Jump to content


Picture Of Bad Strut Rods


miamistyle

Recommended Posts

Being that the strut rods seem to be a common problem, I thought I might post a pic of my bad strut rods. You will notice the tears in the rubber. When I saw them removed, I didn't think they looked too bad and they were not the problem producing that terrible clunking in my front end. But what a difference the new strut rods made, the car feels brand new. The ride was so nice I decided to throw some new Bridgestone Turanza LH-S's to compliment.

On my '96, lexuspartsonline has the new OEM's for like $95 each, the frist gens are like $65. Labor from my indi Lexus shop was $120 totalling just over $300. If your strut rods are bad, do yourself a favor and swap them out, you won't regret it!

Here's a shot of the bad strut rods:

f_HPIM0604m_217e7ef.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good that you replaced the worn out parts. What was causing the clunk?

CPR

The worn out strut rods that are pictured.

Miami...I'm close to doing this on my 96...but I'm a little confused. When I do a search for gen 2 strut rod replacements, what I see are new rubber bushings.

Did your mechanic put new bushings into your existing strut rods?? or are your strut rods new and complete with bushings??

I think that swapping the entire assemby out for a new one would be easy. I'm not so sure how easy a bushing swap would be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Miami...I'm close to doing this on my 96...but I'm a little confused. When I do a search for gen 2 strut rod replacements, what I see are new rubber bushings.

Did your mechanic put new bushings into your existing strut rods?? or are your strut rods new and complete with bushings??

I think that swapping the entire assemby out for a new one would be easy. I'm not so sure how easy a bushing swap would be.

I ordered the entire assemblies OEM. The OEM's have the 'rubber' bushings which from my research is what I wanted. The best price I found was from lexuspartsonline.com.

Are you doing the job yourself or sending it out? If you're a DIYer here's the steps:

strut_bar_removal.pdf

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Miami...I'm close to doing this on my 96...but I'm a little confused. When I do a search for gen 2 strut rod replacements, what I see are new rubber bushings.

Did your mechanic put new bushings into your existing strut rods?? or are your strut rods new and complete with bushings??

I think that swapping the entire assemby out for a new one would be easy. I'm not so sure how easy a bushing swap would be.

I ordered the entire assemblies OEM. The OEM's have the 'rubber' bushings which from my research is what I wanted. The best price I found was from lexuspartsonline.com.

Are you doing the job yourself or sending it out? If you're a DIYer here's the steps:

Yeah...I planned on DIY.

Replacement of the complete strut is just a basic wrench job.

Putting a new bushing into an old strut is ???? Arbor press?? I don't know and I don't wanna get stuck.

That's why I was asking about buying the complete new part. It's worth it not to fuddle with bushings.

Thanks for the .pdf!

However, I suspect that the job can be done without partially dismantling the front suspension as described in the instructions. I think that your mechanic may have shortcutted the procedure as well (charging only 2 hrs labor) by positioning the suspension to neutralize the strain on it. (the strut rod twists as the suspension moves up and down.) I'll try this way first and report. If I'm successful, it will save a bunch of time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No prob on the PDF. I'm sure the instructions can be shortcutted, I would do a search here for strut rods and I'm sure you'll find tons of info and probablly some shortcuts. I do remember reading to mark the strut rods or something so when you install the new ones you won't need an allignment.

I agree with not messing with the bushings. Gotta press 'em out then press 'em in. Forget it!

Good luck and let us know how it comes out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

you need to press the old one out, u you can use a bench press or a big c clamp, but ive got a press a work so easy job then i press in the new polyurethane bushing :cheers:

Must be nice to have access to the the right tools. Good idea about the c clamp, I bet that would work as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

what we really need is for the upper control arm bushing so if anybody has some contacts, daizen or vlamos and noltec in australia, pls talk to them , ive got no luck, finding one and confirming that it will fit for the gen 2 ls. i know this is off topic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would buy a new set and just buy bushings from then on so it is a simple process of replacing them at any time as they will fail over and over again by its nature of abuse.

That sounds like a good plan...particularly since the bushings alone were $74 and the entire strut rod was $97!! Once I have the old parts on my bench, I can experiment on them with my limited tools and talent. If they wind up in the trash...no biggie. If I get the old bushings out without too much sweat, then I'll consider a bushing swap if it becomes necessary in the future.

Thanks all for the comments.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...

Forums


News


Membership