1996 LS400 REAR SPRING REPLACEMENT. WHICH TO BUY, AND WHERE?

[Howplum]

I am about to replace the rear shock absorber insulators (boot) and the shock absorbers themselves. Having removed everything the springs look a bit crusty in places so it might be prudent to replace those as well. However, it seems that replacement springs for models between 1994 and 1997 are not as plentiful as for the previous and subsequent models. It looks as though Lexus don't supply them any more, the best of the aftermarket ones appearing to be KYB. Suplex are listed on Autodoc, which is a make I have never heard of, and a seller is advertising Blueprint ones on eBay . Euro Car Parts don't list anything at all.

My original intention was to de-rust and paint the springs to prevent further deterioration.

Any suggestions please?

[Howplum]

Just to correct myself, Lexus Parts Direct list rear springs at £120.88 each, and that's a sale price!

[Spock66]

19 minutes ago, Howplum said:

My original intention was to de-rust and paint the springs to prevent further deterioration.

Maybe you could get them powder coated.

[Howplum]

Thanks for the idea. 

 

[Lien]

Hi, I used Autodoc to buy a KYB spring for 1993 LS400, good price, took five days to arrive.

Been fitted about a week now, sits a little higher but all good so far.

[Malc]

2 hours ago, Howplum said:

Lexus Parts Direct list rear springs at £120.88 each, and that's a sale price!

when ACLex ( used to be on here ) sold me my Mk3 in 2011 he took all the DHP stuff away and replaced with the existing springs etc .....  just to find one of the original springs he had stored had cracked . in storage .  so he replaced with one new one which cost about £120 he told me ... and he was the Parts Manager at Lexus Poole at the time

Your price now seems a bit of a bargain methinks 

Malc 

[Howplum]

Talking of possible bargains, or not, these are the prices Lexus quoted me for the lower shock absorber nut and bolt along with the anti-roll bar bushes and drop links:

"Rear Axle Carrier Bolt - £20.68 available from LPD here.
Rear Axle Carrier Nut - £7.77 available from LPD here.
Rear Stabilizer Bush - £50.12 available from LPD here.
Rear Stabilizer Link - £177.46 available from LPD here."

As a matter of curiosity I did contact HSD about their coilover kit, my criteria being to retain the comfort, reduce the ride height slightly and improve cornering composure. This is their reply:

 

"Thanks for getting in touch with us.
The HSD Dualtech kit is the closest to OEM comfort as it retains a twin tube damper design much like the OEM item on your car.
These are very slightly firmer than OEM suspension but do still ride very well and will help with some corning stability.
At the highest this kit can be set to the car will be around25-30mm lower than standard so this does sound like it will be ideal for what you need.

https://www.driftworks.com/hsd-dualtech-coilovers-lexus-ls400-ucf10-20.html

If you do need any more help on this please let me know."

The research continues...............

[Malc]

methinks you'll only replace them the once so maybe just " bite the bullet " with LPD if they're the likely only OEM kit available right now 

Malc

[Razor61]

6 hours ago, Howplum said:

Rear Stabilizer Link - £177.46 available from LPD here."

Whoah…….that is expensive!! Approx £25 from Amayama plus shipping iirc.

[Howplum]

I've just checked Amayama's website and they quote £23.87 each for genuine or £6.75 for CTR brand, plus postage. If I've read the Government's website correctly, because the total will be under £135 VAT should be included by the seller and no duty is payable.

Having done a bit of research it looks as though CTR are a big, long established Korean OEM and aftermarket supplier, albeit one I've never heard of! I have therefore ordered two front and two rear CTR drop links for a total cost of £48, including shipping.

I noticed that for the front ones they also offer Febest at a price well below UK listed prices.

Time will tell if I've made the right choice.

https://aftermarket.ctr.co.kr/About/History

 

 

 

[Howplum]

In the end I decided to clean up the springs and see what condition they were really in, which proved to be not too bad. I then applied rust converter, zinc primer and three coats of Rustin's Quick Dry Satin Black Metal Paint, so hopefully it won't go rusty for some time. I also gave the new shock absorbers a couple of coats of satin black as well.

Despite appearances, the rubber "insulators" are brand new.

I must say that putting the struts back single handed was quite challenging, but I found that by manoeuvring the strut into position, attaching the top three nuts and then compressing the spring enough to allow the bottom eye to approximately line up with the hub was do-able. Applying strong downward leverage on the upper suspension arm enabled me to slide the bolt in, although the anti-roll drop link does get in the way a bit. In my first attempt I was frustrated by the fact that lower end of the shock absorber was about 0.5mm too wide, but that was solved with a bit of careful filing.

Not a job I want to do again in a hurry.

[Supafly]

On 5/19/2022 at 6:01 PM, Howplum said:

I must say that putting the struts back single handed was quite challenging, but I found that by manoeuvring the strut into position, attaching the top three nuts and then compressing the spring enough to allow the bottom eye to approximately line up with the hub was do-able. Applying strong downward leverage on the upper suspension arm enabled me to slide the bolt in, although the anti-roll drop link does get in the way a bit. In my first attempt I was frustrated by the fact that lower end of the shock absorber was about 0.5mm too wide, but that was solved with a bit of careful filing.

Not a job I want to do again in a hurry.

Having just recently done this job I agree that it isn't something I want to repeat either...

I really struggled to get the bottom of the shock aligned and into the hub, probably because I was using a large spring compressor that I couldn't use on the car.  If I had some small ones I could relieve the pressure and rotate freely.

I too also had to do the dance of one arm in the car and one arm in the wheel arch trying to get the top mount in 🙂  The bottom shock mount was a struggle too but I managed to get it in after raising and lowering and finding the right point at which to push it into place.  There's a very slight chamfer on the hub that allows you to fit without filing.

[Howplum]

I used these on the car:

And these on the bench:

Hopefully the fact that it seems to spells SOS isn't significant!

[Supafly]

9 hours ago, Howplum said:

 

"Hopefully the fact that it seems to spells SOS isn't significant!"

I felt like I needed saving when I was in the middle of this job!

 

The top simple spring compressors I would say are a must for this job, they allow you to rotate the shock on the car to align with the hub.  Just this tip on its own would have saved me a lot of trouble.

Also having a spare pair of hands to lift the strut to align and tighten the three nuts on the top mount will also help to save your back.

 

Thank you for your thread Howard, I'm certain it will help others in the future 🙂