Tom,

I'm fairly certain that I ran across that price , but that may have been the same vendor that claimed to have Bilsteins for 90-94 LS 400's. A quick check direct with Bilstein revealed that there is (and has never been) such an animal.

The BE5-2734 & 2735 (rear) for the 95 & newer are in the $100-110 range.

sorry for the confusion, damon

 

KYBs are too firm I think.

Some of you may have read my post about where I am installing factory "OEM" Lexus struts on my 90 LS400. I bought them at my local Lexus dealer for only $51.35 each. They are packaged in a "Toyota" box and have Toyota and "KYB" on them. The reason I am changing them, is that the rear suspension is too stiff. I can feel every bump in the road. and the car has a sharp jolt from the rear suspension. According to a receipt in the glove box, the previous owner had "KYB" struts installed on the rear, as well as new brakes and 4-wheel alignment. I bought the Lexus-Toyota struts, as I wanted it to have a soft ride, like I am sure it originally had. I always thought that KYB were performance struts and was suprised when I seen "KYB" on the bottom of the Toyota-Lexus struts I have just bought. I am supposed to take the car to the shop tomorrow and have them installed for $90, but hate to have them installed if I am going to have the same rough ride. Someone mentioned that they may have had new springs installed, but according to that receipt, they were not. I am assuming if they were going to change them, that they would have changed them when they changed the struts. Also, I noticed a tear on the rubber covering that is in the spring. So, will these Toyota struts with "KYB" stamped on them, still provide a soft ride? Also, how can I tell if my springs are original? Also- my car will barely go down when I press down on the rear end of it. Could this mean that my springs, or struts are the problem? ANY information appreciated.

 

To update- I had the factory Toyota struts installed on my car and now it has a soft, smooth ride.

 

So tell us $$$ figures. Struts / Install?

 

I paid $51.00 each for factory OEM Toyota struts from my Lexus dealer. I paid my repair shop $90.00 + tax to install. After taxes- the struts were about $110.00 and the replacement was $98.00. So the total was about $208.00. I am going to sell the "KYB" heavy duty struts that the previous owner installed on the car about 6 months ago to get a little of my money back.

 

Thanks for the breakdown. I plan to put 4 new struts on my 92LS soon. When I read more carefully, I saw you had detailed the costs in an earlier post. Thanks again!

 

No problem. If I were you, I would go with the factory Toyota struts. They will provide the smoothest ride. The gray KYB's on my car gave a overly firm ride. Very un-Lexus like. That is why I changed them out. Good luck.