FusionMan79

Can anyone fill me in on how the shocks and struts of the 93 LS400s are put together? I'm curious if it's something a homegrown mechanic like myself can swap out. I know putting springs on can be pretty dangerous but can the struts be removed without pulling the springs or are the springs compressed on the struts themselves. If anyone can enlighten me I'd be much appreciated.

SQ-LS

I believe the springs are compressed on the struts.
I don't think it is a do it yourself job unless your a mech. with the instruments to do it.
How come your taking apart your springs and struts anyways, might I ask?
Good Luck.

FusionMan79

I need to replace the rear struts not the springs and I was wondering if I could just slide the struts out of the springs without having to take the springs out. Also I'd like to possibly swap out the springs and struts for the eibach and tokico combo. The parts cost about $600 which is in my budget but that doesn't leave money for labor. So I was hoping to see if I could do it myself or find someone cheap in IL.

TonyN

iTrader: (1)

you do not need to be a mech to do it. You can go to Checker or any autostore and rent the equipement. You can rent the spring compressor, and such items. It is the same as taking your springs off, at the time you decompress your springs you can replace your shocks. Just go to the part store where your renting the part, and ask them to double check. I've dont' this on other family cars, the Lexus supension with non Air Suspension is the same.
Good Luck
Tony

FusionMan79

Thanks Tony. Do you think you might be able to give me a little more info on how to do it? Are the springs compressed on the shock? Can I just unbolt the shock from the body and the tire assembly and pull the shock and spring combo out, or do I have to decompress the spring on the car? Your help is greatly appreciated.

knightrider

dont forget, when replacing struts you always need to replace the upper plates(front struts)!

FusionMan79

Why's that? I already did the swap and they're fine. My mechanic would have swapped the plates to the new shocks too. Those strut supports are expensive. More expensive than the strut itself. Can anyone back me up on not replacing the strut mounts?

knightrider

If you are going to have front struts replaced, by all means have them check the upper plates. If the plates are bad (worn out) then you will have to pay for the labor you paid for the struts to have the plates replaced. The plates are not cheap. (I think I paid 95.00 each). Good luck.
Edmunds has alot of insight on this type of info!!!

TonyN

iTrader: (1)

yeah replace the upper plate if needed, actually make sure all parts that need to be replace are. To take the strut out.. there are four bolts hoding the strut to the car, DO NOT remove the center bolt until you have the spring compressor installed, if you do it will shoot. Once you take off your wheel you can see what bolts hold what together, some might take a little more to take it out due to time. It's pretty simple just becareful, dont' rush things.. I don't really remeber how many bolts hold the bottom together but i beilive there are three. Again i'm not sure, haven't check in a while, i will be doing this soon, in about 3 weeks when i get my springs so i'll know then. YOu might want to have a friend there to help. Hope this helps.
tony

stuart browne

The front strut is easy to remove,it is all one unit with the spring. You will need a ball joint tool to remove the upper ball joint from the steering knuckle,this is to slide the shock with spring attached. You will need a strut spring compressor to compress the spring off shock. The back is a bear to do on the LS400 is is a good 3-4 hrs of your time. You have to take out the back seat to get access to the 3 top bolts that hold the top of strut on the car.
When you do any strut replacement check the bearing plate for wear the bearings do go,but the lexus is very rare they make a gratting noise when turing the wheel. Get a manual for your car from any where because the back is just so much work and parts to take off. Lexus manual have over 6 pages of parts to remove.

FusionMan79

Well I've already done the front set. I checked the strut supports and they seem fine. I haven't noticed any grinding or any other problems while driving the car. I was going to do the rears today but after I jacked up the car and looked at the coil insulators I found that they were falling apart. Nobody has them in stock so I have to wait til the dealer gets them tomorrow. I've got my work cut out for me tomorrow but everything seems pretty straight forward. I've been consulting the Chilton and Mitchell books and I purchased a subscription to alldatadiy.com, they supply repair and part information for any single car for $25 a year. They've got some good information, pretty much straight from the repair manual. I'm not prepared to spend $185 for that. I think this solution is just as good. I'm actually getting away without using a spring compressor. My dad owned a machine shop for 20 some years and he likes to make his own tools. We crafted a spring compressor out of a 2 ton jack and some stell strapping. It worked pretty well. Anyway thank you all for your help and opinions.

TonyN

iTrader: (1)

let me knwo how it goes.. post some pic if you can. what kind of spring did you get again?
tony

FusionMan79

It's been goin' well so far. I'll see if I can scrounge up a camera tomorrow and snap some shots before I get the axels and wheels back on. I'm using Tokico shocks and Eibach springs. I drove the car a bit after putting the fronts on and really enjoy the improvement in handling. The new suspension does add more feel to the road and it's not as smooth as it was but I like being able to feel the road a bit more. I totally recommend this mod. The handling is so much better.

The car is in pieces right now. I started doing the job today and decided to call it quits at about 11pm. I got the old shocks out and the new ones in, all I have left is putting back the driveshaft and the wheels. It was really hot out today so I took things pretty slow. Here's some advice. On the 93, you do indeed have to take the driveshaft out. We tried pulling the strut without doing it and there just wasn't enough clearance. You probably could avoid removing the driveshaft if you had the mechanical style spring compressor (the one with the hooks that you tighten with a socket wrench). You could use one of those to compress the spring and shock in the car and then when you remove the bolts you should be able to slide the unit out. We were, however able to get the strut out without removing the caliper and stabilizer bars.

Be warned that the driveshafts are very difficult to remove. We were using a socket style hex key for the bolts between the differential and the driveshaft and ended up snapping the socket in two! We also had to hammer the driveshaft loose with a chisel at the inboard joint. There was a lot of rust and over time the car had just tightened itself together. If you attempt this job just be prepared to spend a lot of time on it. And definitely do it in a garage if you have one. It was interesting to find out that the rear springs are under almost no compression at all. We removed the springs very easily and I compressed the new ones just by pushing the spring down a bit. Things are gonna get wrapped up tomorrow and I'll give you guys the final news when it's done.

mlevk

Hi Fusionman

I am about ready to do mine also except that I am replacing the shock only
with KYB GR-2 .

I do plan on renting the compressing tool . You say you don't have to remove the drive shaft if that
is the case ? Sounds alot easier .

Please keep us posted!
Thanks.

mlevk

Wait a minute , am I confused or not ?
The front comes out as a whole unit , you
don't have to compress the spring before
taking it out .

On the back strut,do you have to compress the spring
first , then unbolt the strut assy. from the car .
Meaning it doesn't have a "plate" like the front ?