Hi all hope this makes some sense…this is my first time doing this type of work extensively and I have no formal training.

I recently completed refreshing all front suspension on my 1995 LS400. I went OEM for replacement shock absorbers (and everything else), keeping the original coil springs. I ordered replacement OEM “insulators” and mounts although with the mounts being metal I wonder if I actually needed to do that…

Anyway … the replacement from Lexus for the shock absorbers (p/n 4851059106) was identical to my factory originals EXCEPT for some reason the “clocking” of the little platform where the bottom of the coil spring ultimately rests appears to be off by at least I don’t know, 10 or 20 degrees, vs my factory originals. I.e the clocking of the final “dip” in the platform signaling where the end tip of the coil spring rests. I thought this was a bit strange but otherwise they are identical.

I have had a hell of a time for some reason getting the precise right orientation so that when I decompress the spring on the new shock absorber and mount, the bushing at the bottom of the shock absorber through which the bolt goes to mount it is such that the top three bolts that mount up into the engine bay are also properly oriented. From what I can tell once you decompress the spring you are locked in as far as that relative orientation of the three top bolts and the bottom bushing through which the bottom mounting bolt runs?

For now what I did is kind of force it into place the few degrees that it is off, using a pipe wrench to just twist the base of the strut very slightly a few degrees so I could get the bolt through, as I was just exhausted and want to be done with it, the car rides perfectly with no noises, but I am worried about premature wear of the bushing at the base of the shock absorber since I kind of had to “twist” it a few degrees into place at the base of the shock absorber, so I think I want to pull the shocks out and try again, but just wondering, if this rambling has made sense, does anyone have good technique for “clocking” shock absorbers for these cars to ensure exact correct orientation between base of shock absorber and bolts in the top mount? It seems based on some googling and YouTube that some cars have setups where the top mount can actually rotate? But that is definitely not the case for these. I was just trying to line it up visually while compressing / decompressing the spring and installing the mount, and if the answer is I just need to do a better job visually, I will just be trying again.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts

 

That's not a Lexus part number where did you get it? When I punch it into a few online vendors it does show up however. I don't see why it matters how the spring is clocked into the base of the strut since the top part of the coil is flat, in other words assemble the strut so the mount bolts align the same way relative to the bottom, as per the original assembly.

Forcing the coil to rotate doesn't seem like a good idea to me but maybe the assembly will naturally find equilibrium.

 

The only way I've ever been able to re-seat a spring a line up the strut mount is exactly as you said - compress the spring, line it up with the strut, line up the strut mount, decompress the spring to finalize its position

 

Ok thanks. I got it from Bell Lexus in Scottsdale where I order by mail a lot of my parts with no issue. I ordered through their parts website and checked fitment before ordering using that site…and I feel like there isn’t a fundamental flaw with the fitment because ultimately it does go in and the car rides great.

Like you both said I am trying to just line everything up visually before decompressing the spring, I am just having a hell of a time getting it right so wanted to check if anyone has a system. Like how you mark camber bolts before changing out arms (obviously still getting it aligned). I guess I need to just keep trying.

 

It almost sounds as if the manufacturer couldn't align the spring fully either, so they sent it to you with the best they could do

I wonder if your original springs would sit properly in the strut. Maybe the issue is with the spring itself, because it sounds like you are doing everything correctly

 

Sorry I probably wasn’t clear in my rambling. I am re- using and transplanting the original coil spring. I am just replacing: shock absorber, strut mount and “insulator” that sits between coil and mount (I could not find exact replacement OEM bump stop, but the original bump stops still seem ok and have full integrity.)

This picture further below doesn’t show the exact problem but one curiosity has been for the replacement shock absorber on the right (original assembly on left) the little “platform” halfway up is basically “clocked” differently relative to the bushing at the bottom, as far as where the “divot” in the platform is for the tail end of the bottom of the coil. I actually don’t even know if this is the source of my problem- what I am dealing with may be required regardless

Either today or this weekend I’m going to re try, as I have an idea of maybe I can confirm exact orientation of everything and then use vice grips to lock things in place while I decompress the spring, idk. It’s funny I cruised through rest of front suspension relatively speaking but this turned out to be my biggest issue. Thankfully the shocks I am learning seem one of the easiest pieces to take out and reinstall. It is just that for whatever reason getting this clocking correct is not idiot proof and you really need to get it right on the money to not have to force the shock back in. There could be some simple trick I’m not doing but I’m just teaching myself all this from the internet so I don’t have an experienced mechanic around. I will post an update.

 

When you bolt the top hat to the car you want the bushing on the bottom to line up with the bracket in the control arm. If its off by more than a few degrees you probably want to re compress the spring and rotate it a little. If you force it then the spring will be in twisting tension which you don't want. The orientation of the perch on the strut shouldn't matter because the top mount can be rotated anywhere you need it to be. The upper rubber spring seat/boot have indents where they line up with the mounting studs in the top mount, but you can rotate the spring anywhere you need to beneath the rubber seat. Hopefully that makes sense.

Are you re-using the upper rubber boot/spring seat? If you are its going to be hard to rotate where you need because the spring will have "found its home" in the rubber making an impression that isn't there when new.

 

Thank you that all makes sense. Going to give proper reinstall a try later today or tomorrow. Hopefully will be able to close the loop here after that with some success. I am eager to complete this, get car aligned and put front suspension behind me so I can move to valve cover gaskets.

I am only re-using the bump stops. Everything else new. And yes I noticed (a) how “insulator” has indents to match up with three bolts on mount and (b) the coil spring made a nice indentation on the old insulator. Thanks!

 

Ok it’s done / re-done. No real magic except that at least for the OEM parts I received, nothing about the shocks are idiot proof as far as when you put the upper mounts on, you have to make sure they are carefully clocked with bottom bushing of the shock absorber. One of the nuts on the mount needs to be up towards you when the shock is laid such that the bolt holes for the bottom shock bushing face left and right, but what I noticed is the bolt needs to be tweaked just a little to one side, ie not perfectly perpendicular, anyway for whatever reason I found this to be the trickiest part of the front suspension, everything else was fairly straightforward and didn’t involve any clocking except match marks on cam bolts obviously, and anyway I’m going to get an alignment. Lexus wants $269 plus tax for an alignment I guess welcome to 2025. Im sure I’m just missing some technique that the pros use but at least it’s over after a lot of grunting and swearing. Valve cover gaskets next…