Darkjester Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Hey all, new Lexus owner here, '96 Es 300. First of all you guys are great, i got a quick question. My front end is creaking on sharp turns and the car seems to ride rather loose onthe road ( freeway especially) it also seems to hit bumps hard and recover slowly. i have 63,000 on it and the rest of the car is perfect, brand new tires last week ( bridgestone Potenzas, no cheapies here) and an alignment. it seems to get worse the more people in the car. I was thinking struts but at 63,000 i dont know. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. other than that it might be the best car i have ever owned. thank you for any info. Creaking in Cleveland, Aaron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedRacer959 Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Sounds like struts to me. I would check the upper strut bolts in the front to make sure they are tight. The could go out at 60k depending on the conditions the car has subject too (ie. bumpy roads, pot holes, etc.) Most service centers would do a free assessment to tell you if it's the struts too. Lexus won't. They'll tell you they need to hook it up to their computer....$100 minimum, or your right eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piggyncsu Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 so, since i don't know diddly about cars..WHAT THE HECK ARE STRUTS? sounds like alot of people are having trouble with them..and i have no earthly clue what they are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 The strut is the main component of the suspension, its like a shock, except the counterpart. You either have shocks, or struts. Shocks are cheap, struts aren't. I agree its probably worn struts. Its very possible for them to be bad at only 60k. Push up and down on the hood and then let go. If it doesn settle right level, then the struts are bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piggyncsu Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 counterpart? why would someone put struts on if shocks are cheaper??? im confused, sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Struts hold better load, ride better, last longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKperformance Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 the creaking noise is usally cause by worn or dry bushings on the suspension front and rear the struts are worn if it is going up and down alot as the shock is a dampener which is used to slow the rate of motion a strut is basically a shock which a mount base on its body rather than just a shock cylinder which is eaisier to replace as you remove it from the body of the housing and slide in a new one just depends on the engineer who desings the suspension a shock is just like the ones that hold up the hood of the car looks the same to make it a strut , it would have a base going around it to hold the spring up against the body of the car if a car is not used much and left for to sit for long periods of time then the shocks can leak and not function properly even if not leaking as th shock tower needs to lube the the rod or else there will be a pressure loss in the chamber causeing a loss of stiffness that could be the reason with such low mileage the earlier suspension for a 92-94 seems to have had the strut assembly while the 95-96 seems to have a relpacable shock which is much cheaper and only a little bit more labour to switch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piggyncsu Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 shocks leak? leak what??? i must say, i do enjoy the way my hood opens :) when i first opened the hood, i was freaking out cuz i couldn't find that bar to hold it up do the "luxury cars" today still use stuts, or is most stuff shocks... and if the struts take more load and ride better, why not put them on a truck? so, i have struts on my car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 Some trucks do have struts. A shock or strut is full of a lubricating fluid. When the piston moves up and down as it compresses and expands, that fluid lubricates the piston to keep the shock moving smoothly. This can leak, and if a car sits for a long period of time, the piston doesn't get lubricated, causing it to corrode and it effects the way the shock or strut operates. They're also gas pressurized, so they're filled with gas, thats what compresses when you hit a bump. The gas can leak which obviously leads to lack of compression, changed ride height, changes in ride and handling. This happens slowly as the car is driven, so slowly in fact most drivers don't even notice a change until they have them replaced. Then its like "Woah, those shocks sucked!" Most luxury/expensive cars have struts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piggyncsu Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 Ooo..ok....i know how the 88 camry felt when the shocks got old, for some reason it sure liked to bounce on bumps, like WAYYYY up then WAYY down...and made funny noises... so far mine are good, yay for decent parts! why would the lexus guys *GROWL* tell you to hook it up to a computer, how could it read something like that? or is that the change with the newer computer stuff, it can read little tiny details? which reminds me, why the heck would my left back end of the car be snugger on the tire (less room to move hand around to check level of tread) than the right back?? *grunt* did i mention im trying to get into auto mechanics :) sadly. all the courses were full, minus drive train, and i ain't ready for that yet. but next year depending on where i go to school, im gonna take some courses :) (i love cars and trucks...mmmm...i was the girl with the bedroom full of car and truck posters..and jets too......no one ever seemed to understand)....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviej Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 struts can go anytime, especially if you hit a pothole. I know a guy who took out a racoon and his left front strut in one shot. Sadly, neither survived. :( I just had a front strut replaced cause something was loose/broke inside. My 02 ES only had 27k miles on it and now its got a new strut. The noise/rattle with every bump and brake application is gone. steviej Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkjester Posted August 19, 2003 Author Share Posted August 19, 2003 Thanks for all the input guys ( and girls ) i figure it is the struts, i had just never heard of them going so quick, but only 63000 in 7 yars makes me think it probobly sat a lot and was driven rather infrequently. i will have the front struts done and probobly all the bushings while i am at it, should run around $400 if that does not rectify the problem then i am in for some major work, thanks again everyone. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeiLtYmE Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 yep .... when i bought my 96 5 months back it too only had 64000 and i get a lil creak ... but this is only during huge speed bumps.... other wise its fine.... yeah ... frequent driving is a must ... i know this girl with a Beemer, great car... but she hardly drives... and her suspension is wack... those things hardly ever get a good grease but be glad you have this car with your mileage ... i mean it just enough ! Low miles ... but frequently driven ofcourse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 Sruts are a combination of shock absorbers and their supporting suspension parts. They are often used to save space and weight in comparison to separate assemblies. Some struts can be rebuilt. However they are more expensive to replace than just shocks. Shocks themselves operate as hydraulic dampers. As the piston is forced up or down, valves limit the flow of oil to reduce rebound and compression rates. They basically dampen out the movement of the car on it's springs. Modern shocks are pressurized with inert gas such as nitrogen. The nitrogen prevents the oil from foaming, and this helps the shocks function properly under adverse conditions. The piston shaft moves in rubber seals. It's these seals that can dry out or get damaged, allowing some of the oil to leak out, thus causing the shocks to lose some of their dapening capacity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 A much more thorough description from bart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 Thanks, PS: If your car has sway bars the creaking could be coming from dried out bushings. An easy fix for that is to remove the bushings and apply some marine grease and then put the bushings back on. This seems to have worked for lots of IS300 owners, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piggyncsu Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 sway bars? and oil foams? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 Sway bars are connected to the underside of the front end, they help provide regidity when making turns. And yes, oil does foam ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piggyncsu Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 learn something new every day ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chillaxin Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 whoa, crazy, i never knew there was so much going on inside of shocks/struts. very nice description of what they actually do! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piggyncsu Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 i just kinda thought a part was a part you know.. understood they broke and got fixed, but gees.....makes me just want to mess with cars and see what happens and how things work/break/get fixed but not to a car i own ;) don't want to break it (more) and have it not be fixable (even more so) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 I suppose you could call the lounge on a cruise ship in a storm, a "sway bar". :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW03ES Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 I laughed till I stopped ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piggyncsu Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 *COUGH* i wouldn't know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amanda Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 well, the thread isn't about bumpy rides, per se, but the original post mentioned something about the tires. my car, a 2000 which i recently purchased, does seem bumpier than i thought it would be. i've heard from other people that the potenzas ride kind of hard. they also seem quite noisy to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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