Found a deal on Struts on RockAuto.com!
 

Front and rear quick-strut assemblies on RockAuto.com are on sale right now for a steal!

Through 4/30/17, if you order you get a $100 rebate off any 4.

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/l...assembly,15174

I ordered the following part #'s:

MONROE 171491 Front Left Strut Assembly $119.79
MONROE 171490 Front Right Strut Assembly $119.79
MONROE 171493 Rear Left Strut Assembly $111.79
MONROE 171492 Rear Right Strut Assembly $111.79

Shipping was $54, which totalled my order at $518.12

But, if you subtract the $100 rebate, I only paid $418.12, and I can install quick-struts myself in my driveway in about 4 hours, if that long. If you can do brakes, you can install quick struts.

They're junk, don't bother.

I paid even less than that thanks to a coupon code from Pepboys last summer plus the rebate, but boy did I regret it. Had to swap the rear struts 3 times till I found a pair that didn't sound like it was going to explode. The current set does have one squeaky mount, but it beats the rattling that originated from the others. I gave up on finding a good set of front quick struts, and just returned them after trying 2 sets...because they drop the front end down, and clearly aren't made for the ES. The springs are likely for a Camry. My original strut assembly with 260,000 miles performed better than those monroe quick struts and are quieter. lol

you're correct, i had another website open that had a $100 rebate for 2 but their prices were higher, and i git them mixed up, i edited the post.

still a great deal.

i am worried because this is a Lexus, but i have never had an issue with Monroe struts on other vehicles in the past. No reason i should think this would be any different. The factory struts on the car are currently performing ok, but are squeaking incessantly, and driving me insane.

^ They aren't. Get OEM tophats with KYB struts....

[Nov. 2016] I just got a new set all around of Monroe OE Spectrum struts/mounts/all hardware for an AWD RX330... the ride isn't the same as OE... The best part? One of the fronts was shot in ~400 miles of installation.... Now the fun part of requesting a return with rockauto.... ended up going to Tenneco directly, since they paid for all fees/shipping and are SUPPOSED to give money back for added labor for defective part... but it took 4mos [so far, apparently check is NOW, Mar. 2017, in the mail]... had to get all the invoices, go back to shop, re-align a second time etc... they still argued about labor since one was bad, yet AWD vehicles need to be done in pairs... anyways, big screw around. In retrospect, I should've spent the 20$ more per strut and gone KYB and pieced it together that way!

Maybe in the 90's Monroe was "good" or if you drive American junk since it's usually geared for that due to cheap/quick/readily avail. & low replacement costs.

Regarding the quickstruts;
The price is maybe ~50$ less than I spent 6-7 years ago when I replaced the full set on my 3ES... so much hasn't changed there.

And I'll be the second in this thread to confirm, within one OCI, the front's were squeaky. It mostly went away once it was super warm in the summer mos. but was still there, faintly. At the time, KYB replacements were in the ~100$ ea. range for the 3ES, so I went this way, since I was a broke student... in retrospect, I would've just done the rears [which were the only bad ones] anyways, instead of overdoing stuff. I was too good for that car....

I like KYB the best, and use their assemblies if available (rarely reuse OEM mount and spring if client wants it, I hate assembling struts. Know a guy who knows a guy who lost a testicle when a spring compressor shattered). For quickstruts, my go-to is Moog. I know Federal Mogul products are going down in quality as all their manufacturing quietly moves to China (had leakage on all Fel-Pro cam/crank seals I installed within the past six months), but the Moog stuff has been a holdout. Installed these on several gen3/4 Camrys and gen3 ES's (about to install a pair on a '99), and they've been great. Softer ride than stock, unlike the KYBs which start out stiff and ease up after 3-4k miles.

Also the Moogs tend to be not that much more expensive than the "good" Monroes (AKA, not the Econo-matics).

I can get the moogs for $20 more each. Should i cancel the order and reorder those?

I figure i'll chime in as well. I've been doing a lot of research the past couple weeks on struts, mounts, boots, and of course the strut,coil assemblies.

I've found that both the moog and monroe quick struts are not good. Usually give bad results instantly or a couple weeks later.
The Gabriel and SACHS are a bit more expensive and seem better quality but still have some reports of failing prematurely.

The kyb excel-g struts appear to be the best. While the mounts you want to stick with OE but kyb mounts should be fine (Thats what i'll be using)

As for the boots and stoppers just make sure you go OE and not some universal fit.

Anddddd for the springs ACDeclo seems to be the way to go. While Moog is not recommended.
Its also worth noting the ACDeclo springs are $30 - $40 cheaper on Amazon and free shpping.

