2006 GS300 Rear Shock Absorbers on 2006 GS-450H?

[ZXSpectrum]

Hi all,

Has anyone replaced the standard GS450H Rear (Or front for that matter) Shock Absorbers with the non actuated versions from a GS300? 

One of my rear shocks is leaking and knocking but I cant currently afford to replace both at £450 each plus fitting. So I was wondering if I could replace them with the GS300 shocks (Either a new pair or second hand) while I send off the old ones for refurbishing? Is there an issue with the plugs/actuators not being connected? will I get error messages/lights regarding this?

Any help would be appreciated.

[Farqui]

Hi Paul,

£450 each seems excessive, the rears are £250 here; https://www.lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/parts/category/lexus-gs/lexus-gs-phase-iii-2005-2012/lexus-gs-3-steering-suspension/

You can run with the actuators removed from the top of the dampers without any warning lights/etc, tuck them up somewhere they won't rattle.  I ran like this for a while whilst working on my rear ride height.

Just don't unplug the actuators from the wiring.

Cheers, Lee

[Sami Tilander]

On 2/20/2020 at 11:15 AM, Farqui said:

Just don't unplug the actuators from the wiring.

That does not harm either (I've my actuators sitting on garage's table right now: switched to BC Racing Coilovers in the last summer)...

BR.Sami

[Farqui]

Ah really? That didn't throw an error light?

[Britprius]

When I tried with the actuator electrically disconnected it threw a warning light.

John.

[ZXSpectrum]

Thanks for the help guys. 

Looks like the rears are showing as £283 each on Lexuspartsdirect unless I am looking at the wrong ones? 

Could someone confirm that is the correct part I require are they the same on both sides? Will grab one per month and then get them both replaced.

I am pretty sure I was quoted £410-415 each from Nippon in Derby. 

[LexIS200Sport]

For the rear, the same shock absorber is used on the left and right. That said, there are 2 different part numbers for the rear shocks, depending on the date of manufacture of your car. The prices of both are slightly different. 

If you send a message to Lexus Parts Direct with your vehicle reg, they will be able to advise the correct ones for your car. 

 

[Sami Tilander]

On 2/24/2020 at 10:23 AM, Farqui said:

Ah really? That didn't throw an error light?

Nope, I don't see any error light nor message. Not even when toggling the Sport/Normal switch...

Interesting if John got error light...

BR.Sami

[Britprius]

On 2/24/2020 at 1:30 PM, ZXSpectrum said:

Thanks for the help guys. 

Looks like the rears are showing as £283 each on Lexuspartsdirect unless I am looking at the wrong ones? 

Could someone confirm that is the correct part I require are they the same on both sides? Will grab one per month and then get them both replaced.

I am pretty sure I was quoted £410-415 each from Nippon in Derby. 

Foreign Car Spares on eBay are selling rear shocks at £249-97 delivered. I know from experience if you can pick them up, and ask for some discount they will sell them for £225 each.

The two versions are interchangeable particularly as your changing both.

John.

[ZXSpectrum]

Thanks John, I sent a message and my reg to Foreign Car Spares and he has told me the correct part for my car is 48530-80356 showing as £250 each at the moment. They are also on "Make an offer" so will send a message when I get paid to see if there is any flexibility in price if I buy a pair.

Again Thanks for your help.

[Britprius]

10 hours ago, ZXSpectrum said:

Thanks John, I sent a message and my reg to Foreign Car Spares and he has told me the correct part for my car is 48530-80356 showing as £250 each at the moment. They are also on "Make an offer" so will send a message when I get paid to see if there is any flexibility in price if I buy a pair.

Again Thanks for your help.

Hi Paul.
I have visited FCS on a couple of occasions. It' is not an impressive looking establishment being part of a car breakers, but your not paying for a glass showroom, and free coffee . However I found the guys there knowledgeable, and helpful. The new parts come in OEM boxes, and they do guarantee them. Definitely the best price I have found in this country. 

John. 

[ZXSpectrum]

Brilliant John, Thanks for your help.

Next thing on the list is to find someone in the midlands/east midlands that can reliably do a timing chain/followers/tensioner/cam sprocket replacement without the silly Lexus fitting charge... 😞

[Farqui]

Paul @ZXSpectrum, give Dave at Lex-Tech a call (nr Sheffield)

[ZXSpectrum]

Thanks for that Lee, I will do once I have gathered some cash together.

[Farqui]

I typed the company name wrong, it's http://www.lex-tekautos.com/

Let us know how you get on.

[Britprius]

6 hours ago, ZXSpectrum said:

Brilliant John, Thanks for your help.

Next thing on the list is to find someone in the midlands/east midlands that can reliably do a timing chain/followers/tensioner/cam sprocket replacement without the silly Lexus fitting charge... 😞

Are you getting a fault code for the timing chain/valve timing or are you trying to cure a short duration start up rattle? The start up rattle is the cam phasers draining of oil. I am about to post in the next few days a post on fitting a DIY engine pre lube system that not only cures the rattle but reduces start up engine ware.

