LS430 Air Struts

[Micholas]

Hi all.. on my last couple of services I’ve had advisories from the dealership for my OSF air strut being sweaty. Tbh the suspension is starting to creak and moan these days, so I’m going to start here. 
Obviously the dealer wanted to charge me £1500 for the replacement. I can change it myself but as most of the cost is in the shock I’m hoping someone knows of an OE supplier in this country?
I don’t fancy a second hand one as not many will be sub 100k miles.. and I’m definitely not going down the coilover route. 
I’ve found that Arnott produce them in the states for around £500, and I’m a big fan of their products.. but with shipping and customs it comes out not far off a genuine Lexus shock from the dealer. 
 

What have you guys done? I’m guessing the Chinese eBay shocks are scrap? 

[BigBoomer]

Arnotts are £1000 per corner here 
https://www.autodoc.co.uk/car-parts/air-spring-strut-15148/lexus/ls/ls-ucf30/105772-430

The "cheap" Chinese ones are £450 per corner with a 2 year warranty.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/392901572059

With used ones, unless you can get proof of the mileage of the car they came from, you are paying £250 for a lottery ticket.
That's fine, so long as you understand the risks.

When/if mine go I will probably try the Chinese ones as my experiences of Chinese manufacturing have all been good.

I keep hearing people spouting about Chinese stuff being crap, and some of it is, but most of it isn't.
I can honestly say that I have bought more British made stuff that was crap than I have Chinese stuff.
Yes, I do get that supporting local stuff is good and vilifying the "evil" Chinese is our national pass time.
I also remember Japanese stuff being slated as cheap crap, yet here we are discussing quality Japanese cars.

[Malc]

7 minutes ago, BigBoomer said:

British made stuff that was crap than I have Chinese stuff.

AND I have bought, said to be British stuff,  from time to time and it's actually of Chinese origin .....  crap or not

sorry to digress  ...... Nicholas ........  you seem to have made your mind up about not going to coilovers and I trust you are aware of the members on here who have made that change and are very satisfied too  .....  I have no personal experience as I have a Ls400  ..  just going from my readings here over many years 

Best wishes with whatever you decide is best for you 

Malc

[steve2006]

They’re slightly cheaper at around £1000.00 each including carriage and VAT from Amayama.

 

[Micholas]

1 hour ago, BigBoomer said:

Arnotts are £1000 per corner here 
https://www.autodoc.co.uk/car-parts/air-spring-strut-15148/lexus/ls/ls-ucf30/105772-430

The "cheap" Chinese ones are £450 per corner with a 2 year warranty.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/392901572059

With used ones, unless you can get proof of the mileage of the car they came from, you are paying £250 for a lottery ticket.
That's fine, so long as you understand the risks.

When/if mine go I will probably try the Chinese ones as my experiences of Chinese manufacturing have all been good.

I keep hearing people spouting about Chinese stuff being crap, and some of it is, but most of it isn't.
I can honestly say that I have bought more British made stuff that was crap than I have Chinese stuff.
Yes, I do get that supporting local stuff is good and vilifying the "evil" Chinese is our national pass time.
I also remember Japanese stuff being slated as cheap crap, yet here we are discussing quality Japanese cars.

Arnotts in America are around £450. I need to make some American friends 😌

re. The Chinese stuff being scrap, I’m saying this because every listing on eBay for the Chinese struts is from a seller with very poor feedback scores. Lots of sellers saying either the part didn’t fit or it didn’t last long. If anyones tried them and had a good experience I’d be open to giving them a go. 

[Micholas]

53 minutes ago, steve2006 said:

They’re slightly cheaper at around £1000.00 each including carriage and VAT from Amayama.

 

Thanks Steve. Lexus parts direct has them for £900. Better than most but still a third of the cars value. But I guess it is what it is. 

[Micholas]

59 minutes ago, Malc said:

AND I have bought, said to be British stuff,  from time to time and it's actually of Chinese origin .....  crap or not

sorry to digress  ...... Nicholas ........  you seem to have made your mind up about not going to coilovers and I trust you are aware of the members on here who have made that change and are very satisfied too  .....  I have no personal experience as I have a Ls400  ..  just going from my readings here over many years 

Best wishes with whatever you decide is best for you 

Malc

Thanks Malcolm. I’m probably going to suck it up and pay Lexus Swindon. Always been drilled into me that you should replace both sides when dealing with air suspension.. but yeah I’ll think I’ll be sticking with one this time 😉

[PCM]

12 hours ago, Micholas said:

 "air strut being sweaty."

What do they mean exactly?

In my experience, they either work or definitely don't...

[Micholas]

3 minutes ago, PCM said:

What do they mean exactly?

In my experience, they either work or definitely don't...

There’s oil in shock absorbers and when the seal on the shaft is worn it lets oil out and means the dampening affect is hindered. LS430 shocks are an air bellow and standard hydraulic shaft in one.