You are here: Forums Sedans Lexus LS 400/LS 430 Lexus LS 430 Suspension and Drivetrain

Lexus LS 430 Suspension and Drivetrain

21 messages,  Last post on Nov 21, 2009 at 9:12 AM

You are in the Lexus LS 400/LS 430 Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens

What is this discussion about? Lexus LS 400, Lexus LS 430, Tires, Suspension, Sedan

Messages Page 3 of 3 1 2 3 Prev Next Last

Go To Msg # Search This Discussion

#12 of 21 Re: Struts/Shocks on 04' LS 430 Ultra [wwest] by mrsincere7 Sep 21, 2009 (11:05 am)
Replying to: wwest (Sep 21, 2009 8:44 am) If you are refering to the bad strut? I left it with my mechanic, and have no idea what he did with it. He showed me where it was leaking. As for the sagging........when I had the old strut on the car, I used to look at the car from the back ( walking up to the garage ) , and it did appear that the car was leaning more to one side. Initially I thought the floor was just uneven or that when I started to drive the car would balance out eventually. Now of course I am very happy with my "new ride".
#13 of 21 Re: Struts/Shocks on 04' LS 430 Ultra [wwest] by wwest Sep 21, 2009 (12:02 pm)
Replying to: wwest (Sep 21, 2009 8:44 am) As it happens at this very moment I'm troubleshooting the air suspension on our '91 LS400. Th driver's side rear sags after setting overnight. Start it up and within a few minutes everything seems normal.   So far I have swapped the L/R pressure lines going from the manifold in the trunk to check for leaks at the manifold connection and the leak remains on the driver side rear.   Now off to Lowes to buy new o-rings to install just to be sure and probably some black rubber cement in case I have a leak in the shock itself. But next up is a check of the air pressure connection to the shock itself.   Anyone know what the most common point of failure is...??   Probably the shock itself but checking the easier stuff first. Replies to this message: wwest (Sep 23, 2009 8:17 pm) wwest (Oct 02, 2009 8:55 am)
#14 of 21 Re: Struts/Shocks on 04' LS 430 Ultra [wwest] by wwest Sep 23, 2009 (8:17 pm)
Replying to: wwest (Sep 21, 2009 12:02 pm) Tiny, tiny, slits in the boot bottom just at the fold for normal level. Covered/filled with black rubber cement and tomorrow the test. Replies to this message: wwest (Oct 02, 2009 8:55 am)
#15 of 21 Re: Struts/Shocks on 04' LS 430 Ultra [wwest] by wwest Oct 02, 2009 (8:55 am)
Replying to: wwest (Sep 23, 2009 8:17 pm) Found a shop that will repair/rebuild our rear air shock for $250 plus shipping.   http://www.suncoreindustries.com/lexus-pages/ls400/lexus-ls400-rear-suspension-s- trut-shock-driver.htm
#16 of 21 Re: Struts/Shocks on 04' LS 430 Ultra [mrsincere7] by keywester Oct 07, 2009 (10:56 am)
Replying to: mrsincere7 (Aug 11, 2009 2:16 am) I have the airstruts on an LS 430 and one of them needs to be replaced. My mechanic (who I trust totally) originally suggested replacing both of them. That was before we realized how expensive they are. Do we need to to both? Also, where did you order yours from? We are having a hard time finding them locally. Replies to this message: vcheng (Oct 07, 2009 1:02 pm) wwest (Oct 07, 2009 7:07 pm)
#17 of 21 Re: Struts/Shocks on 04' LS 430 Ultra [keywester] by vcheng Oct 07, 2009 (1:02 pm)
Replying to: keywester (Oct 07, 2009 10:56 am) Normally your mechanic is correct that struts should be replaced in pairs. However, air struts are different and can be replaced individually. You can try here:   http://www.sewellpartsonline.com/   but there are several other online vendors as well. Please compare several sources before you order using Google for the best deal.
#18 of 21 Re: Struts/Shocks on 04' LS 430 Ultra [keywester] by wwest Oct 07, 2009 (7:07 pm)
Replying to: keywester (Oct 07, 2009 10:56 am) You don't say if it's the front or rear. The front air struts aer more complex and therefore more expensive to replace. At these prices I woul go the extra mile to get assurance that the problem isn't elsewhere.   On our '91 I was able to swap the pressure lines left to right at the rear pressure metering manifold in order to determine the true failure point. The driver side rear had a series of small slits at the most common ride heigth air bladder fold point.
#19 of 21 05 LS 430 Leans to the right. by helchacha Nov 10, 2009 (7:13 am)
Hi All,   I have an issue with my 05 ls 430 Ultra. Car only has 36K so its in pretty good shape. Someone rear ended the car about a month ago. The damage was actually on the driver's side rear of the car almost all the way up to the gas tank lid. I had the car repaired from a lexus certified collision center. But now the whole car is leaning/sagging to the right. I have noticed this inside the garage which is a flat surface. I stuck my hand in between the wheels and the fender/quarter panel to measure the space in between each wheel and fender and its definitely different on each side. Also when I'm going over bumps I hear a thump noise coming from passenger side rear of the car. I have taken the car back couple of times and it seems that they either can't fix it or aren't fixing it. If someone could please help or point what could be causing the car to sag to one side. I would really appreciate it.
#20 of 21 LS 430 Suspension issue maybe? by rkls430 Nov 14, 2009 (7:27 pm)
I own an LS430 2004, I hope somebody could offer some advice to my question: when I go over bumps or over road irregularities, a "metal to metal" contact noise is emitted from the front tires. It seems that the suspension is loose or not firm enough to absorb the shock. The lexus dealer could not find anything wrong with the suspension. Is this normal? Any advice on this matter?   Thank you very much Replies to this message: wwest (Nov 21, 2009 9:12 am)
#21 of 21 Re: LS 430 Suspension issue maybe? [rkls430] by wwest Nov 21, 2009 (9:12 am)
Replying to: rkls430 (Nov 14, 2009 7:27 pm) I just learned something new...   The strut-mount, the top mounting plate for the shocks is an active part of the LS' suspension. I always thought it was simply a "solid" mounting plate, shock "tower". After replacing the shocks and the lower ball joints my '92 with 155,000 miles still has the "clunk" at the front when driving over road irregularities.   Order the strut-mounts, "suspension support" this AM. $109 each, discounted, at Lexus, $50 aftermarket.   Discovered the story of the "strut-mount" via the internet forums.   Apparently a fairly common, early, failure point of Toyota and Lexus suspension systems.

Messages Page 3 of 3 1 2 3 Prev Next Last

Go To Msg # Search This Discussion

You are here: Forums Sedans Lexus LS 400/LS 430 Lexus LS 430 Suspension and Drivetrain