tomf

What's the correct torque for the front strut upper mounting bolts on a 1999 ES300? The documentation that came with my quick struts say 29 ft-lbs. My Hanes manual says 59 ft-lbs. I'm confused. Thanks in advance for your help. Tom

ASG14

iTrader: (1)

The 3 nuts are 59ft/lbs, the center nut is 36ft/lbs. According to the Factory Service Manaual.

tomf

Thanks. Once I tighten these up my front struts will be installed. Tom

MikeLex

If your front strut mounts are original, think twice before doing the struts without replacing the mounts with the new ones recommended by Lexus for the 97'-00' ES.

tomf

I bought this car used. Don't know if it had the original mounts. I used Monroe quick struts to make the change easy. Is there something special about the new mounts?

ASG14

iTrader: (1)

^ OH! The quick mounts are the COMPLETE bolt in assembly, right? If so, it;s all good. Typically, when you replace the struts, you "should" replace the mlunts as well like MikeLex said.

tomf

That's right, the complete assembly. It's makes the strut swap easy. Since I didn't know how long the struts had been on the car I was going to replace them as well as the mounts. When I compared the cost of new struts and mounts to the quick struts, the price was about equal. I paid about $135 shipped per quick strut. The price of one strut $78 and one mount $55 equaled $133 before shipping. So I saved a bunch of time, a little money, and got all new components. Seemed to be a no brainer.

MikeLex

Toyota changed the shape of the rubber in the mount to fix the front noise issue for the 97'-00' ES in the late 1999. Since you're replacing the entire assembly, I believe it's all good. Just let us know how is the ride quality with your new suspension.

tomf

I did this replacement because of noise coming from the drivers side strut area. I've driven the car several times and there is an improvement in ride quality and noise reduction. I still sometimes think I hear the noise but nowhere near the previous level. The noise level is still higher than what I expect when hitting a bump or pothole. Maybe something else is causing the noise or maybe I need Toyota's mounts. I think I might replace the sway bar bushing next in an effort to reduce the noise level even more.

Would bad sway bar links contribute to the increased noise level? When I was replacing the strut I noticed the link seemed a little loose. Aren't they supposed to be fairly stiff and difficult to move?

MikeLex

Absolutely. Have them checked for excessive play. And since it seems that you are unaware of the maintenance records of the car, take the opportunity to replace the sway bar bushings too.

ASG14

iTrader: (1)

You can get the sway bar links fairly cheap at www.RockAuto.com

tomf

Yesterday, I installed front Energy Suspension sway bar bushings. These resulted in less noise but still the noise is higher than I think it should be.

The noise is now acceptable but I'm now on a quest to rid my ES300 of this noise. The best was to describe the noise is a muffled rattle when going over small potholes and ruts.

I've just ordered front sway bar links. I'll see if they take care of the noise. I'll report back after installation.

By the way it took me about 1.5 hours to install the bushings. The reason it took so long was that there is limited space to work the wrench to remove and install the two bolts holding the bushings in place. The left side took 1 hour and the right side 30 minutes. If I had to do it again I'm sure the time would decrease even more.

dubedlexus

I had a noise in the front too and it was the sway bar end links. So good luck with the fix.

tomf

Replaced the sway bar links today. There is less noise than before. But I can still hear a noise that I don't think should be there. The noise only comes from the front left when I hit a rut or depression. I don't hear the noise when I hit a bump. I guess I will live with the noise unless someone has a suggestion on what else could be making the noise. All-in-all my Lexus is much quieter than before I replaced the struts, bushings and links.

ASG14

iTrader: (1)

^ Possibly the sway bar bushings.