Strut Rod Removal

[Jacob]

Hi everybody,

I’m planning to replace my strut rods within a few days, and I have a question concerning the procedure. The Lexus manual calls for removal of so many things like the brake rotor, and the shock absorber. Do I really need to remove all of the stuff mentioned in the manual? And what would happen if I didn’t?

'96 LS400, 123k

Jacob

[lexus400]

no, look for my post within the past week abouty that...

Bob

[nc211]

Jacob, no you don't have to remove all of that stuff. The strut rod is 3 bolts total. One on the car, two on the lower control arm. I highly recommend having a floor jack handy to push up the suspension to it's normal sitting position first. And...mark the alignment settings with a sharpie before you remove it. The strut rods are set in at a specific point, you don't just put them on, tighten the bolt and go. You'll tear up the bushing if you do it that way. Look at the angle with the car sitting on the ground, then put the new one on at the same angle "or as close as possible.

[Jacob]

lexus400 and nc211,

Thanks to both of you. I’ve just read your posts after finishing the job; I removed everything manual told me to. And I still haven’t driven the car yet. Anyhow, I have another question concerning removal of the brake rotor: about two weeks ago, I replaced the front brake pads and wanted to have the rotors resurfaced but I couldn’t because the driver’s side rotor won’t come out. Here’s what I’ve done to try getting it out:

1. Pounded on it with a mallet.

2. Tried to get it out using a harmonic balancer puller but it didn’t fit

3. Stuck a screw driver thru the rotor and tried to pry it out.

4. Put a screw driver at the black thing at the center and hit it with a hammer.

None of these methods worked.

Any suggestions, please?

Jacob

[nc211]

Sorry man, I haven't gotten that far yet with mine. It's next up on my list, please post your results when you get a chance!

[VBdenny]

The rotor should come right off? All that holds it on is the slotted nut with the cotterpin. BUT there is a new process my brother had done where they resurfaced the rotors on the car.

[Jacob]

VBdenny,

The passenger side rotor came off by itself as I removed the two screws but the driver’s side won’t come out; it seems as if it were welded. Today, I rented a flange axle puller at Auto Zone I’ll try it and post the results.

thanks

Jacob

[nc211]

rock on man, please post your results if you don't mind. I'm in co-pilot seat and need to know how you did it. Thanks man,,,,,,,,,

ps...i'm drunk.

[Jacob]

Mission Failed

Today, I tried to pull the rotor out using the puller that I borrowed from Auto Zone and believe it or not I almost stripped the puller’s bolt and still couldn’t convince the rotor to come out. Any ideas why a rotor would do such a bad thing? Is it welded? Or what? :cries:

[Jacob]

Just to make sure I used the puller the right way

Here’s what I did:

1. Removed the wheel and the brake caliper.

2. Installed the puller and tightened three lug nuts.

3. Tightened the stud that goes on the center of puller ( I didn’t use the nut that came with the puller)

I kept tightening and tightening but nothing happened which really puzzles me.

Please tell me that I did something wrong because the whole thing is driving me crazy.

[Jacob]

Mission Accomplished— at last the rotors are resurfaced. This is what I did: I removed the steering knuckle and hub assembly with the rotor still attached to them and took the whole thing to a machine shop. The guy at the machine shop told me that they (rotors) sometimes freeze like this and that they heat them a little bit to break them loose. The total cost for both rotors was $32. I applied anti-seize lubricant to where the rotors sit and installed them.

[nc211]

Jacob, nice job amigo! I'm curious, are your rotors the originals? My fronts are worped and curious if I can get away with doing a resurface instead of new ones. Can't really afford new ones at the moment. And where did you take them? A national chain or a local mechanic?

[Jacob]

Hi nc211,

I bought the car used but I’d assume that they are the originals. I wanted them resurfaced because they had grooves on them; which could have been caused by the previous aftermarket pads. I took the rotors to a local machine shop because, as I mentioned before, one of them was still attached to other stuff. As for national chains, Checker does turn rotors but it seems that you don’t have them in NC.

Good Luck

Jacob

[latintxn54]

Jacob, no you don't have to remove all of that stuff. The strut rod is 3 bolts total. One on the car, two on the lower control arm. I highly recommend having a floor jack handy to push up the suspension to it's normal sitting position first. And...mark the alignment settings with a sharpie before you remove it. The strut rods are set in at a specific point, you don't just put them on, tighten the bolt and go. You'll tear up the bushing if you do it that way. Look at the angle with the car sitting on the ground, then put the new one on at the same angle "or as close as possible.

←

Greetings..You say that all's that needed is to remove 3 bolts total to replace the strut bar. I have a '97 LS400 and after lifting the vehicle to determine & inspect, I can't see how the strut bar could come off without first removing the Shock Absorber Lower Bracket from the lower control arm. Is there a secret to getting this done? Thanks for your reply.....

[sha4000]

Jacob, nice job amigo! I'm curious, are your rotors the originals? My fronts are worped and curious if I can get away with doing a resurface instead of new ones. Can't really afford new ones at the moment. And where did you take them? A national chain or a local mechanic?

←

hey NC first you have to measure the rotors with a vernier calipher to see if they are still within specs if they arent yourgoing to need ne rotors b/c its kind of dangerous to ride on rotors that arent and any good shop should have a machine to turn rotors its just the amount of money that they want to charge you it shouldnt be that expensve if you take the rotors off yousel but you never know a machine shop would go the cheapest way to go i had 2 rotors turned up here for $11

[nc211]

Latintxn54, here is the pdf for the strut rod removal. If I recall, you take off the two bolts from underneath the lower control arm, and wiggle the strut rod up. I do not recall having to do the shock tower first, but it was a few months ago I did this. I do remember it being very torque in there, you might want to put a floor jack under the lower control arm and jack it up to level with the strut rod angle.

11.pdf

[nc211]

hey NC first you have to measure the rotors with a vernier calipher to see if they are still within specs if they arent yourgoing to need ne rotors b/c its kind of dangerous to ride on rotors that arent and any good shop should have a machine to turn rotors its just the amount of money that they want to charge you it shouldnt be that expensve if you take the rotors off yousel but you never know a machine shop would go the cheapest way to go i had 2 rotors turned up here for $11

←

Thanks Sha! I think I've just resigned myself to saving up for new rotors. Mine look horrible and I think they're actually the original rotors, 10 years old. So, I think I'm just going to nurse them along for a little while and then just replace them, and the pads.

[sha4000]

hey NC first you have to measure the rotors with a vernier calipher to see if they are still within specs if they arent yourgoing to need ne rotors b/c its kind of dangerous to ride on rotors that arent and any good shop should have a machine to turn rotors its just the amount of money that they want to charge you it shouldnt be that expensve if you take the rotors off yousel but you never know a machine shop would go the cheapest way to go i had 2 rotors turned up here for $11

←

Thanks Sha! I think I've just resigned myself to saving up for new rotors. Mine look horrible and I think they're actually the original rotors, 10 years old. So, I think I'm just going to nurse them along for a little while and then just replace them, and the pads.

←

i saw some oem rotors on ebay for like $50 i was going to buy them but im saving for the cross drilled/slotted ones which are about $150