bradland

Collecting parts for a major overhaul of the FRONT suspension on my 197,XXX mile '99 LS.
Purchased-
Moog sway bar bushings
Moog end links
Toyota strut rod bushings (cushions)
Moog UCA's
Lexus strut bellows (4815750010)
Planned purchase-
Bilstein struts
Moog strut mounts
Bumper (4833150071) ???

I did the lower ball joints and all tie rods about a year ago.
I went with Lexus bellows/boot since the rest (KYB and Moog) look very generic "one size fits most..." type. I'm assuming the Moog strut mounts will be fine but apparently they do NOT include the bearing WTH ?!? Still not sure about the strut BUMPER. They are about $33 from Lexus or most aftermarket bellows come with a bumper for half that. I could just buy the bellows to get the cheap bumper or is the quality enough of a difference from Lexus??? I don't mind spending a little more if the quality is there. Any insight from anyone who has replaced struts with a mix of aftermarket parts would be greatly appreciated. I've already read a hundred threads re the KYB/Bilstein debate so please lets not go down that road...

bradland

After a little more research I'm leaning toward Sachs strut mounts since the Moogs don't include a bearing.

dicer

Bearing ? The struts are not like McPherson type, they don't pivot for turns. Its just a mounting pad at top doesn't swivel. Unless 99's went to McPherson?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

I'm going to ask for a source on this whole bearing situation, the front mounts are going to be mostly identical for these cars between brands. Material quality should b the main difference, if anything.

I would (and did) do Raybestos pro grade UCAs and OEM LCAs. They're expensive for LCAs but they tend to last 180-220k miles, and up.

I hope you understand the Bilsteins will not give you a near-oem ride at all, they are meant to be firmer all around (HD series).

bradland

Yeah maybe the bearing thing is just a typo on Rockauto.com and I'm concerned over nothing...? Like I said above I'm leaning towards Sachs mounts now anyway.
I sent an email to Moog tech support inquiring about this as well.

Yes I'm aware what I'm getting into with Bilstein HD's

Thank you for the responses!

valex

Years ago I installed aftermarket front struts (KYB but not OEM ) on my '99LS and regretted it. Choppy and stiff ride, I didn't like it. Went back to OEM (I know they are made buy KYB also, but they are different, you better believe it).

sndlight

i agree with you. Last year I put kybs on and felt they rode like crap. The damping felt overzealous, bouncy, just terrible shocks. Blown OEMs rode better.
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I swapped them for Largus coilovers in order to drop the car 5" and rides much worse now, but I'll never go back to those Excel G's.

bradland

Per the original post-

I've already read a hundred threads re the KYB/Bilstein debate so please lets not go down that road...

sndlight

True.
i ordered KYB bellows and they were pretty shoddy. However they included strut bumpers (bump stops) that were extremely similar to OEM. They're worth the $40 or so it costs for a whole set, just for the bumpers. The bellows worked just fine during my several months of use.

bradland

The bearing issue is a mute point. It's irrelevant text on Rockautos website that doesn't apply to the LS400. I was overthinking it...

bradland

Thanks sndlight ! That's a piece of info I was looking for. I'm using Lexus bellows since the aftermarkets look sub standard. I might still buy some though just to get the bumper cheaper than Lexus bumpers. Your post leads me to believe it's a viable option...

sndlight

I got my KYB bellows from Amazon, for reference.