CDog77

I have a 1996 LS400 with 190,000 mi. and it has been determined that the rear struts are "blown". They are the original struts. The car handles poorly and I want to get her done. The shops are giving me estimates from about $900 - 1150 to do the rear struts with coils and mounting brackets. I have done some research on DIY, It would save me a lot of money, yet it does look challenging. I have done many small repairs, brakes, alternators etc but not this type of repair.
Has anyone done this job, and is it fairly manageable? any special tools or suggestions?
Any recommendations for parts ( brands) from ebay or similar?
Thanks!
These struts are listed on ebay for $118 for the pair. The shop wanted $275 each for Monroe's.

djamps

Is not a hard task. Worst part for me was removing the back seat and rear tray to access the nuts holding the strut in. Nothing was overly difficult... just time consuming especially moving old springs to new strut. If you get the whole assembly with spring already installed you save a bunch of time and don't need a spring compressor (those things always scare me).

driftsucky

If you're getting an "all-ready" strut or a "quick strut", which has the strut and coil as one unit, then do it. It's literally removing bolts and re-bolting new parts. You do have to remove the back seat to access everything, but it's more time consuming than it is difficult. But, if you DIDN'T do it, you would kick yourself. In levels of difficulty, everything you've done is more difficult than this and there's more to go wrong with the other stuff too.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

suspension struts and springs are not difficult but do need prep work to tackle. a spring compressor is certainly a must if the OEM springs will be transferred over and reused which is likely. it can be intimidating and lengthy but the knowledge you gain and sense of pride from the work is priceless! it all depends on your time, level of skill, patience level, and tool set. the job is certainly labor intensive (as people mentioned back seat removal is necessary) but not hard at all!

if you have done brakes before then you sound somewhat already mechanically inclined. there are things that need to be considered like pre-loading the bushings for example. purchasing a pre-built strut/spring combo will most likely negate the cost advantage of doing it yourself but it does make things easier. have you worked with suspension at all?

dicer

I have not done rears yet. But if its like the fronts there is more involved than just a spring compressor, since the top mounting bolt pattern needs to be properly oriented with the lower bolt eye, if its not real close you would be fighting with the spring trying to align them. So all that needs proper alignment before relaxing the spring compressor. So if you have to transfer the spring then the best deal would be to go to a firestone or a store like that and have them transfer the springs, I don't think the cost would be too crazy. Other wise I built a device to do said alignment it worked ok.

driftsucky

If you're close to a service shop of any sort, set aside a few hours on like a saturday morning to try to tackle it. Then, take it to get aligned. I have the advantage of working at shop, so whenever I do suspension work, I only have to go a few feet to get an alignment. However, I have friends that will drive up to 50ish miles for an alignment because they have to use in floor lifts. That said, if you can do it, knock it out and get the follow up stuff done at a shop.

dicer

Or align it yourself.

CDog77

Thanks everyone for the positive and useful feedback! The main question I have is what brand of complete struts with springs to purchase. Are the ones sold on Ebay a good buy? I have a buddy with experience to lend a hand with this job!

oldskewel

iTrader: (1)

I put KYB (the OEM) GR-2's on all 4 corners of my '91. I expect these will be better than any random brands like Monroe.

The spring compressor stuff is really not difficult, and good to learn, if you've got all the other tools. Your springs are probably good. There are a few other components to consider replacing - bump stops, boots (bellows), and strut mounts. I'm not sure if those all come with a pre-assembled package deal. Plenty of info on here.

Here are the parts I used:
KY341159 front shock, KYB GR-2
KY341268 rear shock, KYB GR-2
KYSM5176 front mount, KYB
KYSM5178 rear mount, KYB
48157-50010 Insulator, front suspension
48257-50010 Insulator, upper, rear suspension
48258-50010 Insulator, lower, rear suspension
48331-50010 bumper, front suspension
48341-50010 bumper, rear suspension

If you search for those part numbers (here and on the intertubes) you should get good info (better targeted than searching for something like "smooth shocks for my ride").

Regarding "alignment," there should be no wheel alignment needed following strut replacement.

I understood dicer's first comment above on alignment to refer to the rotational alignment of the strut with respect to the strut mount. Not a wheel alignment. That is absolutely correct, and is a slightly difficult part of this job. I think I had to try, fail, and do a minor adjustment on the first side I did, due a slight mis-alignment. The issue is that the 3 mounting screws in the strut mount (coming out of the very top of the full strut assembly) will fit exactly in 3 holes in your car. And that determines the direction of the horizontal hole in the very bottom of the strut, where the bottom strut bolt goes, which must be aligned pointing forwards. I'll guess that either the pre-assembled strut assembly will have this dialed in perfectly, otherwise you'll need to adjust it yourself, which would best be done with a spring compressor to loosen it while you slightly twist things.

EDIT - and I did a little searching myself, and found the following tips from when I did this job 7 years ago:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ml#post5852647

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

I second KYB GR-2s as the are made in japan at a reasonable cost. there are other threads here answering your exact question on brand choice for shocks as well, if you need more input.

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

KYB-GR-2 on mine also.

CDog77

I will research the options you guys presented! thanks so much.

I am trying to loosen the bottom bolt and its not listening. I have a big breaker bar on it. whats the best product to soak the bolt to free it up?

CDog77

Never mind, had a cup of coffee and with fortitude got it loose!
when I knock out the bolt, should I be concerned about any pressure from the spring and strut?

dicer

Only if that wheel is loaded, meaning its on a ramp or on the ground.

oldskewel

iTrader: (1)

On that bottom bolt, I see you got it, but here's what I noticed when I did it 7 years ago (notes in that link I referenced above):
"on the rear shock lower pivot bolt, the nut surface is serrated so it digs into the support. Impossible to loosen the nut, even with the air impact wrench. But ... easy to loosen the other side - the bolt head. Did not make sense until I had it apart and saw the serrated surface. When re-installing, you also notice the bumpiness as you torque it down, due to this. So loosen the bolt head, not the nut. The fronts are not like this - they're normal."

The nut and its mating surface were almost like a ratchet. I've never seen something like that other than here. Undoing the bolt while the nut stayed still did the trick. Is that how yours was? Did you just power through it?