steveski

For anyone looking to change the struts on their second gen, I thought I would share these thoughts with my experience. I originally chose Bilstein HD because of their reputation, performance and price - and because the sport product was not available for my car.

Bilstein states the HD's are not suitable for lowered cars however their tech advised they are acceptable for springs that lower the car 1" or less. I have H&R and got a 1" drop originally on OEM struts. My speed shop installed the Bilstein's for me a year ago after my OEM's died. They set the spring perch at the top setting. Since then my car did not look right to me and I was 90% satisfied with the look.

I was not aware the Bilstein HD struts give you additional lowering options. I do now thanks to Lexkost. On the strut housing there are 2 grooves with a snap ring that holds the spring perch. I decided to tackle this job of repositioning the spring perches myself and it was very easy. With my Lexus factory manual and the right tools it took an afternoon to complete all four struts. I will post pictures before and after. At the lowest setting I got about an inch more drop all around.

The factory manual stated you have to take the rear drive shafts and rear calipers off to remove the rear struts. I removed the struts without taking these parts off and saved at least an hour.

Hope this information helps anyone looking for strut options- maybe useful for anyone like me who didn't buy coilovers in the beginning.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

would you please elaborate as to how u got the rear struts out w/o removing all the driveshaft+calipers off???

u did the balljoint removal+lowering control arm method right? (thats whats in my repair manual )

skperformance

iTrader: (6)

I never had to remove my driveshaft to change my shocks either. It just pull right out on an angle.

steveski

The rear struts came off after jacking the vehicle up and removing all 3 strut bolts just behind the rear seat and the bottom bolt on the strut mounts. The strut assembly was easy to remove without taking off the shafts and calipers. I still can't believe the manual advised to remove those parts. Maybe the average person could damage them.....? All I know is they came out without any problems.

The front struts did require disconnecting the steering knuckles from the control arm but that's it.

Easy job man......I should have done it myself in the beginning.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

thats good to know, i plan on doing mine in the next few days with an LSportline setup (special bilstein shocks (3perch vs. HD's 2perch) + LSportline springs).

iirc Lexkost runs Bilstein HD and eibach springs too (pro-kit )

steveski

Are you getting Bilstein Sports? Not sure what is available for 3rd gen cars. They are supposedly engineered for lowered vehicles. With three perches you should get pretty low.

FYI, I rented a strut spring compressor at "Autozone" along with a pitman arm puller (for front steering knuckles). It costs nothing to rent these parts unless you damage them or lose them. They gave me a 100% refund - killer deal.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

remember that the ucf20/21 share the same basic chassis. any suspension component between the 95-00 cars is interchangeable.

i bought an LSportline system back when i had my old '95 LS that i never got around to installing. its basically a special set of Bilstein shocks made for LSportline custom so that it had 3 perches.

since im a student anyways i dont drive the car much (mileage wise) so im prolly gunna drop the damn thing as low as i can get it

RA40

iTrader: (6)

The front struts will come out without having to un-bolt anything additional besides the strut assembly. Once you get the asembly loose, instead of letting the suspension hang there, if you jack it up about 2"-3", it will come out. Otherwise, the upper arm has too much angle on it to allow the strut assembly to be wiggled out.

I learned that the hard way by removing the caliper to gain some working space...that was unnecessary but it did allow more clearance.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

lexkost was tellingme about a method of using a pole to push the susp. assy. down with a lever like action but no matter what i tried i could not get it to give me enough clearance to pull the shock/spring assy. out.

so assume i do the following for ur method:
-loosen central bolt on top of shock
-remove lower shock mount bolt
-remove top 3 shock tower bolts
-jack entire susp. hub/arm assy. up approx 2-3 inches
then what? it just comes out somehow?

im doing the rears first since they seem to be easier to do.


last question for my o/t-ness:

how exactly does the ball joint get pressed back in? just use the bolt or what? trying to get a feel for what is imma be doing toms

steveski

The rears were easier. You just have to remove the seat back and rear deck lid to gain access to the top of the strut towers. Just getting the seat out was a pain in the neck compared to the rest. When I did it, I only loosened the center strut bolt rather than remove it. This keeps the spring assembly intact. By removing the 3 strut bolts up top then when you jack the car up the strut will hang - maybe enough that the spring assembly will be loose on the strut....? Depends on the strut wear you have maybe? When you start the job you will see what I mean. Once you get the rear seat back and deck lid out it will take you less than one hour

For the front upper ball joint (steering knuckle) if you decide to pull it out: You use a pitman arm puller ($15 or rent). It takes less than a minute to remove. Reinstalling it requires tightening the nut and it reattaches to the control arm. It is crazy easy to not pop it off and then back on. Hope this helps you - you can do it.

Once you get

RA40

iTrader: (6)

With the whole strut assembly loose, raise the front arm up 3" and turn the steering wheel to a lock position...this moves the rotor and caliper into a position that will allow you to pull the strut assembly out. The right front was locked left....so left would be locked right hand. If you did it like I did, unbolting the caliper gains more clearance but not necessary.

While it's out, wiggle the upper and lower arms to check for any bushing wear.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

ok guys im waiting righ tnow for WD-40 to work its magic on my lower rear mounting bolts/nuts

did u guys disconnect the rear sway bar link? my manual tells me too and im having a PITA trying to loosen the bolt since i cant get my impact to it (because of link)

currently the car is on stands, with the rear seats out and the 3 top nuts removed.

oh, and ive been trying to impact the nut (front side of car) and its not budging (hence the WD40 treatment)

thanks again for the help guys

steveski

I used a 19mm box end on the nut and used my 1/2" breaker bar on the bolt side since the whole thing turned as I loosened it. I sprayed the threads with lithium grease as you did. The rear sway bar link was a PAIN and that's why I removed it backwards from the manual (turned the bolt rather than the nut). Once you get the nut loose.........use your scissor jack to support the lower rear arm (so you can remove the bolt completely. once you remove the upper three strut nuts the whole thing can be easily removed. If this doesn't make sense I sent you a PM with other info.

steveski

Let me add to the thread - I did not get the sway bar link off so that's why I went at the lower strut bolt backwards as I mentioned above. I used the 19mm box end on the sway bar link side and the 1/2" breaker bar on the other side towards the front.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

thanks for the help steve, i just got 1 side off, needa run to lowes to get the tubing i need for the new springs before i do the other side (and before they close )

did u re-install the bolt from the rear (like it was from the factory) or from the front (which would be a HELL of a lot easier since theres no sway link to get in the way of my 3/4in socket)

for some reason the nut is 19mm but the bolt is a 3/4in??