rehans890

thanks, I think I just found the right kit. How much did labor cost you? Is this something that should be taken to the dealer or can I just bring in the parts to a local shop and have them do it?

dildil

local shop can do it

what kit are u going with ?

i only paid 120 labor but that was way 2 cheap

200 or around there is fair

dtaylor

I would not assume 1 hour for everything. I would expect to pay between 4-5 hours labor.

My son did mine and didn't charge me (he's good to me that way) but it was about a 4 hour job. Some here claim the old bags just fall out, and the places that sell us the parts want us to know the parts fit, so often we interpret it like it's as simple as changing a flat (which I bet takes most of us an hour or more). Trust me it is not that simple. 4-5 hours labor is very fair IMHO.

I'm about 3 weeks into the conversion and very glad I did it. My biggest issue now is figuring out what to do with the space that will be vacated on the console when I remove the switches.

Hope this helps.

rehans890

It definitely does help! Thank you! I hope I can fall somewhere in between 1 and 4 hours of labor to Keep costs low haha

kabbott

My bounciness was from the bags being deflated and every seam or ripple in the road being magnified. It was not drivable when the bags deflated.
I looked at for a couple of weeks and talked with Strutmasters several times before deciding on Arnott springs. I didn't see the need for the new shocks or the brackets that came with Strutmasters kit and a dealer had/has the Arnotts on eBay with no shipping charge so the springs with the dampener caps alone were cheaper by about $100 than getting the Strutmaster set, BUT, keep in mind, I decided to not change the shocks or any other equipment and only remove/replace the air bags. The ride is virtuously the same (maybe a tad bit softer) than the original airbag. In my case (never intending to do off roading with radical stresses and flexes) there is no need for mounting plates like in some kits. The way the Lexus is made, the springs are held in place and when you put these Arnott springs in place they are not going anywhere.

jasanders

I am getting ready to do the coil conversion as my GX is experiencing the same thing you are talking about. It will bounce all over the place in the rear.

This is caused by a leak in the air bags. When you go to get in your GX after it sitting for a while, is the back sagging? If I leave mine in the normal height position when I turn my car off and then come back about 1 hour later, it will be completely sagged in the rear. If I leave it in the high position it stays.

I almost have all my parts together for the rear coil conversion. Not sure what your budget is like. I am getting a coil conversion kit from SSO...... http://www.southernstyleoffroad.com/...onversion-kit/. I already purchased rear ICON springs http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/...nner_p_66.html . While I am at it I am just replacing the rear shocks as well because mine is a 2003 and they are definitely passed their life. I bought ICON 2.0 rear shocks http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/...nner_p_77.html .

I do a little bit of offroading, but not too much as I have 2 small kids and don't have the time right now. So the 2.0's should work perfect for me. If I used it more offroad I would have got the 2.5's with remote resi's.

I will be replacing the front shocks with some lifted ones next, but I am trying to do little by little.

There are much cheaper options out there for springs I'm sure, but I wanted to get some good quality ones.

Send me a PM and I will set you up with a good dealer that gave me unbeatable prices on the springs and shocks.

jasanders

Dtaylor, see this link for a replacement bin for the height control switches. I was looking at the same problem and I found this in one of the forums.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5883960040-G...3D182382064079

Matsui

It seems the rear coils you are getting will give a 2" lift. How are you planning to level out with the front? Why did you decide to go with icon coils and shocks compared to others? Are they original lexus ride quality, or stiffer? I plan on doing a conversion sometime in future as well and your list seems interesting so I might consider going this route. What I care about is a soft lexus ride so I don't feel all imperfections on the road when driving - currently i have the original lexus springs @145k miles now but recently replaced front and rear shocks with Billstein 5100. The front height is set at the 1st perch so it is perfectly leveled so i love its stance, but the ride is not as smooth as I like because i can feel the road bumps. When I do a conversion what I would really look for is smooth/comfortable ride on the road and leveled front/rear. Already starting to do my research so this info is very helpful.

jasanders

I got the 2" springs because I plan on getting a lifted front coilover as well. I have not done the rear coil conversion yet, so I cannot say how the ICON's ride. I will be doing it in a few weeks, if I can tolerate the bumpy *** ride that much longer.
Also with the SSO rear conversion kit I am purchasing, it comes with (4) 1/4" spacers so I may end up using those and getting a higher rear lift.

So you still have the air bags in?

For the front I am looking at either Toytec Boss coilovers or the ICON 2.0 coilovers. Both bolt right in as they come preassembled and both are adjustable up to 3" of lift.

I also went ahead while I have a little extra money and bought some replacement upper control arms to help with the ride quality. Once you lift your vehicle it becomes harder on the factory UCA's to keep the same quality ride. These are the UCA's I purchased: http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/...460_p_196.html

I got a really good deal on them. Let me know if you want some contact details for the guy I use.

I wish I had more time and money because I would love to do all kinds of upgrades!

deeken

If anyone could post some pics or instructions on how to properly remove the old airbags & connectors and install the new ones that would be Super helpful and really appreciated. I've done shock replacements before on my Accord but this car is a different animal.

dtaylor

Thank you for the input, and I don't doubt this was a possible source of the previous issue I had. However, since it is clear that other possibilities would always loom present, I decided to cut to the chase and go with coils and new shocks. I used the Strutmasters kit. VERY happy with my decision. When I get time I'll test the compressor and remove it if it's good and offer it up for sale here.

For any of you doing the conversion, I highly recommend the Strutmasters kit. I ordered it and had it in hand in less than 48 hours. Great service, great price, great product. Can't do better than that.

dildil

do u have pics of ur shocks?

i believe they went cheap on me and sent me cheaper shocks as they didnt say ride glide on them

jasanders

I am going with good quality products for this coil conversion as I do not want to short myself on something that will affect the ride quality of my GX. Thats why I went with ICON coils. I got one with a 2" lift because I plan on lifting the front as well. I have heard from numerous GX owners on the GXOR facebook page that the Toytec Superflex is also another good coil option.

I have a question regarding the coil conversion kit itself..............

There are kits out there that only include the lower isolators. I have been doing research and it seems worth the extra money to also get the upper isolators which help provide an extra cushion and noise buffering. Anyone have any experience with these?

jasanders

Finished the rear coil conversion this past Saturday. I went with the Southern Style Offroad conversion kit, ICON 2" coils, and ICON 2.0 rear shocks. The ride is sooooooooo much better than before with the leaky bags.

I went with a 2" lift because I plan on lifting the front as well.

I don't understand how some of you guys did this conversion with that strutmasters or arnott kit. It looks like you all just have your coil spring sitting on the metal of the axle and just metal on metal of the top of the coil spring resting underneath the frame. These coil springs were not made to just rest on the metal of the axle and frame. You should have upper and lower spring isolators holding the coil in place. These isolators not only help to hold the spring, but they provide secondary shock absorption. It looks like those cheaper conversion kits do not give you either isolator which may come back to bite some of you in the butt as you may not experience as good a ride quality as you should. Or you can end up getting a metal on metal rub which creates a horrible noise.

For those of you who have used either the arnott or the strutmasters kit, how is your ride quality holding up?

NTH

Nice, thanks for the pictures. You have any more pics of the upper isolator in place?