JetsonES

Good to know the springs may help also. I want it tight but only just so, there is a fine line and bmw is pretty good at finding it.

Oro

Looking forward to hearing your opinion after you do it; I hope the Moog springs satisfy you as they did me. The price was great, but even besides that I could not find anything else in stock height for this car other than OE.

jakebot88

I notice that the OP has a '03 I actually have a 2000..... Do you guys think that this will matter at all?

fortitude

Any update on this? Did you replace the struts with KYB's? If so, how do they feel?

koreywill

Fortitude: I had some other major expenses come up so I've had to put this project off til spring. I will post after it's done and will try and compare before and after ride quality.

Gumel

Seems like my rear struts are too soft and bouncy and have ruined my tires, so got new tires. Now I need to replace rear struts, I would like to order online and have narrowed it down to KYB Excel g, the mechanic that is doing the job suggested that I might as well change the entire assembly since car has already 130,000 miles, and labor would be the same. I have checked the threads here but too much info and I get lost. Can you guys narrow it down for me as to what should I order for the mechanic, since it is an online order we don't have a chance to check what is good and can be reused, and what is bad and needs to be replaced.

Oro

A few comments:

Based on what you say, I would suggest ordering rear KYB quick struts and some new bellows/boots if not included with the quick strut kit. Pretty sure they are already on the unit as assembled IIRC. You should need nothing else. Your links and bushings, etc. should not be worn out in a non-salt state (FL), but you never know for certain until you put hands on the patient.

Be aware lots of people report issues with both the Monroe and KYB upper mounts ( and other lower-grade replacements, too) later down the road when using the quick struts. NOt all, but a good percentage. This is mostly in the front I believe and I would not worry so much in the rear. I would not "quick strut" the front with a unit with non-OE mounts (and such a beast is not available).

Lastly, you did not say what year you are talking about. There are differences in equipment between years. I am guessing if you say your rear is worn out and "soft" with that many miles in FL you have a later model?

koreywill

Gumel - Oro's been very helpful on the question of struts for my 2003 es300. Here's what I've ordered: Boots by KYB SB101 and SB102, for about $52, 4 KYB EXcel G-2 Struts for $292, and CC273 Springs for $72.25. Total about $412. I'm reusing the Lexus mounts and the front springs. My planned install date is sometime in April.I'll let you know how it turns out.

Gumel

Oro and Koreywill, thanks. Oro to answer your question, mine is 2004, you mentioned quick struts (Strut Plus) which I don't seem to find for my car/year. So like Koreywill was saying, probably then buy separate: coil springs, boots, and struts. No mounts/insulator, bearing plate, or anything else?

Oro

Here is a thread from 18 months ago where I detailed what I did to fix the (IMO) premature sagging and wear on the 2002-2006 models' rear suspension. If you do not find KYB QS units for your car (and I would not buy others), you could try this; it is what I did when I had this problem and after doing considerable research:


https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es-...de-height.html

18 months/25k miles later and I am quite happy. I cannot say it will outlast the OE springs, but I doubt it could be worse, and there was no way I was putting the mushy OE Lexus springs back in; I'd cut down some Jeep springs before I did that. I did not need new insulators (re-used them), and I re-used the stock mounts (now have ~255k miles on them and work fine -mostly highway miles on good roads, so YMMV).

The Moog coils are not spec'd for this car, but ARE for the same MY Camry and Avalon, which is pretty much identical. I do not know if it is because the spring rate is different, or the nominal height is different. But other applications cross-referenced the same applications between the Camry/Avalon/ES300/330 for the same years so I "gave it a whirl." Very glad I did. The Moog coils were also about 1/3 the price of the OE coils for the best price for each I could find at the time.

If you do need new insulators, I saw some on closeout cheaply at Rockauto recently, you could check there.

LeX2K

FYI these boots are cheap plastic not rubber for anyone considering them. They are generic not model specific so you'll still be using what's left of the OEM insulator.

Oro

RE: boots, I had this same concern. The KYB boots are a hard-ish plastic. This had me thinking a bit before I installed them. OTOH, the OE rubber was hanging in literally shredded tatters like confetti after 12 years of easy Texas and western WA weather and miles, with about all of the piston surface exposed to the elements, which is death to shock seals and thus shock longevity. Totally unacceptable. So I am not convinced OE is very good, either. I have seen a LOT of dirt bikes work a long time with hard plastic bellows in my decades of riding. So I am willing to give it a try. But I admit the jury is out.

Caveat emptor, both with OE rubber and KYB plastic. The OE rubber performed pretty miserably over time in my (relatively easy) application, but I cannot say the KYB plastic will be better until several more years go by.

koreywill

With the help of my son in law (former mechanic with all the right tools) and advice on parts from ORO I finally got struts installed on all 4 corners. Here's what we put in: Boots by KYB SB101 and SB102, for about $52 (not quite a perfect replacement for the original but they work) , 4 KYB EXcel G-2 Struts for $292, and CC273 Springs for $72.25. It doesn't corner like the Porsche 914 I once had but, man, it is vastly improved. I reused the original mounts, lower insulators (which I probably should have replaced), and front springs. I only had one problem and that was a "clunk" on bumps on the way home from where the SIL lives. It was from the first strut we replaced so when I got home I pulled it back out, hit the top strut nut with an impact wrench, reinstalled, and the noise disappeared. There is no way that I can figure out to accurately install that nut to the proper ft/lbs (no way to use a torque wrench and keep the piston from spinning) so I got to a point of a few threads above the nut and went with that. I anticipate that the ride will settle down a bit as we put on the miles but I'm really satisfied with how it all went. By the way it took about 3 hours from the time I pulled into the garage til I pulled out with everything installed. All this on a car that I bought at 273,000 miles which now has 290k + miles. (I think the struts had never been replaced!)
Thank you to everyone that had suggestions. It was greatly appreciated.

Oro

Did you try torqueing it while installed?

I find the weight of the car on the strut unit will stabilize it enough to get to the spec'd torque (30 ft/lbs or so IIRC). I had the same issue on one side in the rear as you.

I don't like the KYB boots, either, but hadn't found a better alternative. They should do the job, though. Glad you are happy.

Are you getting the alignment checked? Even though when I replaced the front springs it did not change the ride height, but it started wearing the tires unevenly. They say you can't eyeball/measure that accurately enough to be safe and should get at least a front-end alignment right away. I found that to be true.

koreywill

Hey Oro! I forgot to add that the car's going to the alignment shop tomorrow for a 4 wheel alignment just to be sure. It didn't look like there was anything that we did that would change the alignment but still.... I'll post the results.
We tried torquing the nut while the strut was on the bench, with all 4 wheels off the ground, and with the full weight of the car on the ground. Nothing stopped the piston from spinning. So really, the torque on the four top nuts is just a guess at this point. Again, thanks for all the help and suggestions.
Now on the the pricey front lower control arm bushings. Yikes!