carlhpretired Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 I purchased a set of front and rear re-manufactured air shocks for my 1990 LS400 from Arnott, Inc. (the originals lasted 244,000 miles!) After installing the rears I noticed they were leaking – enough to cause the rear end to lower about an inch overnight. I returned the defective rears and the unused fronts to Arnott. Arnott said they found no leaks in the rear shocks. I paid $83.00 in shipping charges to return the defective rears and the unused fronts (this in addition to $76.00 in initial shipping charges for each pair shocks that was not refundable). So my total loss on the transaction was $159.00. NOTE: In addition to the leakage problem with the rear shocks, the air connection fittings on both of these units had greasy-grime in the threads, a missing rubber check valve in one of them, and the mounting plates for the control actuators on both shocks were rusty, indicating that these units had been sitting around for an extended period exposed to the weather. The ride quality was also intermittently choppy. The ride quality of the new OEM air shocks that I purchased from Lexus is absolutely perfect. Cost for the new front and rear shocks totaled $3447.00 – and worth every penny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ono8ono Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 The ride quality of the new OEM air shocks from Lexus is absolutely perfect. Cost for the new front and rear shocks totaled $3447.00 – and worth every penny! but I will not spend $3447.00 on a LS that is worth less than the shocks. Just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlhpretired Posted August 29, 2007 Author Share Posted August 29, 2007 The ride quality of the new OEM air shocks from Lexus is absolutely perfect. Cost for the new front and rear shocks totaled $3447.00 – and worth every penny! but I will not spend $3447.00 on a LS that is worth less than the shocks. Just my 2 cents. A good point, but consider this: there is market value and there is real value. I bought this car new in 1989 and have taken very good care of it. It is arguably the finest automobile ever made. After 17 years it still looks, rides, and drives like the day it was new. How do you replace a car like this for $3447.00? In California, the sales tax alone for a new LS460 is more than $7000.00. When considering the true value of anything, ultimately the value it has for you personally is the only value that really matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ono8ono Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 I totally agreed with you. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carsalesusa Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 The ride quality of the new OEM air shocks from Lexus is absolutely perfect. Cost for the new front and rear shocks totaled $3447.00 – and worth every penny! but I will not spend $3447.00 on a LS that is worth less than the shocks. Just my 2 cents. Thank you, Ono. As a long-time customer of Arnott, we've had great luck with their Lexus rears, and the price cannot be beat. The replacement through a delaer or through Lexus is outrageous, especially for a car that can be as much as 20 years old. I agree that it is a great car, though I do feel that if you're willing to preserve it, then you don't want to get re-man parts anyway. Luckily, Arnott is there to help those of us in business, and others who are on a budget, to service the old vehicle. Having 245K miles on your vehicle is great, but Ono is right: $3447.00 for replacements is not on everyone's agenda, especially if the car is barely worth half. Suggestion to Carl: Arnott's remans of the LS400 rears are the shock only. If your car was leaking an inch overnight, then perhaps you needed to replace the o-rings, which are not included with the Arnott reman, and not the entire shock. You may have paid an extra $500 per shock just for an o-ring changeout. But, at least you're satsified. Lexus is lucky to have a devotee such as yourself who still sings its praises after 20 years and 245K miles, despite the fact that they have changed and redesigned the LS twice now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlhpretired Posted August 29, 2007 Author Share Posted August 29, 2007 The ride quality of the new OEM air shocks from Lexus is absolutely perfect. Cost for the new front and rear shocks totaled $3447.00 – and worth every penny! but I will not spend $3447.00 on a LS that is worth less than the shocks. Just my 2 cents. Thank you, Ono. As a long-time customer of Arnott, we've had great luck with their Lexus rears, and the price cannot be beat. The replacement through a delaer or through Lexus is outrageous, especially for a car that can be as much as 20 years old. I agree that it is a great car, though I do feel that if you're willing to preserve it, then you don't want to get re-man parts anyway. Luckily, Arnott is there to help those of us in business, and others who are on a budget, to service the old vehicle. Having 245K miles on your vehicle is great, but Ono is right: $3447.00 for replacements is not on everyone's agenda, especially if the car is barely worth half. Suggestion to Carl: Arnott's remans of the LS400 rears are the shock only. If your car was leaking an inch overnight, then perhaps you needed to replace the o-rings, which are not included with the Arnott reman, and not the entire shock. You may have paid an extra $500 per shock just for an o-ring changeout. But, at least you're satsified. Lexus is lucky to have a devotee such as yourself who still sings its praises after 20 years and 245K miles, despite the fact that they have changed and redesigned the LS twice now. I did install new o-rings when I installed the Arnott rebuilts, so that was not the cause of the leak. I also thoroughly checked the air-fitting connections for leaks using the soapy water test before concluding that the Arnott re-builts were defective. Installation of the new OEM shocks went smoothly and there were no leaks or other problems. And, by the way, The Kelly Blue Book value of this car is currently $5355.