CDog77

In response to oldskewel, the bolt came loose pretty simple once broke free. I did not notice it being serrated.

I got the struts out easy enough. It was not that hard of a job as I thought it might be.
This video was very helpful.
I decided to go with the KYBs and am awaiting their arrival today and should have them back on soon!

Also in response to alignment of the strut assembly, I will be paying close attention to that aspect and will check out oldskewels link.
The video I watched discussed marking the position of the top bolts.

lextout

isn't it insane how they gave you a quote thats almost 40% the value of the car.

CDog77

Hey, thanks for the helpful tips. I got the struts on the rear of my 1996 LS400. The biggest challenge I had was to get the the alignment correct between the the top and bottom of the strut. I had to re-compress the spring 3x on the 1st and 2x on the 2nd strut to get the bottom through bolt to line up. It was nearly a 100 degrees in the desert and I was quite verbal with my Lexus parts at that point, but managed to get her done.
The ride is much improved! I am glad I put the KYB's on. I did opt to not replace the strut mounts. The ones I had seemed fine and saved me a 100 bucks (Thanks Oldskewel)
I think I will tackle the fronts next weekend!