Suneet

Hey guys,

Well I'm installing my new Tokico struts. Right now I'm doing the front struts. Taking the struts out wasnt an issue, but dealing with the springs definitely is not fun. My fingers hurt so much from those damn spring compressors.

Anyway, I ran into an issue. When taking the spring off the stock strut (that is now 13 years old), the rubber piece called the spring bumper broke!

Here are some pictures. Now the problem is it wont stay in place on the new strut. Do I need to get this thing replaced? And I should prpobably buy two becuase if those one came off in pieces the other one probably will too.

Suneet

Here's where it SHOULD sit on the shock.

Suneet

This is the piece that broke off..

Suneet

See it doesnt stay where it should. The spring bumper falls down easily.

Suneet

Here's what my 13 yr old spring looks like. I'm not going to change this now becuase I plan to just go with a full coilover setup later. I just needed to get rid of my shocks becuase the ride is terrible now.

Getting the spring on the new shock is kind of a PITA. The spring compressors are super annoying and I can't get the suspension support unit back ontop of the spring/strut combo becuase the spring compressors are in the way. So I think I'm going to have to uncompress the spring and compress it again

Got any tips guys? Thanks

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

Sping Bumper
Part No.4833150030
Right Side: $21.43
Left Side: $21.43

Suneet

Lexus parts guy said its not worth replacing. Its just there to keep the strut from bottoming out, and as long as its not cracked in half, it should be fine.

Straight6

iTrader: (2)

i wouldn't worry too much about the bump stops.. they're just there to prevent bottoming out of the strut.. unless you put lowering springs and overload the car.. i wouldn't worry bout it..just go ahead and install the old one.. did your new struts come with bump stops? i think some manufacturers include them.. as far as the spring compressors.. it would make it easier if you use an air compressor.. they can be a real pain in the a$$.. also.. take your time and makre sure you compress the spring evenly.. you can get serious hurt if one of the compressors pop out..
hope that helps

Suneet

Thanks man. The new struts didnt come with new stops, but thats fine, ill use theo ld oens. I think Im going to have to re do the spring compressing becuase its not compressed evenly and so its kind of crooked. I'll definitely be more careful.

BC-GS430

Yeah the spring compressors are a PITA, if you have a strong enough drill you could just buy an adaptor that fits. Trust me that saved me plenty of time and elbow grease.

Suneet

Allright well I got the springs mounted on the struts at my wheel works but now I can't get one of the struts to properly mount on the car. It mounts but the bolt at th ebottom that connects the strut to the axle is just slightly off so that I can't get the bolt through.

Suneet

Allright! Finally got the damn shocks on. I ended up compressing that spring again, realigning the shock and the spring, and then uncompressing it and then when I installed it again, it lined up perfectly.

I learned how to use the damn spring compressors properly, and I learned a lot.

Suneet

Allright, finally got the shocks completely installed, and went for a test drive. The front end of the car feels SO MUCH better. Wow, my 13 year old shocks were SO WORN! The car feels very strange right now since the rears are still very worn. I'm going to try and replace those on Sunday. Body roll right now is a lot more pronouced since the front and back handle dramatically different. Special thanks to Annant (Pure Drifter) for moral support, as well as calling a few places and a lot of advice Thanks to everyone else who posted here also. Finally did my first suspension mod.. phew!

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

Good job man, glad to see it works.

as for the "moral support", i dont think it was as much moral support as it was reminding you that you dont wanna muck up your baby

be careful with that car until u change the rear shocks, the ballance while turning will be drastically different by both the mismatched shocks and hte feeling of the new ones.

oh, and make sure to lemme know when u plan on tackling those rears so im awake and online if u need any more help.

glenmore

iTrader: (1)

PureDrifter, Suneet,

I'm glad I found this thread as I think it will save me some $$.

I am getting ready for this repair. I've bought the shocks and the shock mounts. I was getting ready to buy the bumpers and the spring insulators that might need replacing. Good to hear that I might be able to just reuse the bumpers. I did the shocks on my Mercedes and the bumpers were dirty but reusable. Interestingly, the Mercedes only has the 2 front shock mounts versus the 4 in the Lexus.

What is everybodies experience with changing out the spring insulators? From the pictures, they look like a combination spring pad and rubber boot. These run about $30 each!

Thanks,

glenmore
1990 LS400
1991 300CE
200 C280