GS450 ride height - low rear?

[65mike]

Hi all.

Lee this seems strange to me why has the rear suspension dropped like this

I personally would be looking at a new set of springs and probably shocks I appreciate it will not be cheap but I cannot see any other reason for this.

65mike

[Odysseus]

1 hour ago, Farqui said:

Is yours riding okay?

All good thanks buddy, apart from a thumping coming from somewhere under the car which Lexus Cambridge is looking at at the moment.  Fingers crossed the warranty does the business!

[Farqui]

On 6/12/2018 at 5:38 PM, 65mike said:

Hi all.

Lee this seems strange to me why has the rear suspension dropped like this

I personally would be looking at a new set of springs and probably shocks I appreciate it will not be cheap but I cannot see any other reason for this.

65mike

I hear what your saying and it may come to that but at this point I didn't want to throw parts at it unnecessarily and be wasting my pocket money.  

I've since found springs/isolators/etc cheaper, so that makes them a more viable alternative.  Although shipping and import duty will need to be factored in.

While the dampers/springs are off the car I will give them a thorough check over and install the strut spacers.  If the inspection throws up anything obvious then I still have a daily driver and can order the parts.

[Britprius]

6 minutes ago, Farqui said:

I hear what your saying and it may come to that but at this point I didn't want to throw parts at it unnecessarily and be wasting my pocket money.  

I've since found springs/isolators/etc cheaper, so that makes them a more viable alternative.  Although shipping and import duty will need to be factored in.

While the dampers/springs are off the car I will give them a thorough check over and install the strut spacers.  If the inspection throws up anything obvious then I still have a daily driver and can order the parts.

Lee did you know that spring compressors are not required when removing the springs and shocks from the GS450H. If you need to know how let me know and I will post the instructions.

John.

[Farqui]

Just now, Britprius said:

Lee did you know that spring compressors are not required when removing the springs and shocks from the GS450H. If you need to know how let me know and I will post the instructions.

John.

Hey John, NOT using a spring compressor would be great so would appreciate a guide if you have one.

I've never had any issues but I really don't like using them.

[Britprius]

2 minutes ago, Farqui said:

Hey John, NOT using a spring compressor would be great so would appreciate a guide if you have one.

I've never had any issues but I really don't like using them.

Instructions for removing rear shocks and spring on GS450H without spring compressor:-

Gain access to top of shock mounting in the boot by removing carpet covers.

With the car still on it's wheels remove the electric drive motor over shock (twist and pull like a light bulb). Undo the centre top nut on the shock absorber shaft.

jack up the car with the suspension hanging. Remove the wheel, the anti roll bar link long bolt through the bottom arm, remove the outer bottom arm bolt to hub (undo the bolt not the nut) remove the shock bottom bolt (again move the bolt not the nut).

The bottom arm can now be pushed down a little and the shock removed with the spring sitting loosely on top of it. The spring cone will remain in place. You will need to undo the top three nuts holding it, and the two small bolts through it's side lugs to remove the cone.

Fitting is a reverse procedure , but do not tighten the shock bottom bolt until the suspension is loaded (a jack under the bottom arm to take the weight of the car) This is to stop the rubber bush being wound up as the suspension rises.

The the bottom hub, and shock bolts have nuts with a large flange with three embossed lines that press into the nut's mating face designed to stop it coming undone. This is the reason for turning the bolts, and not the nuts. 

Any questions just ask.

John 

[Farqui]

Thanks John, good tip about the embossed nuts 

[Britprius]

Just now, Farqui said:

Thanks John, good tip about the embossed nuts 

The bolts that go into them are very tight. I found it better to use a 6 sided or impact socket than a normal one with a "T" or braeker bar with a length of tubing for more leverage.

John.

[Farqui]

The Crown strut spacers fit [emoji4]

...the bolt pattern is the same [emoji6]

[Britprius]

Lee I think that goes on the underside of the mounting point!

John

[Farqui]

On 6/16/2018 at 11:15 AM, Britprius said:

Lee I think that goes on the underside of the mounting point!

John

Ha, only just seen this - very funny!

[Farqui]

I'm now beginning to wonder if my NSR spring is cracked as you can hear it makes 'that' faint noise when riding the bumps.

You can just hear something odd with the front passenger window down.

The NSR does sit slightly lower than the OSR too.

When I fit these spacers I will definitely be closely inspecting the springs/etc, I'll dismantle both towers to be sure and measure each side.

[Farqui]

Rear shock towers removed yesterday

Lexus claimed all 4 shock were leaking well over a year ago, hoho.

