RX300 2004 Change From Air to Spring Suspension

[aderz]

Droplinks as already stated, mine were easier to grind off than trying to get them out. They are £80 for a set though so if budgets are tight then give it a go.

Create the shocks in advance and make sure you have all the pieces needed, the front shocks include the shock, spring, top mount, shock bumpstop, Shock boot, lower spring boot (giant rubber O ring that the spring sits on), spring cup. Rear shocks are shock, spring, all in one mount and boot, bumpstop, lower spring boot and a spacer that goes on top of the shock on top of the mount and the single shock nut holds it all in place.

There are 2 (or maybe three fuses) to turn the air suspension off but none of them stop the yellow "OFF" light blinking, you have to cut a wire behind the dials to do that or just do what I have done and put some gaffer tape over part of the dial to block the view of the light.

I have not removed anything of the old system (pumps, tank etc) as none of it gets in the way so do the conversion first so you have a route back if it all goes wrong. I will remove all the pumps etc during the summer.

To be honest theres no point in pics as once your done it just looks like a Lexus RX300 SE suspension. The car chassis and suspension are the same so it really is a straight swap. I did not have to cut or modify anything the new shocks will fit first time (well mine did anyway).

The front air suspension air lines just unscrew and are easy, the rear ones are different and I just cut the lines in the end, there is probably a less red neck way of doing it but there you go. 

My insurance has not increased like I feared, my insurance company has said that as long as you tell them and your moving from one standard Lexus set up to another and not changing the ride height there happy.  

Watch your years when ordering stuff, there is a model change in 2003 (I think) so make sure you get the correct year for your car.

Everything is side specific so don't unpack everything (like I did) and spend hours trying to figure out what the hell goes where. None of it tells you what side it is once its out the packet and all the numbers are the same for both sides. Un-pack one side, build the shock, then start on the other side. (Doh)  

Buying all new stuff (KYB shocks springs etc) came to around £1200 and it takes about a day a shock, everything is either done up to a million foot pounds or weighs a ton. Its all done at ground level and does your back in after one shock.

Fitting the droplinks once you have installed the shocks, this one I found the hard way, as you have a wheel in the air, the anti-roll bar is twisted (as it should) so the droplink will not be near the hole in the shock you screw it into. So fix the droplink to the anti-roll bar, put on the wheel, lower the car, climb underneath and attached the droplink to the shock as its all now at the same level, raise the car, remove the wheel and torque it all up.  

Rear shock spacer and front spring cups are a Lexus only item as far as I can tell. If you fancy ordering stuff from the USA there are many companies that supply Lexus parts at about half the price of the UK but whether they fit or not is anyone's guess. To be honest it may be worth getting a quote for all the bits from Lexus and then picking and choosing what you want to buy, in retrospect this was a better idea than scouring eBay for hours at a time like I did.

Whilst the shock is out it is a really good chance to re-paint any bits that look rusty, inside of the shock tunnels on mine were slightly brown so well worth 10 minutes with some sand paper and a can of hammerite.

Diagram to rear strut is shown below.

http://www.autozone.com/repairguides/Lexus-RX300-330-3-2000-06/Rear-Suspension/Strut-MacPherson-Strut-Assembly/_/P-0996b43f803793fb

The ride quality is actually pretty much like it is with air suspension, to be honest after driving the car with both sorts I am at a bit of a loss to understand why air suspension was fitted in the first place? I presume its a keeping up with the Land Rover and the like. You would have to drive both cars back to back to notice any difference, the upside is I now go over speed bumps without worrying about what it has done to the air shocks.....

[flumperboy]

I got in touch with this guy on eBay. Also found someone who has used this kit and happy . Cost wise look like a good deal . I want to clean as much as I can got black wax oil spray and and a load of cleaning tools . Ready . Does taking the bulb out in the dash work . When I got my car the ecu light was on but bulb removed .didn't know till I had m.o.t put a bulb in and had p0301 and p0302 . I think .catalyst below threshold . 

But the garage changed the sensors and added a inch spacer and now all works as normal . And emissions are 0.010 . Passed last year with a knock from steering advise . Said could be top mount . 

So been waiting for it to fail . 

I got new discs and pads to fit and two front wheel bearings . I changed everything on the rear 2 years ago . Cables shoes discs pads and refurbished calliper seals . 

Your advice has helped me make the jump cheers 

[aderz]

The biggest worry I had was that I couldn't find anyone who had actually done it just lots of "in theory" posts! The only one I could find was on the Lexus USA forums who only wrote one line "it all fits no worries".....

