mrblister

I have a 2004 gx470 bought 3 years ago from dealer with extended warranty. During the last three years dealer replaced compressor both air suspension bags, seat bottom heater grid, both cv boots, radiator ,timing belt, water pump both outside mirror control motors , transmission rubber oil line , These were all under warranty . Prior to warranty expiring in july of 2016 I complained about the harsh ride six months ago. They told me there was nothing wrong. I took it in for air bag curtain recall and they tell me the rear shocks are bad they wanted 1900.00 to replace . Of course I raised the issue with warranty. They spoke to management and decided they will supply the parts I just have to pay one hour of labor.

My question is how can I tell if my front shocks need replacing as well . I don't have KDS. Are there any electronic components on the standard gx470 front shocks . Could I replace these my self and if so would I need to use OEM or are there better options . Understand my rear will be all OEM. IO don't want to sacrifice ant ride quality.

Bought it with 86,000 miules I now have 106,000

chiph9

Used to be you could put your weight on a front fender, then hop off. If the car bounced up and down afterwards, the shocks were bad. On an SUV the size & weight of the GX, I'm not sure that would work.

If they're truly gone, they'll bounce as you drive. So you might ask a friend to drive alongside you at 50-70 mph and see if there's any movement.

Chip H.

mrblister

I am figuring that if they were bad like the rears were the dealer would of told me since they thought I was going to be paying for it until I raised the issue reff warranty. I am picking up the truck up tonight I will casually ask them about this

Listers

Last time I had my front wheels off, it looked like there was a connector at the top of the front struts. A google search for Lexus Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) gives you some images like this...
http://www.lexus-int.com/models/GS/i...-a/image14.jpg

ALAN553

The front shocks are part of the ride selector on the console. You have to figure after 12 years they may not be leaking but they aren't working well...if the front end isn't hopping around on bumps it's your call. Everything else has been done..what the heck.

mrblister

Picked it up tonight. Wow what a difference . I now have the lexus ride back. I asked about the fronts and they really had no answer for me.
I will have to research further to determine if mine are good bad or ugly.

Listers

Did you try the height control to make sure that still works?

mrblister

You mean the switch control on the console that raises the truck and then lowers it . That works as it should.

I thought there was a height control under the truck that levels each rear bags height. I remember reading where some members on the forum have placed washers under the bracket to raise the height

chiph9

The height control on the GX affects only the rear (using the airbags). There's also the ride selector (sport..comfort) which changes the shock dampening, and that works on all four corners.

Chip H.

sheikhmax

Sport Comfort Selector really does work for me especially when i am in NYC and hitting boat loads of potholes and other bumps. When i set it to Comfort it makes a big difference and i go over the pot holes and bumps smoothly... So i really like it.

BTW there are cheaper ways to repair broken auto leveling suspension setup and all the parts are available on Roack Auto except the original shocks which have dampening even those and can found at a much better rate on ebay.... My $.02

mrblister

How can I check to see if the comfort selector works on the fronts. The fronts have a actuator on the top of them that is supposed to control dampening . The rears do have a wiring harness on them as part of the shock assemble

sheikhmax

If it really works than you will feel the ride will get really stiff in the sport mode. At least this is the case with my 08. Once you set it to Comfort it will get a little bouncy but softer and you will not feel the pot hole / bump the way you will feel in the sport mode which is really harsh... That's the layman way to check but not sure how can you check the actuator etc...

chiph9

It's a noticeable difference. I stay in comfort mode until I get on the highway - I prefer a firmer shock when at high speed -- SH-130 near me has a 85 mph limit

Chip H.

gxman1

mrblister,

The rear shocks are very expensive you lucked out. Front both are $300 -+ in parts total. Here is the link from Lexus dealer OEM, I bought many parts from these guys. If I were you I would change the front as well and keep it stock. If you look at the picture of front shock you wont see the actuator, since you will use your old connection. When I pulled mine out last week, it looked good from outside, untill I pulled it out and it extended completely and you can see the oil and also, you will notice from top threaded area there is a hole and oil leakes from there. The rear is easy 20 minute job and you dont even have to take off the wheel if there is no lift or jack.

The front shock/strut are pain, you have to drop the lower control arm one side, decompress the spring. Dont let anyone do this unless they know how to remove the actuator from top of the shock, its allen key and most people end up cracking the top shock electronic part because the rear screw is hard to get to, all they have to do is to remove 1 front allen screw twist the part to front and remove the other screw.

Here is a good video describing the front shocks, it is almost like GX, the only part is not covered in this video is on the top of the shock is the electronic assembly.





FRONT SHOCK PRICE
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEXUS-OEM-FACTORY-FRONT-SHOCK-2003-2009-GX470-48510-60121-x1-/252574219722?fits=Model%3AGX470&hash=item3ace98bdca:g:-YAAAOSwV0RXvxjP&vxp=mtr

mrblister

Thanks for the info. I will ;look into getting this done The fronts as the backs were original to the truck so I assume since the backs were so bad the fronts are probably just as bad