The tail of the springs have some corrosion/wear, I've seen worse which hasn't affected the ride.

The OSR damper support looks odd, like it's been welded.

Otherwise the damper assemblies look the same side to side, I'll try and check if the lower arms are the same later.

The parts have been treated and will be painted during the day.

[65mike]

Hi all

Lee going by your pictures i would say that spring is ready for the scrap bin looks like it has a crack in it seen better days have they got a plastic coating on them.!!!

Also looks like one of the damper supports has broken at some stage and been welded to repair it.

My own view if it was my car would be to replace the springs and shocks they do look like they have seen better days and the damper supports.

You're obviously a practical man so will cost you for the parts no labour charge.😊

65mike

[Farqui]

Mike, in the pic you can see the spring powder coating is cracked and I'm not pulling it off to check any further at this point.

[65mike]

Hi all

Lee so it's the powder coating that is cracked then.

Lee i would still be inclined to replace the lot and have done with it for piece off mind that way you will know that you have a good rear set up and hopefully will cure the problem.

What mileage has the car covered now!!!

65mike

[Farqui]

I would like to fix it and not have to wrestle the bolts anymore but new springs are circa £500 a pair from Lexus.  Although I can source them much cheaper overseas even with shipping/duty, so I may get some ordered - they'll just take a while to arrive.

The other issue I have with buying new springs is that the rear may still be low, due to fitting to tow bar.  If I shell out £500 and it's still low then I ain't gonna be a happy camper, I don't like flushing my hard earned away.

OEM dampers are also known to leak so I found myself looking at some TEIN coil overs earlier this week, they do a street/comfort range that have an appealing price.  I just don't want to ruin the ride quality as the local roads are poor.

So in the meantime, I'll be refitting the OEM kit with some spacers and see how we get on.

[Britprius]

7 hours ago, Farqui said:

Rear shock towers removed yesterday

Lexus claimed all 4 shock were leaking well over a year ago, hoho.

The tail of the springs have some corrosion/wear, I've seen worse which hasn't affected the ride.

The OSR damper support looks odd, like it's been welded.

Otherwise the damper assemblies look the same side to side, I'll try and check if the lower arms are the same later.

The parts have been treated and will be painted during the day.

Lee the welded shock is an early one "they all came like that" The one without a weld is a later version the washer just being pushed on so has been changed. This saved a welding process in the manufacturing stage reducing the cost of manufacture. 
I would not be concerned over the rust near the end of the spring apart from removing the loose powder coating and giving it a coat of paint.

John

John

[Farqui]

John / @Britprius, thanks for the info on the damper weld.

I'm also not overly concerned about the spring, it's had some treatment and will get a quick lick of paint before re-fitting.

Stay tuned for an update once the 'spaced' struts are reinstalled...

[Britprius]

4 minutes ago, Farqui said:

John / @Britprius, thanks for the info on the damper weld.

I'm also not overly concerned about the spring, it's had some treatment and will get a quick lick of paint before re-fitting.

Stay tuned for an update once the 'spaced' struts are reinstalled...

I will be very interested in the ratio of increased ride height to fitted spacer height. 

John. 

[Farqui]

5 minutes ago, Britprius said:

I will be very interested in the ratio of increased ride height to fitted spacer height. 

John. 

Yes, I'll remeasure the spacers before they go on then take several arch readings - after the suspension settles/etc.

I ended up cutting the spacers down myself with a recip saw and flap wheel on the grinder, so I now have one set at approx 18mm and another set at 10mm (ish).  A local machine shop weren't confident that they'd be able to cut them down without ruining them.

[Britprius]

18 hours ago, Farqui said:

Yes, I'll remeasure the spacers before they go on then take several arch readings - after the suspension settles/etc.

I ended up cutting the spacers down myself with a recip saw and flap wheel on the grinder, so I now have one set at approx 18mm and another set at 10mm (ish).  A local machine shop weren't confident that they'd be able to cut them down without ruining them.

Lee I have just measured my spare rear spring marked with two orange spots the same as yours appear to be from the pictures. It measures 315 mm unloaded at it's longest point. How does this compare with your springs?

John.

[Farqui]

@Britprius, nice one. Mine are the same measurement

[Farqui]

Sorted. 19mm spacer boosts the rear approx 30mm. I'll let it settle and take a few months re measurements.

[Britprius]

Well done Lee. I do not think new springs would have given much if any increase in clearance. 
 Your measurements give an increase to ride height to spacer fitted of around 1.5 to 1. A little more than I calculated, but of course it may settle a bit.

John.