RX300 Suspension

[JonDenison]

Hi All,

I recently purchased an RX300- old I know- but she is in mint condish. 

Love the vehicle all round and have decided to buy a newer model for the wife and take over the older model for myself.

In the last couple of days though, I've noticed that the air suspension has become very stiff. Almost non existent. You feel every bump in the road like you are hitting a curb.

 The car lifts fine and holds height- even overnight. There are no warnings or faults on the dash. 

The off side rear corner makes a compressor pump noise after starting the engine with a pressure release when the vehicle reaches height, which I suspect is normal.

On one occasion, the car appeared lower on the OFS rear corner, but not any more.

I also noticed that there is an amber light adjacent to the suspension off button below steering column which is always on- can't find any info on it and not sure if the two are related??

Appreciate any assistance here, or if it would be better to sack off the air and have coilovers and springs fitted?

 

Thanks,

 

Jon

 

[bexhillguy]

Hi Jon, this may help with the amber light, it sounds like the easy access switch.

Cheers

Keith

[JonDenison]

Perfect! Thanks Keith 

[The-Acre]

And just so that you know, another member recently changed his RX air system to coilovers and it seemed to work fine.  I went to see it as I was in the area and I was really impressed with what he did, and relatively inexpensive.

[JonDenison]

Thanks mate. I’ve just found a leak in the OS rear corner. So random. First time it’s done that. I guess the unit needs replacing £££

[The-Acre]

1 hour ago, JonDenison said:

Thanks mate. I’ve just found a leak in the OS rear corner. So random. First time it’s done that. I guess the unit needs replacing £££

I know an LS strut is about £850!  A set of coilovers would cost the same.

[Neil E]

2 hours ago, JonDenison said:

Thanks mate. I’ve just found a leak in the OS rear corner. So random. First time it’s done that. I guess the unit needs replacing £££

Where is it leaking from? It might be worth replacing the one strut. 

[JonDenison]

Thanks guys, yeah I saw the price and nearly fell off my chair!

The leak is definitely coming from the one strut. 

I reckon a set of coil overs might just be the way to go. I saw the photos from a recent conversion- looks tidy!

[The-Acre]

55 minutes ago, JonDenison said:

Thanks guys, yeah I saw the price and nearly fell off my chair!

The leak is definitely coming from the one strut. 

I reckon a set of coil overs might just be the way to go. I saw the photos from a recent conversion- looks tidy!

Although as Neil says, it may be worth replacing one.  My Celsior had a leaky rear strut so I bought one from a breakers for £170, £75 labour and all is good.  

[JonDenison]

Not a bad idea at all mate... I’d love to find a fix that doesn’t cost the best part of £1k a week before Christmas!

[Neil E]

Yeah, that's what I would do if you can hear the leak and everything else is in order. Try Dewsbury Auto Salvage or a similar breaker. If you can find a secondhand strut it's not too difficult to swap them or we know someone not too far away who could do it for you.

 

[JonDenison]

Awesome thanks Neil. I've found a few good nick second hand units selling between £300 and £450. 

There is a Lexus specialist near me who will do fitting- not sure on price yet, but they will happily fit the part.

[Neil E]

Despite 150,000+ miles I haven't done one on the RX yet but would say about £100 ish to fit the rear strut. Try sending a few emails to the online breakers and you might get a good unit for a bit less than £300. My specialist is on the Sussex coast so if you have someone local that sounds a good option.