Marston

Hello everyone,

I will be purchasing the following parts based on my research here on the site, and was hoping anyone confirm if I have to reuse some components from my current airbag suspension when swapping to a convention steel and strut setup?

My logic is that if I purchase the necessary parts, I can go to a local shop, have them compress the springs and assemble the entire assembly into a single unit and I can just swap out the air bag suspension for the new one in my garage.

However, I am unsure if I need to reuse some old parts, which means I would have to remove the current suspension, take what I need, go to the shop to have them assemble everything, then go home and finally get them onto the car.

I hope this question makes sense, and if anyone could advise, I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

Parts list (thanks BNR34)

Front:
(2) Non-Sport struts: 48510-59815
(2) Upper Supports (Strut tops, comes with rubber insulator and bump stop): 48680-50110
(2) Retainers (Big top washer): 48680-22050
(2) Upper Insulators (Not originally added by BNR34, so unsure about this one): 48257-22070
(2) Non-Sport Coil Springs: 48131-50170

Rear:
(2) Non-Sport struts: 48530-59845
(2) Lower Insulators (rubber insulator for the spring): 48258-50020
(2) Insulators (Big rubber insulator): 48257-50020
(2) Spring Bumpers (Bump stop): 48341-50070
(2) Upper Mounts (Strut top): 48755-50100
(2) Upper Mount Sleeves (Big top washer): 48755-50110
(2) Non-Sport Coil Springs: 48231-50200

Marston

Work was a lot more difficult that anticipated. The whole OEM spring compression/aligning strut was the most difficult part. Made tons of mistakes, learned from them as much as possible, and finished the two rear. Wanted to update the parts list in case someone was in the same situation. Save money and skip part 48257-22070 as BNR34 stated.

TTBomB

iTrader: (2)

FYI- I was told via a Lexus dealer that the Lower Insulators (rubber insulator for the spring): 48258-50020 is included when you Order the OEM Coil springs. Can you confirm this?

Marston

Hey TTBomB. At least for me (ordered from MyLParts), it did not come with the spring. I had to order the lower insulator separately.

Also, the front struts came with the top nut, while the rears did not. I was able to reuse the 17mm nut from the airbags for the rear, but again, just a heads up.

TTBomB

iTrader: (2)

Ok, thanks for the feedback.

TTBomB

iTrader: (2)

Looking for feedback on the rear OEM springs I purchased.
I ordered OEM non-sport springs. The dealer said they came with the Lower Insulators 48258-50020.
Here is a photo of what I received. Is that brown rubber the insulator? It doesn't look like the lexus drawing to me.
Thanks

Marston

Correct. I had to place the brown insulator onto the spring myself, but that's what it looks like.

TTBomB

iTrader: (2)

Wow ok. The Lexus drawing makes it look like its a whole circle that covers the entire end of the spring.
Thanks!

Marston

Here's mine's, both lower and upper insulators.

Looking at your picture, you have the top, but I couldn't see if you had the bottom one.

TTBomB

iTrader: (2)

Looking into this more this doesn't look right. The photo I posted appears to be the top of the rear spring not the bottom.
I definitely think I am missing something here.
Looking at this post by rkw https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...del-ls430.html
You can see the small brown rubber on the top of spring, post #8
Then in post #10, you can see a larger black insulator on the bottom of the spring between the strut, That's what I think I need 48258-50020

TTBomB

iTrader: (2)

Yes you are right, there is only the top one, nothing on the bottom. The dealer was wrong. I definitely need to order (2) 48258-50020

qtonic

I'm trying to get a little more life out of a UL LS430. The front air suspension is especially bad. I think the rear is mostly fine.

Is it possible to do this conversion to conventional shocks and springs on JUST the front? Thanks.

caddylover

no, your compressor would be running all the time as you'd have two loose air hoses

qtonic

That makes sense. Thanks.

I'm trying to do this as cheaply as possible while still using quality components. Ideally I'd like my ride to be as plush as possible, yet I'm seeing the 01-03 OEM sport shocks for about the same price as Monroe or KYB aftermarket. Non-sport OEM are a lot more.

The absolute cheapest OEM combo would be those sport package shocks, with non-sport springs 01-03 on front and 04+ on rears. Any thoughts on mixing and matching like that? I figure maybe the non-sport springs might help offset the sport shocks?

I also want to make sure the shock and spring lengths aren't too different between styles or anything else weird like that.

S1w99

Hello,
'06 LS430 Charcoal blue/black int. UL (99K miles). I recently drove over a monster pothole (front driver) at night that hit so hard it split the tire instantly. Now the car is super springy on the front driver and even back driver side now. Going straight at any speed is very nice still. I'm assuming it means my air shock is bad and probably the control arms need replacing too. I'd consider new air shocks if they weren't so damn expensive.(got a price from a dealer of $1900 for 1. WTF? I'll have to do the spring conversion. I had an '02 LS430 and can't tell much of a difference in ride quality from my '06 UL.
Many threads have many part # listings. Now in 2020 are there any new best practices and parts for a conversion to springs? Am I correct in assuming buying a used air shock that the strut will likely be weak since it will be over a decade 15 yrs old?

With such a hard hit should I plan on replacing all the suspension parts on the driver side front and back?

Thanks for the info. I'm not a mechanic at all so I have to rely on smarter people than me when it comes to cars. But, I am on my 2nd LS430 which makes me some kind of brilliant....

-Mark