John.

[ZXSpectrum]

I get a start up rattle and have had the P0017/P0018 error (And a random crank position error). On startup when cold the car is sluggish and missing a little until it gets warmed up then its ok but seems a little down on power. Its as if the timing is either retarded or advanced until it gets warmed up then its better but still not how it used to be.

I did have a friends friend who used to work for the Lexus Academy connect do a full management module scan (With the genuine Toyota/Lexus software) and those errors where what he found and after discussing with his colleagues they agreed that it sounds like stretched timing chain. Which is a little odd considering my car only has 70K Miles but I do VERY little mileage per year (Around 3.5K). Love the car and not being a man of great means it took a lot to buy this car but cant really afford thousands in repairs and may have to see what I can get for it and buy another car to get to work.. As much as it would pain me! 😞

[Farqui]

Paul, did your pals with the Lexus software command each of the 4 cam oil control valves (OCV) and confirm they are operating as expected?

The OCV's each have pre-filters that can clog, have they all been checked?

Error codes P0017/18 relate to both banks and different sensors (inlet/exhaust) so maybe you have a couple of clogged OCV filters or slightly bad OCV's?

Mine threw a CEL at the wkend for the first time after shuffling cars and on the second ignition on it threw a P0017.  It ran somewhat gruff at idle yet drove fine but I only took it to the end of the village before bottling it coming home/parking it up!  My car tends to sit all week so can run often rough at idle for a few seconds, especially during the colder months.

I had planned in checking my OCV filters and valves yesterday but something more urgent cropped up. 

I also need to recheck my oil level to ensure it's able to correctly feed the valves and cam phaser's.

[Britprius]

The startup rattle is usually the oil draining down from the cam phasers, and can be cured by fitting a pre-lube system to refill the phasers with oil before the engine starts. See my post "removing cam phaser noise".
The codes you are getting do suggest timing chain ware, but "could" be just dirty sensors "cam or crank". The chain can be changed on it's own without dismantling the complete front of the engine, but just by removing the drivers side cam cover, and chain tensioner cover on the front of the engine to remove the tensioner. Obviously in going this route the guides cannot be changed. If you do dismantle the front of the engine to change the chain, and guides you may as well fit new later version cam phasers. This will only cost an arm, and a leg. 

If you need any information on changing the chain without dismantling the front of the engine private message me for the details.

John.

[Britprius]

Lee. Because of the layout of the cam timing sensors it is usually the passengers side sensor that triggers the fault code. This is because the length of chain from the crank to this cam is about three times the length of chain to the drivers side. Therefore it sees three times the amount of stretch or ware on the hinge part of each link.
Obviously not in the manual the chain can be changed "I have done this not on my car" by splitting both the new and old chains. Then join them together with a split link, and winding the engine over by hand until the link reappears. The link is then used to join the new chain ends.

John.

[Farqui]

Is the passenger side bank 2? - as reported by a CEL

[Britprius]

37 minutes ago, Farqui said:

Is the passenger side bank 2? - as reported by a CEL

Yes the passengers side (UK) is bank 2, and contains cylinders numbers,  2/4/6
Bank 1 (drivers side on GS450H UK)  has cylinders 1/3/5.

John

[Farqui]

Just a quick update, as I don't want to hog Paul's thread...I've just given mine another run and it's not reporting any codes and ran fine.  As it wasn't quite topped up I popped a few glug's of oil in for good measure.  So I hope that my one off P0017 was due to shutting off and restarting after a weeks rested cold start.  I'll monitor it and will report back if anything changes as my mpg is slightly down which might be attributed to a bad OCV.

[ZXSpectrum]

Hi Guys, I am going to bump this thread.

With all the current stuff happening I have not got this sorted yet (Rear Shocks) but was going to order a pair soon. But then I started looking about for coilover kits and I have found a Tein Flex Z Coilover kit for £685. So instead of just doing the rear I could get the whole car with new coilovers for a little more. My wheels are corroding a fair bit now so not only would I benefit from having a full, new set of suspension but gives me more flexibility if I get some new wheels for a nicer look.

Has anyone had any experience with this? Would it be a case of just replacing them and tying up the actuators for the adjustable suspension out of the way?

As always, any help is appreciated 🙂

[Sami Tilander]

Hi Paul,

I was in exactly same situation year ago: one leaking rear shock and with less money than changing both oem rear shocks, I was able to get new BC racing coilovers every corner 😉

I actually did a small experiment with the actuators: I connected one back, added a small visual scale there and took a video with GoPro to see how much the actuator will actually do any adjustment while driving. Result: nothing at all. At least in speeds under 120km/h. I did try with Sport and Normal modes, but no difference. The only movement was when power was turned on: then the actuator moves to both directions (probably to reset the settings).

Btw, I ordered my BC Racing coilovers with softer springs, and I've been really happy with them.

BR.Sami