You going down the coilover route? Kudos to you if you do, there are loads of kits in the USA so it has been done. The only reason I didn't go down this route is I have heard that the ride can be a bit harsh on coilovers and its my family car. I'm allowed to fiddle with my own cars but not ones that could involve dogs/kids chundering if the rides to bumpy! To be honest if you can get a complete set of struts for less than £800 then bargain. I was offered a complete second hand strut set from an SE for £750 so it looks like a good deal and also no need to spend days trolling the net looking for those blinkin bumpstops (they were the a right pain to source). By the same token the whole point of coilovers is so you can change things like spring load and damper rate so as long as the spring isn't to harsh to start with you should be able to dial in a quality ride.

Liverpool and Victoria are really good with suspension mods and only wanted to charge an extra £30 so if your own insurance are funny then you could give them a try. 

Yep bulb out or cut the wire to the light, I'm just lazy and as its dark in the instrument cluster you can't see the gaffer tape!

I went with brembo brake discs & pads when I did my fronts (I think Eurocarparts had a deal on at the time), one of the easiest brake jobs I've done to be honest.

Check out the subframes when you get it all out, mine are ok but need to stripped and re-painted for sure as there getting crusty round the edges so that's another job for the summer and I've never known a Japanese car that didn't rust in the subframes. My brother has just changed the rear subframe on an old Subaru Forester Turbo (my beloved old car but no rear leg room so passed along the family) and it cost about £1000 to do the job at a garage so well worth sorting out if there ok now. 

May also be worth checking your anti rollbar bushes, mine are advisories this year and if your underneath the car anyway, maybe worth checking them out. There only about £10 each so if they do need doing its a cheap and easy job.

[GrahamG]

There is considerable interest on the USA owner's site about changing out the air suspension on the LS430.

I have followed that thread closely and it is now agreed that the solution to the warning light on the dash is to leave the ride height sensors in place and electrically connected. Obviously they can no longer be physically connected.

The fuse to the compressor is pulled and the latter can be sold further improving the economics of the exercise.

From what I have read I would not install coil overs but would go for original Lexus metal.

Would reserve Waxoyl for agricultural machinery.

[aderz]

I've removed the fuses but left all the wires in and it still blinks "OFF" at me all the time. In the US forums the bloke who converted his RX cut the wire to stop it. Still if you come across a work round that does not involve me breaking a perfectly good dash then pass the info on :).

Waxoyl works well in box sections. My Mazda Bongo has a lot of these in the chasis and the Waxoyl works really well as it gets in all the spaces you cant see or reach but flat open surfaces such as the sub-frames, I use a spray primer followed by a spray hammerite and then some stonechip over the top.

Out of interest my brother has a 2012 (I think) LS430 and the car rides like a dream on air suspension, why you would change that to springs I don't really understand. The RX air suspension felt a lot more crude than in his LS.

[GrahamG]

Adrian, I hope I am not wasting your time but if I remember correctly for the LS430 conversion from air suspension the only fuse they remove is that for the compressor. Removal of other fuses results in the dash warning light. There could of course be a difference between the two models. They certainly do not cut any wires or remove bulbs.

Waxoyl works perfectly well but it stinks and goes on stinking a long time because it does not dry in the conventional sense. Dinitrol and other products do not have that drawback and get better reviews from users.

I presume the primer you refer to is a rust killer/converter before you apply any paint.

I have researched replacing the air struts on my LS430 because they are so expensive to replace when they fail [£1000 plus and there are no refurbished units on offer] and it seems they can fail at any time. For the cost of one corner air replacement it might/should be possible to renew all four corners with steel. I say 'might' because like you I have not found anyone in this country who has done this conversion with Lexus parts for my iteration of the LS430. If I were to suggest such a step to Lexus Guildford they would surely weep and have me escorted from the premises.

Good luck

 

[SLACKBLADDER]

Aderz are any of your air shockers any good 

[aderz]

Yes the air shocks worked fine when I removed them, it was the compressor that failed. They look pretty rough though so I was going to clean and paint them before they went on eBay. There is a bit of surface rust on the top and the droplink is still attached to each shock as I ground them off the anti roll bar to remove them.

Waxoyl does stink for a bit and is messy as hell to inject into the box sections which is why I always got the garage to do it, after a couple of weeks though the smell has gone and it seems to last years. Yes I use a couple of layers of anti rust primer first on the bare metal.

My Lexus dealer is Bristol was actually quite interested and not at all surprised so it maybe worth a chat. My brother uses Lexus Guilford though as I work for him (you can see which one has the money!) all he does is hand it over and tells them to fix it rather than myself going in asking for parts. He actually queried why I didn't just spend £2500 on a new compressor, how the other half live.

[SLACKBLADDER]

The reason why I ask is I have to replace one on the near side rear I wondered if you would sell one or all to me  

[ISJason]

 

Probably the moral of this story is not to buy the model with the air suspension. I've heard it's not appreciably different on the road from the normally sprung anyway.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[sorcerer]

1 hour ago, ISJason said:

Probably the moral of this story is not to buy the model with the air suspension. I've heard it's not appreciably different on the road from the normally sprung anyway.

