Bonnet Struts

david62 · February 10, 2009

just had my bonnet struts replaced at a place in northampton.took old ones off removed old brackets and fitted to new ones.old ones only had 270nm of pressure and that was a good one.new ones now have 350nm and bonnet stays up so no more bruised head.not that you ave too lift a lexus bonnet that often i must add.very nice firm too deal with.total cost=£28.98.[metrol springs ltd 75,tenter rd,moulton park,northampton..nn3 6ax ].......www.strutsdirect.co.uk....08701672122..hope they can help some-one else on ere

Haylands · February 10, 2009

not that you ave too lift a lexus bonnet that often i must add

Apparently that is why they fail, the small amount of oil put inside the strut doesn't get moved around enough to keep the seals supple and then the gas leaks out.... so open your bonnet more it will help keep them tip top....

That is an excellent price you got them for..... well done

Pete

david62 · February 10, 2009

not that you ave too lift a lexus bonnet that often i must add

Apparently that is why they fail, the small amount of oil put inside the strut doesn't get moved around enough to keep the seals supple and then the gas leaks out.... so open your bonnet more it will help keep them tip top....

That is an excellent price you got them for..... well done

Pete

the more i open me bonnet that means trouble for me pete.so think better off spending £30 every now and again.lol mind you not a bad site that v8 engine is it

lexusls4302001 · February 10, 2009

I thought you were supposed to check your oil level every week? Or is that not necessary for a Lexus??? :)

david62 · February 10, 2009

I thought you were supposed to check your oil level every week? Or is that not necessary for a Lexus??? :)

check mine every week but get bored because not much else to do after that.does not burn it or lose it....not sure how often you check yours tho

Haylands · February 10, 2009

I thought you were supposed to check your oil level every week? Or is that not necessary for a Lexus??? :)

Hi

You check your oil every time you start up, there is no need to get your hands dirty, you have an electronic dip stick and you will be warned via the dash if you need oil, or water, or screen wash, or brake fluid etc etc.

Pete

david62 · February 10, 2009

I thought you were supposed to check your oil level every week? Or is that not necessary for a Lexus??? :)

Hi

You check your oil every time you start up, there is no need to get your hands dirty, you have an electronic dip stick and you will be warned via the dash if you need oil, or water, or screen wash, or brake fluid etc etc.

Pete

cant beat getting your hands dirty pete.nor can you beat seeing oil level with your own eyes because has we all know electronic gaggets thingy things do go wrong and dont always work

Haylands · February 11, 2009

electronic gaggets thingy things do go wrong and dont always work

Ahhhh the talking of a man who hasn't had a Lexus for very long..... the above phrase doesn't sit well with a Lexus....

And I was refering to "Lexus4302001" as these features are on the 430, I don't know about the 400.....

Pete

CB1300 · February 11, 2009

Cold weather can have an effect on the gas too.

You may find when it starts to warm up the struts stay up.

But its certainly a sign they are on their way out so worth replacing.

david62 · February 11, 2009

electronic gaggets thingy things do go wrong and dont always work

Ahhhh the talking of a man who hasn't had a Lexus for very long..... the above phrase doesn't sit well with a Lexus....

And I was refering to "Lexus4302001" as these features are on the 430, I don't know about the 400.....

Pete

no car no matter what make it is pete are not immune to a few problems.not even your old one eh?

lurch · February 28, 2009

just had my bonnet struts replaced at a place in northampton.took old ones off removed old brackets and fitted to new ones.old ones only had 270nm of pressure and that was a good one.new ones now have 350nm and bonnet stays up so no more bruised head.not that you ave too lift a lexus bonnet that often i must add.very nice firm too deal with.total cost=£28.98.[metrol springs ltd 75,tenter rd,moulton park,northampton..nn3 6ax ].......www.strutsdirect.co.uk....08701672122..hope they can help some-one else on ere

Thanks for the info David, ordered a set thursday for my father-in-laws LS400, arrived friday morning and fitted myself this morning. £36.75 all in. superb. Bit tricky getting old ball ends out but found best way was to gently cut old strutt ends then fitted ball ends to new strutts, took 20 mins, job done. Also agree very nice firm to deal with.

