BradTank

I decided to replace the rear shocks on my wife's 2004 GX470, they were clearly leaking, it also felt like the rear was bouncing on bumps, we had around 95,000 miles on the original shocks.

I did not want to replace them with the Lexus OEM, as they cost a fortune and I simply don't use the adjustable shock feature.

I did some research and found it was the same size as the ones used for the Toyota 4 Runner. I wanted a soft ride, so I went with the Toyota OEM as opposed to something like Bilsteins. I was able to get a pair from an online Toyota dealership delivered to my doorstep for around $80.

Here is a shot with the Toyota part number 48530-35082




The job was fairly straightforward, I would only rank it slightly more difficult than an oil change. The top nut you're going to need a wrench to get access to, it's too tight for a socket, but there's enough room for an open wrench.

I would say the only snag was that one piece of the hardware, a bottom washer that sandwiches the rubber bushings, needs to have the hole slightly enlarged in order to fit the threaded stud through.


The first part is jacking the car up from the rear and removing the wheels for access. I used a jack under the differential, and then put supporting jackstands up.

Here is where I will start.


There is no spring you need to compress in order to replace like there is in the front, you just unscrew the 2 bolts (one on top, one on the bottom) and remove the old. Much safer than a strut enclosed within a coil spring.

I would say the area that can cause the most screwups is not taking note of the way the hardware stacks up on the shocks. Take a picture before you do it or reference the other side. The new shocks came with two separate rubber bushings, each go on either side of where the top studded is mounted, and each rubber bushing should be sandwiched with a metal washer. All of the metal washers will need to be reused from the old shock setup.




Both the top and rear are 17mm bolts/nut.

Here is the bottom:


And here is the top stud with the nut removed:


I put some blue threadlocker on the threads, I feel this is a good idea for most suspension pieces as they are subject to constant vibration.

Make sure before you remove, you unclip the weathertight connection to the "old" shocks. I wrapped the part of the connection that stays with the car in duct tape and placed a zip tie. I also put a little dialectric grease on the connection. It's probably a bit of overkill, but I wanted everything to be useable if for whatever reason someone wanted to go back with the electronic controls.


Here is the one part that needs modification. The bottom washer is just slightly too small for the Toyota shocks. I had to use a swaging tool/punch to enlarge it slightly. This is very easy to do, I wouldn't let it scare you off:



Make sure you don't enlarge the hole too much, just enough to allow the threaded stud to slide down and rest on the bottom.

Then just tighten down the bottom and top to 51 ft lbs if you have a torque wrench, again, I recommend some blue threadlocker. You're not going to be able to get a torque wrench on the top, so i just gave my best estimate.

The old shocks clearly had oil leaking from them, and with just under 100k miles, they were in need of replacement. I found the ride quality to be smooth. Slightly firmer than what was in there previously, but the handling is greatly improved and feels more composed. Not harsh at all, and I would imagine the difference can be attributed the rears being essentially clapped out. I also imagine the replacements will soften over the first few thousand miles. My goal was a soft ride, and I felt this was likely as soft as I was going to get, and I also get an OEM quality shock that will last.

This is a great swap that almost anyone that owns a set of wrenches can easily accomplish in 1-2 hours. The cost was around $80 instead of around $1600 if you had a dealership do the job with OEM Lexus rear shocks.

gxman1

Brad.

Thank you for taking the time out and going thru DIY. I know most of us will face this issue. I have been reading another thread on the suspension here on the GX. It is so confusing and makes it hard to understand. There has been extensive talk about Arnot and Bilstiens.

I dont recall anyone mentioning the solution you have provided. $80 for 2 shocks, thats is pretty cheap.

Here is my situation: Wondering if you can relate to it.

Where to looks for leaks? I cant see any leak on mine looking near the tires, I did not jack the car up to view in detail.

My truck is in great condition, and has mostly been in Southern California and Arizona. I dont know what to compare to for the ride, however, when I back out of the driveway and enter road it slightly wobbles and somewhat feels like a boat. I am not sure if that is the characteristic of this.

Some posters said they cut the top bolt off, exactly what tool did you use?

With these shock, I think you lost Low and High height adjustment, PLUS Sport and Comfort function, am I correct? If so, is it a big deal?

