the vehicle.


leaking shock


New Shock View 1


New Shock View 2

This is when the education started. The 2nd shock's lower bolt was stuck, was turning but just would not come out. It took me and a friend a total of 9 (NINE!!) hours to get about 1 and a quarter inch of the bolt out using a 4 lb hammer, flat wrench to pull while using a 20V drill to screw out the bolt with many recharges, until its torque was not enough to turn the bolt. Finally used the breaker bar to screw out the bolt 1/2 mm on the thread at a time until we did not have any strength to make further progress with the breaker bar. Then we tried using the reciprocating saw with "thick metal" cutting blades. Went through two blades and just made a notch on the bolt as seen in the next photos.


stuck bolt


stuck bolt view 2

You can see the oily surface caused by using WD40 to loosen the bolt. Finally we called a friend to seek solutions he was there in 5 mins with an angle grinder and took the bolt off in 20 seconds!! A $ 30 tool could have saved us 8 hours+ of aggravation!!


Cut Bolt!!
I am glad I got the new bolts/nuts to replace the old ones with. Used @salimshah 's torque specs for the top 3 bolts (63ft-lbs) that needed to be removed to re-position the shock for cutting it. Used 68 ft-lbs for the top bolt of the the shock and 72 ft-lbs for the bottom bolt with the clamping nut. SalimShah's numbers are a bit different. Used 76 ft-lbs for the wheel lugs.
Thank You everyone that has contributed before to help me with this process.

salimshah

Do you think the stuck bolt had to do with a deformed mounting bracket? Maybe the vehicle bottomed out some time in the past.

Salim

abq

SaIim:

I did not see visual evidence of that, the mounting bracket looked just fine prior to starting the work. The mounting bracket did endure some superficial damage while attempting to remove it and it was bent on one side to facilitate the shock's removal after cutting, also the attempted cutting with the reciprocating saw.... I was able to straighten the mounting bracket prior to installing the new shock there.

This was the side with the 'good' shock. It looks like a classic case of rust and corrosion jamming up the bolt in the metal sleeve of the bottom end of the shock. Usually an extreme condition like this takes a lot longer than 5+ years from it's exposure to moisture (from splashing rain and snow). This car was purchased as a CPO in NY (the car has been in Albuquerque for 2 and a half years), and I gather that the snow and salt on the roads of NY for 3 years accelerated this.

I have been wondering how the other side (with the leaking shock) was a simpler job... the only plausible answer I can come to is the shock leak over time also lubricated that bolt, nut flange over the past many months, making the removal easier. Many folks use PB Blaster or similar penetrating oil like Deep Creep from Seafoam weeks prior to removing the shocks. I used WD40 a day before.

I am wondering why these bolts are not coated with anti-seize prior to mounting like the brake rotors? Thank You for your input in previous threads!

-ABQ.

tdott

You couldn't take the bolt out because the shock was fully extended since the vehicle is off the ground.

If you jacked up the suspension to compress the shock, you should have been able to remove the bolt without cutting it.

abq

I did lower the jack to see if that would help, I tried to hammer the cut bolt out to see if it comes out... that bolt is totally seized.

tdott

You would have needed to put a jack under the suspension, jacking it up to compress the suspension shock.
The bolt was wedged in there, since it was turning before and got half way out it wasn't a seized bolt or rust issue otherwise it wouldn't have turned or came half way out.

wahaus

Thanks for all of the info. KYB replacement shocks have been ordered. Quick question. In one or two of the videos, it's didn't look like the bolts were replaced with new. Is that necessary or just cheap insurance?

Roscol

These were so far gone as far as being called a shock absorber. Was having issues removing the upper bolt so I removed the 3 bolts holding the upper bracket so I could torch the bolt/nut to free up the 14 years of Canadian salt and rust.
Just for fun, I put back my tires and drove around with no rear shocks at all. Felt the same, I guess you get use to the loss of shock function over the years that you don’t really notice it. I was noticing some bouncing More than usual when on the highway, but when driving in stop and go city traffic (90% of my driving), felt normal.
After putting on the new KYB shocks, re used the old bolts, just cleaned them up, and torqued to the above mentioned specs, there was a noticeable difference in the drive, much smoother and definitely more stable on corners and bumps.
If not for the rust issue with the upper bolts, would of been a 20 minute job per side.