After planning for about 3 weeks, the car finally goes in at 12:30 to get all 4 struts by a member on the forums mechanic for a total of $490 dollars. 250 for all the labor and 240 for the parts. I will give you all an update when i get the car back in a few days



So i have 138k miles on my car, and was planing on replacing my shocks, well my mechanic said for my situation and budget, i only need to replace the front 2 shocks. I am replacing them with monroe sensa tracs and paying 250 for everything. My question is am i ok with just replacing the fronts, and do i need mounts? Also before anyone says i should get coilovers, i just want a decent ride. Anything is better then the shocks i have on now. I don't want a car that handles like its on rails, i just want a nice daily driver suitable for the pothole ridden roads of western new york. Any other opinions besides getting coilovers



After

 

PlatES300 answered this similar question on another thread, I've attached the link.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...72-struts.html

Good luck bro.

 

138k is pretty high mileage for stock suspension so you should just go ahead and replace all 4 while you're at it. A new set (4 shocks) of kyb gr2's will run 230 on amazon without shipping. mounts maybe another 150 to 200 depending on where you get them. For 250 per your mechanic, are you getting mounts as well or just shocks? And I'm assuming this is also including labor? I'm a believer in just saving up and getting everything done all at once - gives me peace of mind when I'm driving my car.

 

I wish i could get the KYB's but my budget is allowing for monroes since i am getting a really good deal for them. Its strange because bmw guys like them from what i saw, but lexus guys dont. I will see if the mechanic sees if the mounts need to be replaced or not

 

if you can only replace the 2 front shocks, then I still would go with kyb. you would end up spending about 120 on shocks alone. I don't know how much your mechanic would charge for labor but it definitely should be under 250 not including mounts.

 

i am buying the struts myself through a friend who has an account with napa for discounted parts. My mechanic is charging 200 to change everything for me without parts, not 250 my mistake. He said he needs some compressor or somehting to switch over the springs? Also what is wrong with monroes

 

nothing wrong with monroes, just that I've only had KYB and Tokico shocks on my car. 200 is kind of high just to switch out the front struts alone. That's what I paid a while back to change all 4 shocks/springs out before I learned how to do it by myself. And yes you need a spring compressor when you change the struts, so if he doesn't have that, then he will have to rent it, which is relatively cheap.

 

200 is high? ive looked around and it seems to be a bit below average. I guess i depends on the market. So i will need 4 struts, 4 mounts? and anyhting else?

 

believe that should be it. 2 new front shocks and 2 new mounts if you're on a budget.

 

If i replace just the front two, i should still have a noticable difference correct?

 

Also, when can you tell when you need to replace the control arms

 

Just look at the bushings. If they're cracked, falling apart, or brittle, it's time to replace them. with your car in the air, check for toe-play in the wheel (if it has any side to side movement with the wheel locked). If so, tie rod ends are in order. But no fear, those are like, $15 each on ebay.

 

odds are you won't need to replace the control arms. those cost a hefty 200 for each side. you're better off buying the bushings and pressing them in or having a mechanic press them in for you. bushings will run you less than 20 bucks total.

 

Thank you, sorry for all the questions, i just want to figure out everything possible before i get it down. Also when i am driving, my steering wheel vibrates and at even higher speeds it seems as if the car is drifting from side to side, as if the steering wheel loses feel? Could this be due to just worn shocks and unbalanced tires?

 

Turns out the same guy who parts out sc's and gs's on these forums is local to me and does service on lexus. He is charging me $240 for parts (not including mounts) and $125 front $125 back to switch them out. Seem like a good deal?