GS430 L-Tuned Suspension Install
12-29-15, 02:14 PM
#122
I need help/info.
2006 Lexus GS430. 130,000 miles....need new struts.....no one decent sells struts for this car....it's like some kind of conspiracy!!!
Lexus says they'll install OEM struts for $3,000......that's ridiculous. Where do you find L-tuned struts?
2006 Lexus GS430. 130,000 miles....need new struts.....no one decent sells struts for this car....it's like some kind of conspiracy!!!
Lexus says they'll install OEM struts for $3,000......that's ridiculous. Where do you find L-tuned struts?
03-24-17, 10:02 AM
#123
Ok, my Bilsteins come in on Sat. So hopefully this weekend will be the time I get them on.
Question, this is directed to people who have done this swap.
Is there a reason I can't remove sway bar link, loosen the control arm to spindle bolt, loosen (but not remove) shock to control arm bolt, leaving car on the ground (this is KEY!!!), remove the top center bolt of the shock, then lift car allowing suspension to hang, when tension is off the control arm to spindle bolt, remove bolt, hoist car up and allow shock to be completely unloaded safely, remove shock bolt and remove shock. I'm just not sold that the tube the spring pushes up against that is bolted to the wheel tub and the stock tower actually NEEDS to come out of the car at all.
This seems safer and much much easier. And no spring compressor needed. The car makes a great spring compressor! Please never underestimate the power of a compressed spring! BE CAREFUL!
Reinstall in reverse.
My bet is once the top shock bolt is removed (suspension loaded sitting on the ground or floor jack under the lower arm in back), raising the car and allowing the suspension to hang will allow the shock to fall out with no spring tension. This is how it was done on GM front suspensions (non strut), easy and less tools needed, and spring is never removed from car in a loaded state, so therefore MUCH safer!
Question, this is directed to people who have done this swap.
Is there a reason I can't remove sway bar link, loosen the control arm to spindle bolt, loosen (but not remove) shock to control arm bolt, leaving car on the ground (this is KEY!!!), remove the top center bolt of the shock, then lift car allowing suspension to hang, when tension is off the control arm to spindle bolt, remove bolt, hoist car up and allow shock to be completely unloaded safely, remove shock bolt and remove shock. I'm just not sold that the tube the spring pushes up against that is bolted to the wheel tub and the stock tower actually NEEDS to come out of the car at all.
This seems safer and much much easier. And no spring compressor needed. The car makes a great spring compressor! Please never underestimate the power of a compressed spring! BE CAREFUL!
Reinstall in reverse.
My bet is once the top shock bolt is removed (suspension loaded sitting on the ground or floor jack under the lower arm in back), raising the car and allowing the suspension to hang will allow the shock to fall out with no spring tension. This is how it was done on GM front suspensions (non strut), easy and less tools needed, and spring is never removed from car in a loaded state, so therefore MUCH safer!
Last edited by RamAirRckt; 03-24-17 at 01:12 PM.
03-30-17, 02:41 PM
#124
Bilsteins on rear!
This is an updated on how to do the rear shocks on the 2GS. It is MUCH easier and safer as you aren't trying to compress a spring off the car which is inherently very dangerous.
A. Read ALL of this before starting.
B. Read it again. Understand it before you start. It helps a lot.
C. NOTE the alignment before you start. I scribed on the cam bolt and it vanished after I PB Blastered it. Make GOOD marks or better, photos. After PB Blaster all the marks were too hard to see.
D. Spray the bolts you are taking out with PB Blaster ahead of time.
E. I installed Bilsteins, the spring perch on the shock is NOT a part of the shock, it has 2 positions and can be flipped upside down, thus changing ride height. I put mine all in the lowest positions because it matched the factory shock almost exactly. It is still on the high side for most people. The Bilstein shock has a snap ring the spring perch sits on, it comes in the upper position, very easy to lift it and slide it down to the lower position about 1in lower. The spring perch itself can be installed 2 ways, again, I chose the lower. Just make sure you do both sides the same.
F. Note the spring end locations. This doesn’t apply to KYB or other shocks, only to Bilsteins.
G. The bushing kit from Moog (K160089) only comes with the bushings that go on top and below the jounce bumper. The Jounce bumper I haven’t seen a source for yet. Mine was in perfect shape after 276k miles, I reused it.H. Use your head when doing this, you are STILL dealing with a spring. The key here is when the control arm is allowed to go below where the upper arm limits it, the spring pressure is completely relieved. Spring is safe.
1. Jack up car (from frame), support car properly and safely (Jackstands!). Remove rear sway bar link the control arm.
2. Remove lower shock nut, but do not remove bolt yet. You can’t anyway, it’s under spring torque, don’t even try! This nut was TIGHT, my 18” breaker bar got a workout. Spray liberally with PB Blaster if you live in the north like I do. Spray everything that you’ll be taking off.