I plan on re using my springs because these rarely go bad. Now the only problem is with not using the quick struts is you will have to use a spring compressor. So if you are not comfortable using a spring compressor you will have to pay a shop to do it. Not sure how much they would charge.

Don't get me wrong I do like Rock Auto but I mainly use them for a part reference and buy most of my parts off Amazon. The prices are usually cheaper, slighty, and free shipping on orders over $45 or free two day shipping if you have prime. You save a lot on shipping from Amazon compared to Rock Auto. Then of course there is the reviews of the seller and product you can look at for peace of mind.

So if you do go the non quick strut route:

KYB 334246 - $78.78
KYB 334245 - $76.34
KYB 334134 - $60.46
KYB 334133 - $50.19
SACHS 900 155 - $53.64 (On ebay, front left, right boots and bumpers)
SACHS 900095(x2) - $58.96 (Rear boots)
KYB SM5469(x2) - $33.02 (Rear insulators)
KYB SM5441(x2) - $29.74 (Front, lower insulators)
KYB SM5485(x2) - $39.94 (Front, upper insulators)
ACDelco 45H0252 - $56.05 (Front springs)
ACDelco 45H3130 - $58.91 (Rear springs)

Totals at $596.03

So it may be a little bit more expensive, depending at what parts you plan on replacing, especially if you are paying a shop to do it.
But should be much better quality. This doesn't include the mounts which are also a bit pricey. Suspension is apparently quite expensive unfortunately lol....

Most of my research is from Amazon reviews, googling part #'s and reading forums and other reviews from other websites on the Part #'s.
Prices are all from Amazon other than the 1 Ebay part.

Hate to say it, but quick strut setups are the only way I go. I am not removing a spring, messing with spring compressors and I am not paying a shop to do this. No way. Sorry, I am just not. There has to be another way. I don't care if it costs me more for the quick struts, I will pay more for better quality stuff, but I don't want to have to take apart/build my own strut assemblies. Thats a pain in the ass and totally unnecessary in today's day and age IMO.

Don't blame you.

In this case the quick strut way is cheaper, especially with the rebate. (Unless you are only replacing certain parts, such as just the strut and mount for example)

And yes in this day in age there should be quality quick struts for this car, but I don't think there is. If there is, it would be nice for someone to share.

A while back I found a set of 4 "Unity" brand quick struts. They also received mixed reviews but were cheap. I tried finding those again but I couldn't, however I came across these:
The seller appears to have plenty of good reviews of other products.

They also claim "Life Time Warranty" (lol) doubt they would honor it. Definitely can't recommend or not recommend them but there is another option.

In light of all of this, I have cancelled the RA order, until I can get some more info on all of this. Seems to me there should be a good alternative. This may be a good (read lucrative) business opportunity for me to entertain getting into in the near future.

Meanwhile, I came across these:


And after doing some research, I have found that both VW and Audi use SenSen as the supplier for their own struts. I may have to grab a set of these and see if they are up to scratch. I can get them through Autozone, for nearly the same price as amazon, and if they aren't good, I can drop them on their counter for a refund. Buddy is a manager there so it won't be an issue getting it done if they suck. I will also hang onto my OEM's for a while as insurance.

I will let you guys know how it goes. Just for giggles I priced putting together all the pieces from Lexus...

NOT doing that. Like it or not, this car is 15 years old.

Nice, I don't feel like my Es NEEDS struts currently but it's tempting. I think I just avoided a complete transmission crisis so I'll probably wait to see how things pan out for the Lexus. My 98 Camry however is in need of struts. Thanks for sharing.

Hm, I thought the OEM for VAG products was Sachs like BMW and Benz. I hear Sachs aftermarket stuff for our cars is decent (although pricey). I've used one pair of Gabriel ReadyMounts on a gen4 V6 Camry and they rode like crap until failure at six months. Owner replaced them with OEM from the junkyard.

I'd avoid the SenSens. https://www.reddit.com/r/partscounte...ruts_good_bad/

...I chill at the local AutoZone sometimes, and SenSens are always their most expensive option (funny they're so cheap online, but AZ likes to rip people off). The nice guys working there always complain because they get about 75% returns with those, high failure rates.

I second the RA-as-a-parts-reference idea, as I do that as well...shipping kills it. Usually a bit more expensive on Amazon and can't beat Prime shipping and returns.

+1, SenSen seems to be trash as well from what I've read. For some they last a solid 6 months - 1 year, before leaking; others, aren't so lucky. It's a great strut if you're going to sell your car immediately after, lol.