Thanks once again

Phil

david62 · February 28, 2009

just had my bonnet struts replaced at a place in northampton.took old ones off removed old brackets and fitted to new ones.old ones only had 270nm of pressure and that was a good one.new ones now have 350nm and bonnet stays up so no more bruised head.not that you ave too lift a lexus bonnet that often i must add.very nice firm too deal with.total cost=£28.98.[metrol springs ltd 75,tenter rd,moulton park,northampton..nn3 6ax ].......www.strutsdirect.co.uk....08701672122..hope they can help some-one else on ere

Thanks for the info David, ordered a set thursday for my father-in-laws LS400, arrived friday morning and fitted myself this morning. £36.75 all in. superb. Bit tricky getting old ball ends out but found best way was to gently cut old strutt ends then fitted ball ends to new strutts, took 20 mins, job done. Also agree very nice firm to deal with.

Thanks once again

Phil

your more than welcome phil.glad they were abled to help you and info was of some help to you....david

crabo249 · March 18, 2009

:D Ordered a set, fitted in 20 mins after hacksawing off the old strut ends.

Thanks for posting the link. :)

david62 · March 19, 2009

:D Ordered a set, fitted in 20 mins after hacksawing off the old strut ends.
Thanks for posting the link. :)

glad to be of help

museumsteve · May 1, 2009

I also ordered a pair, fitted in minutes..very pleased .

Thanks :)

david62 · May 1, 2009

I also ordered a pair, fitted in minutes..very pleased .
Thanks :)

your very welcome.shame im not on commission eh....lol

jockmonkey · March 10, 2010

Needed to grind the ends off, but top work from www.strutsdirect.co.uk

Old unit (last of the MK1 cars), kept hitting back of my head when I opened the bonnet..

Other advice is fit one ball joint into bonnet sking first and then pop the second one (inner wing) on

Bit of copper grease too!

Lexus wanted £98 + vat each, so £235.. or £35 plus an hours labour (mine!)

Another saving keeping the LS on the road well

lexusn1ce · March 10, 2010

im gonna have to get round to this, my bonnet wont even stay up for a short while its like the struts arent there at all but they are, im using an old hoover pipe to prop it up at the moment it lives in the boot.

ModMan · March 13, 2010

David,

Thanks for this recommendation. I popped in on my way home on Thursday and purchased a new set for the boot on my LS430. Unfortunately I've never seen what it "should" be like but before the boot lit would close at the slightest gust of wind.

They matched some up for me, regassed them once too as I wanted more pressure and fitted them for me. All for £41 incl VAT and I couldn't be happier. I think they may need a touch more gas but I don't have another LS 430 to compare against. You still need some effort to open the boot but it stays open from about 45 degrees now so no more bumped heads.

I dealt with John there and he is a helpful and patient chap, I would gladly recommend them. (Plus the owner was there in his R8 which is sexy!)

Daniel

mikeyv · February 8, 2012

Yesterday my bonnet stayed up fine, today my mate wanted to take a look at the engine, and the bonnet slowly sank - I'm guessing the temperature is the culprit, as mentioned earlier in this thread -10C today, and felt even colder.

The reason I resurrected this thread was to thank David62 for the link, and to tell other members that the price has dropped to £25.70 a pair plus £6.95 del.

Having priced up several hydraulic stays in the past, Nissan and Honda mainly, I consider these a steal, so will order a pair even though mine will probably recover when warmer.

Edit:- Forgot to say, this includes a 20% online only discount.

2nd edit, vat on top of those prices, total delivered £39.18, still cheap imo.

39buss · February 8, 2012

GS 300 struts fit I put them on my LS a couple of years ago.

mikeyv · February 12, 2012

Just to update, struts arrived next day, 10 minute job to fit, bonnet now stays up, well pleased.

Parrot of Doom · February 15, 2012

I ordered two off the back of this thread, from the same company. Quick delivery, took 20 minutes to install.

I'm not strong enough to compress the new struts, but I could easily compress the old ones, which still had some gas left.

Here's the finished install:

Once installed I recommend sending the bonnet up and down a dozen times - they were fairly squeaky and a bit stubborn on the first few closes, but once I'd closed the bonnet enough times they were fine.