3. Note your alignment on the cam bolt. Remove nut on the camber cam bolt. If you don’t note the alignment when you start to loosen it you’ll lose it, it turns and jacks up the alignment pretty easily.
4. Using a floor jack, support lower control arm. Jack, it up so some of the weight of the car is held by this point. Doesn’t need to be jacked up high.
5. Remove top shock bolt (center, do NOT mess with the 3 holding the spring support in). DO NOT DO this unless the lower arm is supported. It’s a 17mm nut. I whipped it off with my impact (one of my best tool purchases, cheap too)
6. Lower the jack under the control arm, not completely, keep some pressure there for now.
7. Remove the camber bolt. It helps to lift on the rotor/knuckle assy to get the pressure off the bolt. I used a 3/8" long extension to tap the bolt out. Use the jack to adjust the pressure you need to release most of the torque on the camber bolt.
8. Once the camber bolt is out, then the lower arm can come down far enough to remove the lower shock bolt.
9. I took my floor jack and lifted the front control arm that locates the knuckle and lifted it up as high as I could, this gave me lots more room to remove shock and spring. They are separate now and safer than messing with spring compressors off the car. Don't hesitate to push the lower arm down as far as you need to so you can get the shock and spring out. If you push the arm down, the shock and spring fall out.
Notes: I used the camber bolt (or shock bolt) in the camber bolt holes without the rear knuckle connected and a prybar to make it easy to pull the lower arm down so I had gobs of room to pull the shock out. When installing, push the shock up the spring support (that mounts to the body) and look for the opportunity to slide the shock bolt in, get it in place and it makes moving it around very easy. Look up top to make sure the top of the shock lines up with the hole, I used a small screwdriver to pull it in and it pops through, make sure the sleeve that is inside the bushing comes through too, it likes to catch under the spring support. As soon as you can, stack the bushing and washer on there and tighten it some so the shock stays in place.
Reverse to install. The car is a wonderful spring compressor. And the spring has no tension on it just past the full extension of the shock. so when supported by the jack under the arm and you remove the top bolt off the shock and then lower it, zero tension on the spring/shock. Don't try to remove it as a strut assy, it is a shock spring assy, and isn't meant to be serviced that way. It is pretty easy to work with. I'd do it again no worries.
It took me about 1 hr on the left side (I missed a part that fell off the shock and had to remove it all and do it again) and 30 min on the right. Once I had it figured out, very easy job. I do have an air impact, so spinning the top bolt off is super easy, without that it adds time, but it’s all easy to get to. It also helps drive out the lower bolt held by the shock, rust wanted it to stick around…
This is an updated on how to do the rear shocks on the 2GS. It is MUCH easier and safer as you aren't trying to compress a spring off the car which is inherently very dangerous.
A. Read ALL of this before starting.
B. Read it again. Understand it before you start. It helps a lot.
C. NOTE the alignment before you start. I scribed on the cam bolt and it vanished after I PB Blastered it. Make GOOD marks or better, photos. After PB Blaster all the marks were too hard to see.
D. Spray the bolts you are taking out with PB Blaster ahead of time.
E. I installed Bilsteins, the spring perch on the shock is NOT a part of the shock, it has 2 positions and can be flipped upside down, thus changing ride height. I put mine all in the lowest positions because it matched the factory shock almost exactly. It is still on the high side for most people. The Bilstein shock has a snap ring the spring perch sits on, it comes in the upper position, very easy to lift it and slide it down to the lower position about 1in lower. The spring perch itself can be installed 2 ways, again, I chose the lower. Just make sure you do both sides the same.
F. Note the spring end locations. This doesn’t apply to KYB or other shocks, only to Bilsteins.
G. The bushing kit from Moog (K160089) only comes with the bushings that go on top and below the jounce bumper. The Jounce bumper I haven’t seen a source for yet. Mine was in perfect shape after 276k miles, I reused it.H. Use your head when doing this, you are STILL dealing with a spring. The key here is when the control arm is allowed to go below where the upper arm limits it, the spring pressure is completely relieved. Spring is safe.
1. Jack up car (from frame), support car properly and safely (Jackstands!). Remove rear sway bar link the control arm.
2. Remove lower shock nut, but do not remove bolt yet. You can’t anyway, it’s under spring torque, don’t even try! This nut was TIGHT, my 18” breaker bar got a workout. Spray liberally with PB Blaster if you live in the north like I do. Spray everything that you’ll be taking off.
3. Note your alignment on the cam bolt. Remove nut on the camber cam bolt. If you don’t note the alignment when you start to loosen it you’ll lose it, it turns and jacks up the alignment pretty easily.
