The-Acre

I think the bolts should be ok to shift, I noticed when we had it up in the air the front strut bolts were still the factory gold colour. I may also just cut the airlines as well to make things easier.

I may do, it all depends on time/weather as my garage is too small but the drive is plenty big enough. I could get the car in but I couldn't get out of the door! I only know about Strutmaster from what I read and what the company says. If you look at all their videos they fit these kits on so many cars, including Mercedes S class etc, so time will tell. It's £900 with shipping plus customs/VAT which is about £350.

I was really hoping that was my problem but after yesterday's discovery of my bouncy castle that's sadly not the case.

It was interesting trying to move the ball joints in the new ones compared to the old! I'll wait until my new shock absorbers arrive and get them fitted at the same time.

Parts ordered from the US, should take around 10 days to arrive.

My thinking was drop links are easy to fit so worth the risk, but as you say, not worth chancing it for a major part, especially one that's a pain to fit like the UCA.

Yes, I have seen that before but my bushes are fine. The fact that the car bounces badly in that corner can only be caused by a bad shock. In fact it had the same problem at the rear when I bought it so I replaced that one with a used unit. I've talked for ages about getting some from the US so assuming they come up with a sensible shipping cost I'll be ordering them today. Nothing ventured and all that.

The problem with having coilovers fitted seems to be the ones with adjustable height and damping, plus poor quality springs. The guy with the RX in Brighton who did his conversion got them from Taiwan, at least Strutmaster use American cold wound springs which does seems to be very important. I'm waiting until they open so I can phone them because when I order and try to check out the shipping cost trebles from that listed! You could replace with lexus coils and shocks. I tried coilovers in a 430, didn't last long. I posted about it I did look at this option but they work out the same price as air shocks.

I'm waiting for the final price on these. https://www.strutmasters.com/products/2000-2006-lexus-ls430-4-wheel-air-suspension-conversion-kit-td14f/

It surely has to be worth the risk at that price, all four drop links delivered for £67!

I did have it checked early this week but only the steering joints and bushes. The shock is definitely shot, the corner bounces like a boat! I wouldn't have adjustable coilovers fitted like another member did, I'm getting prices from the US for either coils or Arnott air struts via Rockauto. I'm leaning very much towards a coil conversion from Strutmaster because if really good quality ones were fitted I don't see how that could be a bad thing.

On the day that my new drop links arrived I thought I would just try bouncing the car's four corners. The one where the worst knock comes from is way to bouncy. So there it is I guess, at least one strut is very weak, not doing its job and causing a knock. I now have to decide on the best course of action! Either way it'll be done.

A good result! I suppose I'm quite lucky there as my Celsior has a stainless factory system. I've no idea why it would be fitted on the JDM model but not the UK.

Nice sound, as long as it doesn't affect the usual serene ride and become an annoying drone.

Nice job!

Does it only happen when it rains?

I can't work out how to copy the link using my phone but I found them on eBay. There are others but only the ones I ordered are Blueprint. I think they were £19 each for the rear, and unlike the fronts which are the same the rears are side handed. Because I ordered two the price came down to £36 for the pair.

So we were wrong, they do still make the LS400, they must do, you've got a brand new one! I saw this advertised a while ago, surely one of the finest available, if not the finest.

In the end I decided on Blueprint parts, and although Malc says he had a bad experience with them I thought I'd take the chance as I've found them to be very good in the past. I wouldn't do it for more important parts but this should at least discover if the links are the problem, personally I think it's something else but we'll see. It does sound like quite a heavy knock. Blueprint parts were £19 each.

I'm most definitely not buying Lexus parts! I've been looking at getting them from the US, even with shipping and customs it works out soo much less than we pay here. I'm replacing all four, it may not be necessary but it certainly can't doing any harm, other than to my pocket!

Thanks John, I'll give that a go later this week. In fact while I'm at it I'm guessing it wouldn't be a bad idea simply to replace them anyway, they're not that expensive.

Ditto on my LS400, repaired with a large washer.

I know I mentioned a while ago that my suspension seemed slightly harder than previous ones, but still the ride has been excellent, and still is. It's just getting to the bottom of this knock that's difficult. There's no change in pattern whether hot or cold, wet or dry, it's always there. If I could be sure a knock could be caused by even a slight amount of wear in the drop links I'll happily replace them all. So if someone could confirm they can cause a knock rather than a rattle or squeak I'll get some ordered, there's nothing to loose.

Some interesting reading, thanks for that.

That sounds like my problem, lumpy and rumbly! I'm only on 69k and looking underneath today you'd think the car was only 3 years old. We checked all joints and bushes with a pry bar, checked bolts etc but all is solid. The rear drop links were very easy to swivel in their joints which surprised me as I expected some resistance but no other movement. I'm reluctant to take it to Lexus, especially as the closest is over an hour away. Generally it's fine on most surfaces, just annoying over small bumps. I don't mind spending to get it sorted, it would just be nice to know what it is. Even my wife has noticed it, and that's unusual!!