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I can confirm the strut I bought from UAE (eBay - triplecreations) arrived quickly (shipped on Wednesday and arrived on Monday), and was well packed. It was in a Toyota/Lexus "Genuine Parts" box. I hope to have it installed by this weekend.
Additional Note: I'd be happy to post more pictures. For I have no idea how to distinguish this from a counterfeit or something remanufactured in china and re-packaged to look new. To me it looks legit, but I guess I'll only know for sure based on how it performs over time.
Happy 4th to everyone, and to me an extra special day indeed. I couldn't wait until this weekend, so took advantage of the nice weather and installed the new air shock this morning. I just returned from a test drive and the verdict is in .... the ride is now totally SILENT.
I still plan to load up the back seat with some buddies and ride over some speed bumps to determine if the rear air shocks need any attention. I suspect they still may, but that is minor compared to the daily rattle I'd been enduring from this front shock. I plan to experiment with the height button when I have rear passengers to see if that helps.
Additional Details on the swap: The old strut was a part number, 4802-50201, which I replaced with the latest revision, which is part number 4802-50203. The actuator was not replaced; though I verified what I have is part number 89241-30040 and that it clips on to the new strut securely and is still able to operate it. I verified that with the height button and a tape measure once the wheels where back on the ground. Both front struts extended the same amount in roughly the same amount of time. Upon initially lowering the car off the jack the side with the new shock was lower than the others, but after starting the car so the compressor could add air, and cycling the height up and back down all were the same. There is a newer revision of the actuator (89241-30041), though it appears it is not required to operate the new revision strut, nor does the actuator contribute to the rattle in my case.
Lessons Learned: I raised the car with the height button to make it easier to get the floor jack in place. I probably should have put it back to normal height before raising the jack, for it was difficult to disengage the bottom of the shock from the lower bracket with it extended, and I suspect that at normal height that may not have been the case. I disconnected one side of the stabilizer link to get enough slack to free it. There was also a lot of pressure released upon disconnecting the air hose, which was not shown on the Arnott video, so perhaps having the stock extended caused that too. The video also covered a different attachment on the lower end of the strut than mine (RWD vs. AWD?); the lower bracket was bolted straight up through a bracket into the end of the strut. Other than that all was as shown in the video. I was able to determine the correct torque for everything except that lower bolt attaching the shock to the bracket. I suspect that it needs to be around 100 ft-lbf, but since I wasn't sure and couldn't get a torque wrench in there anyways, I just put as much force as I could with my longest box wrench. I plan to get an alignment done soon, so will ask them to check that bolt and tighten it more if needed.
I likely spent as much on new tools, as I saved on labor. But now I have a much better floor jack, knowledge on the process and a silent car.
I found the below diagram on Google which shows torque specs. Appears to be for a RWD, but I doubt the specs on bolts are different. Page 647 in my owners manual states wheel nuts get torqued to 103.3 ft-lbf. Other than that all are shown in the diagram. And some pictures of the carnage of the swap: Old Strut: Slightly off center and a bit of oil under the actuator
Lots of jack stands and a 3 ton jack. Nice and stable.
Old Strut before removal. Notice lower bracket that it bolts into.
My son and I replaced the right front air strut today. I ordered the part from TripleCreations on EBAY and delivery took less than a week. Everything looks OEM - even the paperwork says the country of manufacture is Japan.
Toughest part was understanding how to disconnect the air line. The Arnott video is correct to use the existing clip and turn it 90 degrees, push it back in the strut. This SPREADS the retaining clips, unlocking them and allowing the air hose to slip out. This became obvious looking at the new strut.
Doing this on the driveway took three hours. The next time should not take over an hour once on the jack stands.
Thanks KYLS for the suggestion of a vendor with reasonable prices.
KYLS, Thank you for narrowing it down to the air strut rattling. Im having a similar rattle sound. Replaced ALL control Arms and still have the issue. It does sound like its coming from the top part or the air strut. ALSO the vehicle is a bit wobbly in the Front End which i suspect is due to a faulty strut. Im going to replace this air strut also with an OEM unit. The question i have is what exactly is causing these air struts to make the rattling sound inside? Is it somthing that could be repaired so that i can have a backup air strut ready to install in the future ?
The question i have is what exactly is causing these air struts to make the rattling sound inside? Is it somthing that could be repaired so that i can have a backup air strut ready to install in the future ?
The “rattle” mine emitted was fairly unique, closest I could describe it, is it sounded like a basketball, containing a smaller basketball within it sitting right behind the instrument cluster. Not sure if they would all fail in the same way, so perhaps my description of the sound is not reflective of all for my experience is only with that one. The old one is still sitting in the corner of my garage. It does not appear to be serviceable, but if someone has experience and can describe the process, I’d be happy to give it a go and take some pictures.
TampaLS600, Check the part number on your current shock. If it is the original revision, then it is even more likely to have this issue based on the fact that LEXUS released a TSB on them. In my case the old front DS strut was part number, 4802-50201, replaced by 4802-50203.
I removed the nut and actuator bracket. I could not turn the nut under the bracket. I’m not sure what is making the noise internally but it appears the lower nut secures the shock absorber part to the top mounting part. I’m sure an angle grinder with a cutting wheel could solve the mystery.
Last edited by mdpresco; 07-26-19 at 06:32 PM.
Reason: Editing
The sound you are describing sounds identical to my issue. I found new OEM air Strut online from Dubai for around $600 each. Might go this route. Thanks again.
just did front air shock replacement on a -07 2WD LS460.
Couple of observations/hints:
1) Beware of the pressurized air coming out when removing the airline. I did use pair of pliers to push the plastic clip inside the attachment point or use thick gloves!
2) There is no need to undo the upper control arms as suggested in the video. I used my other floor jack to push the lower end of the shock over the attachment point.
Rather an easy job approx. 1hr per side. The difference in ride is noticeable! I use OEM parts from my local supplier.
Both front OEM airshocks or pneumatic cylinders as they call them were around 1300€ including the lower bolts and nuts. I used local wholesale parts supplier this time.
Usually I use www.amayama.com for LS and NSX parts. Highly recommended. They ship both from Japan and UAE. For the shocks the shipping was too expensive. For some reason there is an extra charge for shipping "dangerous" parts as these.
Congrats, I happened to follow some links and landed here on your post. I am just curious. Did you get the alignment done after the front air strut replacement?
If you do not disconnect control arms, no alignment is needed. If you do, yes, but it is not critical to have it done immediately since the tapered fits put the parts back essentially in the same place.
07-01-19, 02:38 PM