4. Using a floor jack, support lower control arm. Jack, it up so some of the weight of the car is held by this point. Doesn’t need to be jacked up high.
5. Remove top shock bolt (center, do NOT mess with the 3 holding the spring support in). DO NOT DO this unless the lower arm is supported. It’s a 17mm nut. I whipped it off with my impact (one of my best tool purchases, cheap too)
6. Lower the jack under the control arm, not completely, keep some pressure there for now.
7. Remove the camber bolt. It helps to lift on the rotor/knuckle assy to get the pressure off the bolt. I used a 3/8" long extension to tap the bolt out. Use the jack to adjust the pressure you need to release most of the torque on the camber bolt.
8. Once the camber bolt is out, then the lower arm can come down far enough to remove the lower shock bolt.
9. I took my floor jack and lifted the front control arm that locates the knuckle and lifted it up as high as I could, this gave me lots more room to remove shock and spring. They are separate now and safer than messing with spring compressors off the car. Don't hesitate to push the lower arm down as far as you need to so you can get the shock and spring out. If you push the arm down, the shock and spring fall out.
Notes: I used the camber bolt (or shock bolt) in the camber bolt holes without the rear knuckle connected and a prybar to make it easy to pull the lower arm down so I had gobs of room to pull the shock out. When installing, push the shock up the spring support (that mounts to the body) and look for the opportunity to slide the shock bolt in, get it in place and it makes moving it around very easy. Look up top to make sure the top of the shock lines up with the hole, I used a small screwdriver to pull it in and it pops through, make sure the sleeve that is inside the bushing comes through too, it likes to catch under the spring support. As soon as you can, stack the bushing and washer on there and tighten it some so the shock stays in place.
Reverse to install. The car is a wonderful spring compressor. And the spring has no tension on it just past the full extension of the shock. so when supported by the jack under the arm and you remove the top bolt off the shock and then lower it, zero tension on the spring/shock. Don't try to remove it as a strut assy, it is a shock spring assy, and isn't meant to be serviced that way. It is pretty easy to work with. I'd do it again no worries.
It took me about 1 hr on the left side (I missed a part that fell off the shock and had to remove it all and do it again) and 30 min on the right. Once I had it figured out, very easy job. I do have an air impact, so spinning the top bolt off is super easy, without that it adds time, but it’s all easy to get to. It also helps drive out the lower bolt held by the shock, rust wanted it to stick around…
Last edited by RamAirRckt; 03-30-17 at 03:08 PM.
04-03-17, 08:56 AM
#125
Got one front done this weekend, rain keeps giving me work stoppages.
My car is a very early 1998, serial 4xxx. my shocks will not come out with the suspension hanging. I had to disconnect Control Arm #2 to allow me to push down enough on the lower arm to get the shock out. I had the upper arm ball joint disconnected, I disconnected the lower ball joint (room, got the shock part way and there was too much tension and it pushed into the ball joint)
Its more like I have to compress the spring on the car to get it out.
I don't know they softened up or shorter springs on the later models? But there is no possible way to disconnect the upper control arm let the lower arm hang, unbolt shock and drop it out. I keep looking at it from the eyes of manufacturing and can't figure out how they could have assembled it on the assy line. No easy way at all.
Rears are WAAAAY easier.
My car is a very early 1998, serial 4xxx. my shocks will not come out with the suspension hanging. I had to disconnect Control Arm #2 to allow me to push down enough on the lower arm to get the shock out. I had the upper arm ball joint disconnected, I disconnected the lower ball joint (room, got the shock part way and there was too much tension and it pushed into the ball joint)
Its more like I have to compress the spring on the car to get it out.
I don't know they softened up or shorter springs on the later models? But there is no possible way to disconnect the upper control arm let the lower arm hang, unbolt shock and drop it out. I keep looking at it from the eyes of manufacturing and can't figure out how they could have assembled it on the assy line. No easy way at all.
Rears are WAAAAY easier.
10-01-17, 01:05 PM
#126
Driver School Candidate
Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I just did this install as well, and did it without disconnecting the upper control arm or turning the wheels. I simply unbolted the knuckle assembly from the lower ball joint bracket -- it's just two bolts, the same two you'd remove to install front RCA's. This allows the whole rotor/caliper/knuckle/tie rod assembly to swing aside. After this, the strut came right out. Sorry if this was mentioned and I overlooked it.
10-25-17, 08:37 AM
#128
Racer
Thread Starter
Yep...Sold it in April. Got a 2013 GS350 awd luxury, and it's an awesome improvement.
Guy I sold it to was very happy to get his hands on such a clean car.
Guy I sold it to was very happy to get his hands on such a clean car.
Last edited by jonathancl; 06-14-19 at 11:56 AM.
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