Please help, just found out my baby, 2006 GS 300 awd will need front struts. I love driving this car but as a 67 year old senior (as a younger man my car of choice was the 911 and I'd choose the 300 gs head to head) I am quickly reaching my limits in repair costs. I've read somewhere that the front struts from 2006 IS 350awd parts # 551126 and #551127 will bolt right up with no problem to my GS 300awd. Can anybody shed some light on this?

 

Please help, just found out my baby, 2006 GS 300 awd with 90k will need front struts. I love driving this car but as a 67 year old senior (as a younger man my car of choice was the 911 and I'd choose the 300 gs head to head) I am quickly reaching my limits in repair costs. I've read somewhere that the front struts from 2006 IS 350awd parts # 551126 and #551127 will bolt right up with no problem to my GS 300awd. I saw a new set on eBay Can anybody shed some light on this?

 

I see part numbers 551106 (R) and 551107 (L) on Rock Auto for Kyb for $87 each. 551131 and 551130 seem to be par numbers on rock auto for IS. Have you tried using the 'see if it fits' feature on ebay. I did and it says it doesnt fit.

 

I was in this dilemma, apparently the IS AWD struts will fit, but for like $10 more, I just bought OEM struts from MyLparts.com. There is also a 5-10% discount floating (CL5 I think) and I just figured I'd go that route.

 

I paid $92 each delivered to my door for the correct GS350AWD strut direct from Lexus MyLparts.com a few years ago. FYI the front AWD strut is NOT the same strut/spring as RWD cars and needs a HD professional spring compressor. Not an easy job on the AWD car, and I've replaced hundreds of struts on other cars.

 

Why does it need a special spring compressor? Why can't you get away with the regular spring compressors from harbour freight that you turn with a ratchet?

The front struts on my GS350 RWD are starting to float/bounce a bit on the highway.

 

AWD are RWD are NOT the same.

..

 

I replaced all 4 struts on my 08 last week. As mine is awd, fronts I had to get from mylparts but rears were aftermarket KYB from Rockauto.
For all 4 I compressed the springs with a rental tool from autozone. And to be honest, it wasn't the hardest part of the job. I did have to align the the components perfectly while putting the new strut together with new mounts and old springs. Since the strut does not have bearing, once reassembled would not turn at all. Couple of times I was little bit off and had to mount the compressors while the new struts were attached by the top bolt. Easing the tension on the spring let me realign the bottom a little bit.

 

Interesting..
So, to remove the struts you need to compress the springs while the struts are still installed and then remove them? I thought you could jack the car then jack up the bottom of the strut to remove pressure on the strut and spring, then remove the strut, right?

 

You do not need to compress the spring for removal. At least I did not have to and mine is AWD. The strut does have a hook type extension that bends around the axle and attaches to lower control arm. After removing all the fasteners, I just banged it out with a mallet. And the outer tie rod does get in the way and have to be removed from knuckle and moved aside.

You may have to raise or lower the lower control arm to detach the strut from it. For me putting the first strut back was more challenging as I did not align the strut mount and bottom part of the strut right. After loosly attaching the top, I realizrd my bottom hook type was little twisted and would not go back into the control arm. I ended up copressing the spring while the top still attached and was able to twist bottom to correct alignment. I did learn my lesson and on driver side I used a marker to draw a line from bottom to top of the strut prior to disassemble and adhered it when putting new one back together.

That is how I ended up completing my installation. I am sure there are much better ways. It worked for me and I am happy with it.

 

I went the route of installing the KYB IS350 AWD front struts on my GS300 AWD and although the weights of the vehicle were close the valving just didn't seem right. I ended up ordering the Lexus struts 3 months later and they felt better. If you look around you can find the Lexus part for around $10-$20 more and is worth the small difference in price. I also installed mine using the Autozone DIY spring compressor.

 

Just did on my AWD, not too bad but spring compress was a bit tricky... be careful

 

Why can't I find strut assembly with springs for an 2006 gs300 AWD? I've looked everywhere it seems.