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carsalesusa Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 I did install new o-rings when I installed the Arnott rebuilts, so that was not the cause of the leak. I also thoroughly checked the air-fitting connections for leaks using the soapy water test before concluding that the Arnott re-builts were defective. Installation of the new OEM shocks went smoothly and there were no leaks or other problems. And, by the way, The Kelly Blue Book value of this car is currently $5355.00 Actually, it's $3450.00 in excellent condition. I sold one three months ago for $5000.00 cash to get the dinosaur off the lot. If you can get over $5K for yours with 245K+ miles, then you should sell that thing. Speaking of Kelly Blue Book, the average mileage of an LS400 as ancient as yours is 98K. At any rate, Carl, good luck with the new shocks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intune Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Thanks for the heads up Carl! Perhaps Arnott saves the parts that actually WORK, for those dealers who would put them on a car to "sell," not "preserve." Do we think the unsuspecting buyer gets a heads up on the re-manned rears? Nahhh... Probably more along the lines of, "This cream puff just had a brand new air susp system installed. Every part on this car is top-of-the-line and just for you I have a today-only low price of..." Kinda makes Carl look brilliant to spend a lot of money to keep a car with known provenance & upkeep and potentially glean an additional 1/4 million miles, as opposed to possibly running afoul of one of the unscrupulous used-car dealers out there. Take her to 1/2 a million and beyond Carl! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanW Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 I purchased a set of front and rear re-manufactured air shocks for my 1990 LS400 from Arnott, Inc. (the originals lasted 244,000 miles!)After installing the rears I noticed they were leaking – enough to cause the rear end to lower about an inch overnight. I returned the defective rears and the unused fronts to Arnott. Arnott said they found no leaks in the rear shocks. I paid $83.00 in shipping charges to return the defective rears and the unused fronts (this in addition to $76.00 in initial shipping charges for each pair shocks that was not refundable). So my total loss on the transaction was $159.00. NOTE: In addition to the leakage problem with the rear shocks, the air connection fittings on both of these units had greasy-grime in the threads, a missing rubber check valve in one of them, and the mounting plates for the control actuators on both shocks were rusty, indicating that these units had been sitting around for an extended period exposed to the weather. The ride quality was also intermittently choppy. The ride quality of the new OEM air shocks that I purchased from Lexus is absolutely perfect. Cost for the new front and rear shocks totaled $3447.00 – and worth every penny! Interesting that this is what happened when I bought their passive stuts last year. Two were defective, I had to send them back, and they told me that they "tested out fine" whatever that means... Of the two replacements, one was still assembled wrong and I finally got it adjusted at a strut shop at my expense. And they're not even that great! Very sensitive to temperature. Good for you to buy OEM. Everytime I don't to save a few bucks (or a thousand) I kick myself. There's another thread on here about their UCAs that isn't very positive either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thermactor Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 The ride quality of the new OEM air shocks that I purchased from Lexus is absolutely perfect. Cost for the new front and rear shocks totaled $3447.00 – and worth every penny! If you bought them from Lexus of Pembroke Pines, the price would have been: Total: $2,436.30 Including shipping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SexyLexy430NY Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 The ride quality of the new OEM air shocks that I purchased from Lexus is absolutely perfect. Cost for the new front and rear shocks totaled $3447.00 – and worth every penny! If you bought them from Lexus of Pembroke Pines, the price would have been: Total: $2,436.30 Including shipping :chairshot: << thats wat he prolli wants to do right now!! damn it 1000 extra! evil evil dealers...they shudnt add to list price like that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prix Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 The ride quality of the new OEM air shocks that I purchased from Lexus is absolutely perfect. Cost for the new front and rear shocks totaled $3447.00 – and worth every penny! If you bought them from Lexus of Pembroke Pines, the price would have been: Total: $2,436.30 Including shipping :chairshot: << thats wat he prolli wants to do right now!! damn it 1000 extra! evil evil dealers...they shudnt add to list price like that... Several years ago, I purchased two front air shocks from Arnott and had them installed. They are working fine today, for what it's worth. I believe the dealer quoted me (at the time) about $1K per shock (not including labor), and the Arnotts cost a fraction of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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