Can you tell the difference after changing it from old leaky to these?

Thanks

470reasons

Thanks. Great post !

BradTank

Regarding what tool I used, just a standard 17mm Craftsman wrench for the top bolt, using the open end. I would imagine any 17mm wrench would work fine. It's a bit tight, but I didn't need to cut the stud. I also wanted the option to go back to the old shock just in case things didn't work out.

If you absolutely had to, there's a bit of thin sheet metal overlap in the wheel well in the way you could probably cut to get better access to that top bolt. Depending on where you live, I would recommend soaking the top bolt down with something like PB Blaster or a penetrating oil (even Wd-40 works) a day or so before. You can easily get it soak with the wheels still on and in park on the ground.

As far as figuring out if your shocks need replacement, if you have close to 100k miles, I think it probably needs to be done. The "oil leaking" looked like the shocks had been wiped down with a slightly oily rag on the bottom half, it wasn't actual drops of oil. Still, I have no doubt I could have gone longer on the factory ones, it just felt like the back was slamming down and felt unwieldy in turns. I also think it puts more wear and tear on the rear air bags if the shocks aren't controlling the back end. I'm almost certain the front struts also need replacement, but that's a bit more involved. But I have no intention of using the overpriced Lexus shocks for the front either.


I can't answer your question regarding what these shocks will do with the height feature as I just don't use it, but it looked to me the total travel height was the same on both the old and new shocks. I wouldn't think it would be an issue, but I'm not certain.

The ride is a little firmer, but feels much more composed. I would imagine something like Bilsteins would be MUCH firmer than this option, so this is probably as soft as it gets without going with the Lexus shocks with the adjustable ride.

I had the rear factory bags replaced about a year ago through the dealer as they went completely out and I didn't have time to really look into a steel coil swap. So this set up uses the factory inflatable rear with a standard shock.

Lac

iTrader: (3)

thanks for sharing the details.

gxman1

Thank you Brad for answering my questions, I am not slamming on the bumps or hole. However I know at some point it is coming.

sprocket

Thanks for posting this. Would you explain in more detail how you enlarged the washer? Does that tool simply grind the hole larger?

BradTank

It's just a metal rod that's cone shaped that goes from a small point to a larger one. Just the pressure of hammering it in enlarges the hole.

You only need to open up the hole a few millimeters, you could also file it to open up, or use an old screwdriver and just "twist" around the edges to open it up a bit. You might also just be able to hammer it down on the new shock stud. It's incredibly close to being the right size.

You can find a tool similar to what I used, a "swaging" tool or a tapered punch at almost any hardware store like Home Depot.

Here's one at Harbor Freight (a great place to get cheap tools) for $4.99
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-1-...ool-66750.html

amccaulx

BradTank,

Do you still have your old stock rear shocks? If you do, and don't mind, I would like to get a couple of measurements from them. I want to compare the stock shock measurements to the Bilstien 4600HDs and 5100s

Measurements:

1. Pin to Eye
(From the base of the stem where the mounting hardware rests to the
center of the eyelet)

2. Collapsed Length
(From Center Of Eyelet To End of Shaft)

3. Extended Length
.(From Center Of Eyelet To End of Shaft)

470reasons

Takes less effort to enlarge the hole with a reamer. This one works to 1/2". How large does the hole have to be?
http://www.harborfreight.com/t-handle-reamer-66936.html

to 5/8"

bigguppy

iTrader: (15)

You are using part number 48530-35082 but there is another guy on the ih8mud suggested 48530-80372. See link below, post #21. Any reason why? Unless it's the same item. Which one is correct can anyone confirm? Even though it seem to worked out for OP. Thanks

http://forum.ih8mud.com/120-series-t...ut-lift-2.html

RCsGX

Same parts, just some part numbers supersede each other.

The OP is using 48530-35082. If you look at the link for his part number below, the ih8mud part number (48530-80372) is under the stock code in that link: 4853080372 ; 4853080088; 4853080300
http://www.toyotapartsoverstock.com/...853080372.html

bigguppy

iTrader: (15)

RCsGX, always come through. Thanks buddy.

RCsGX

No problem.

ChiTownGX

So with everyone talking about usihg Bilsteins or Toyota shocks, I take it that no one makes a direct replacement after market shock for the GX??