cha41ppy

I'm looking to change out my struts sometime soon. The noises frustrate me - I've replaced the sway bar bushings with mild improvement. I've lubed up all other parts such as mounts, bump stops, links, etc with minimal improvement and feel that I'm going to need to change out my entire strut assembly. The struts have a weak feel to them and almost feel like they are bottoming out over little or big bumps. I feel very hesitant when I'm driving - it almost feels like I have a sprained ankle and I'm limping around looking at the ground for any bumps and whatnot. There is severe creaking with the first few bumps although this does lessen some with warm-up, it never goes away.
Now, this may sound like a dumb question, but are the monroe quick strut assemblies OK for our vehicles? Does anybody have them installed presently and do they last and provide a somewhat close to factory ride? I'm asking because it seems like an easy install without having to purchase all of the separate suspension components. It's basically the entire assembly from mount to strut for 180 each. I would intend to do both fronts. If I don't go that route, I'm going to install front strut mounts (and bearings?), factory OEM, to see if that solves the problem first, followed by struts if needed. Any opinions?
One last question - will I need to compress the spring in order to change out the upper strut mounts or do they basically go untouched when I pull off the strut assembly? Thanks for your patience, hopefully I can assist someone with my final result after the install, I will try and post the process if possible.

cha41ppy

Nevermind the Monroe's - I'm realizing quickly that those probably aren't a good idea after reading some reviews and compatibility issues

LEX ES300

I solved the problem on my 97.

Check out this link (I just updated it with results) to see how I tackled it.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=332698

LEX ES300

cha41ppy

Excellent! I hadn't noticed that you posted a final solution to your thread. So I'm thinking I may go the same route as you, where did you purchase your OEM parts? I'm going to get the works like you did because I really envy that last post you put up.