 

Absolutely!! I purposely and actively avoided the SEL models purely because of the air suspension and the associated costs when things go wrong with it.

[Coxy]

3 hours ago, sorcerer said:

Absolutely!! I purposely and actively avoided the SEL models purely because of the air suspension and the associated costs when things go wrong with it.

Quoted for truth

I did exactly the same. Though it narrows down your options if you sit tight you will be rewarded. (Unless you get one with loads of leaks like mine :) )

[flumperboy]

I've always had a top spec car . Any one know what does the se-l have that a se don't . 

1 is air suspension . But what else e.g . Mark Levison 11 speaker sound system  . 

Just want to know is it worth me scrapping  mine or converting to cool ? 

[Coxy]

4 hours ago, flumperboy said:

I've always had a top spec car . Any one know what does the se-l have that a se don't . 

1 is air suspension . But what else e.g . Mark Levison 11 speaker sound system  . 

Just want to know is it worth me scrapping  mine or converting to cool ? 

Far as I know everything from an Sel can be had on an SE apart from air suspension. I've seen SE with ML systems. 

 

A lot of SEs on eBay etc are actually SELs just look at the interior shots for that little air suspension button. Whether that's a deliberate ploy by the sellers or just people getting it wrong on listing who knows.  

 

I have an SE with everything minus the ML system and turning headlights. 

[aderz]

The ML system is a pain as the CD player is packing up on mine and even though Ive found a supplier off a surround so you can fit an aftermarket head-unit I would have to change all the speakers as well.

Did the SE come with satnav? Even though its a bit old now I love the layout of it and the ease of looking at a big screen (not to mention Lexys saucy voice!). 

[Coxy]

10 hours ago, aderz said:

The ML system is a pain as the CD player is packing up on mine and even though Ive found a supplier off a surround so you can fit an aftermarket head-unit I would have to change all the speakers as well.

Did the SE come with satnav? Even though its a bit old now I love the layout of it and the ease of looking at a big screen (not to mention Lexys saucy voice!). 

HI Adrian

Yep factory sat nav on mine, same year as yours 2004. But again is an option so some come without.

[flumperboy]

Well had a day off work. Old units off. new ones on .not had chance to setup and drive yet . When I stared my jeep the pump started but button under the dash switched it off . Old suspension on eBay .

[flumperboy]

All finished . All lights sorted. All sensors removed . Back on the road . I think I was lucky . Didn't need new Link pins . They came off easy . Defo a saving money wise . Sold the pump for £250 and  The old shocks for £600 . Still not sold the sensors . But they on eBay . 

[SLACKBLADDER]

Well done how long did it take and how much 

[flumperboy]

Took me around 10 hours . But had problems like bust my 22mm socket then got a new on need a power poll for my power bar . One stubborn bolt . 

Had the shocks from larkspeed . £680 

but already made money money back on selling the old stuff . Very happy with the outcome . and now I can help others just like this thread 

[flumperboy]

And thanks to aderz 

I also done front brakes in that time aswell

[aderz]

Good Job, like the coilovers. How's the ride on yours? I managed to spend £1000 and take about 4 evenings of hard work just to make my car feel pretty much the same! Then again my pumps still bust so time well spent.

Glad to see I'm not the only one that managed to rip up a 22mm, they do take a pounding on this job. 

How did you manage to get the light to stop flashing? If I could do this I can remove my high tech solution and take the strip of gaffa tape of my dash :) 

[GrahamG]

Very well done Dale and thanks for the write up.

Are these the BC coilovers or are they Lexus parts?

So you removed the ride height sensors and do not have the warning light on?

[flumperboy]

aderz my solution is not far from yours . 

I got gaffs tape folded it in half and slid it between the light and dash face . 

Pretty easy to do looks better .  

Pull the facia off 4 screws will get the console out and 2 wire plugs . 

A few gold screws holding the white part on . And some plastic clips . And then once in gently pulled the unit apart the rev needle popped off slid the tape in pipes it all back . No more flashing light . There might be fuses or a wire . But I ain't got time like I used to . 

The ride ain't as good as it was off road but on the road handles much better . Little more stiff but I've setup 30mm lower that stock and softest setting on damper . 

Bc coilover were the cheapest I could find but if I was going to do it again knowing I could sell the old for those silly prices I'd have got stock replacements . And not profited of the job. But one good thing . Didn't cost me ,it made me money lol . 

I paid £3800 3 half years ago and I've been offered £2000 for it but love it to much 

[aderz]

I'll stick to my more "rustic" method of hiding my light. Every time I take dash's apart I always end up with either a rattle or a wobbly speedo.

The coilovers are probably the path of least resistance to dumping the air suspension and if you only paid around £700 then that's a saving of around £500 over buying the individual shocks/springs. Also it saves on having to build the shock up and compress the springs.

Just to be nosey, did this effect your insurance by the way?