Dreaded Air Shocks Day Has Come...

[jainla]

Well the day I've been ruing since I bought the LS almost 7 years ago has come.

During a recent trip to the shop (where quite a bit of other work was done) my mechanic informed me that my left front air shock is leaking oil and the right front one is sagging a bit.

He says the situation is not dire but will have to be dealt with sooner rather than later. I did some research online and it seems that Arnott and Suncore don't sell rebuilt units for the LS430. The somewhat spotty experiences of others had led me to discount that option anyway.

I guess my 3 options would be:

1. Suck it up and pay ~$900 a shock on parts.com and be done with it for now (at least until the rear air springs have issues).
   
2. Explore a spring/shock replacement; Strutmasters had a kit for the LS430 but they pulled it b/c they are 'tweaking it.' The gal I spoke to thinks they'll be selling it again in a couple weeks. I looked into buying all the parts for a conventionally sprung car but I think the labor cost of installing them might put it within striking distance of the air shock replacement (the air shocks are super easy to install). The Strutmasters kit seems like a much better deal (if I can get it).
   
3. Replace the car.
   

I feel bad doing #3 because I know that it's going to need a fairly major maintenance soon and I'm selling someone (or trading in) a car with issues. Plus I like the car and feel I wouldn't mind driving it for a another 4-5 years assuming nothing catastrophic blows up. It's got about 98k miles on it and aside from this issue it's in excellent shape.

So my question is: has anybody else had good luck swapping out the air suspension in an LS430? I'm guessing this is an issue that more and more of us LS430UL owners will be facing in the next year or so.

[TheWiz]

Well,

The least disruptive, and reliable thing to do would be to replace the shocks. You like the car and want to keep it, and you won't have to do those shocks for hopefully another seven years. The rear shocks will probably need attention soon, which is a downer. But maybe you can set $50-100 per month aside, in a "rear shock fund" to help ease the pain when that moment comes.

That way, you won't have to face the unknown of the aftermarket air shocks, the guilt of passing on a car with an issue, and you get the comfort and adjustability you're used to. There is a chance you won't like the conventional setup as much as your current one.

My Mom just replaced the air suspension in her 1992 LS with conventional; the ride is noticeably rougher. That's the best help I can give. I just bought a 2004 UL, and that's a bridge i'll have to cross also. Let me know what you choose and how it works out for you. Good luck!

[SW03ES]

Its still a lot of car, and if you still enjoy it there's no reason you can't get another 100k out of it.

Personally, the only option I would consider so far as the repair goes is to buy the OEM struts. I'd be concerned anything else would compromise the ride, and that would be the primary reason I owned the LS in the first place. Bear in mind that new struts will magnify any other issues in the suspension, especially upfront. Ball joints, control arms, bushings, etc if worn will make themselves known with the nice new struts. Could be in for a bigger deal than you think.

You'll take a big resale hit when it rolls over 100k miles too...

Tough decision.

[jainla]

Thanks for the input guys. I think I've come to agree that it's either suck it up and go OEM or time to trade up.

I'm gonna go drive an LS460 this weekend and see if I think it's worth upgrading. They seem to have gotten more expensive all of a sudden; it's like they just dried up around here.

Its still a lot of car, and if you still enjoy it there's no reason you can't get another 100k out of it.

Personally, the only option I would consider so far as the repair goes is to buy the OEM struts. I'd be concerned anything else would compromise the ride, and that would be the primary reason I owned the LS in the first place. Bear in mind that new struts will magnify any other issues in the suspension, especially upfront. Ball joints, control arms, bushings, etc if worn will make themselves known with the nice new struts. Could be in for a bigger deal than you think.

You'll take a big resale hit when it rolls over 100k miles too...

Tough decision.