I took my 2004 ls430 into the dealer yesterday to have some things looked over and received news that my front driver air strut is toast.

My first question is, is it worth changing just the one strut? I am under the impression that if one goes, the others are on there way out too. I have done some research and have found that they sell a number of aftermarket alternatives to the OEM replacement.

My second question is are there any 'direct bolt in' aftermarket alternatives? I also thought about ditching the whole air ride system and switching over to coilovers but I'm worried the ride of the car will be terrible if I do this. I have had other cars on coilovers and I really don't want to ride in my ls430 and feel like I'm in a sports car.

My third question is how do coilovers compare to the air ride system? My ls430 is a 2004 ul model with 77,8xx miles on it. Thanks in advance for all the help.

 

Have it fixed and continue to enjoy the car.

 

Thanks for the reply jayclapp. Considering that I am going to invest a substantial amount of money into the car, I am looking for opinions as to what would work best. I'm well aware what fixing the car requires and I am exploring my options.

 

Coilovers on an ls430 can ride very nicely IMO
but as far as i'm aware, there is not aftermarket direct bolt on replacements for air.
An aftermarket setup will require management as well.
That being said a full aftermarket air set up is cheaper than oem and more adjustable.
My .02

 

It all depends on the setup. If you go top line aftermarket then OEM is cheaper. I ditched my OEM air in favor of aftermarket even though my OEM system was still working fine. I can say its a big improvement as far as adjust ability and rides as good as stock.

 

The problem replacing the air strut is that it costs around $1600 each. With one already gone, how long will it be before another goes out.

I replaced my air suspension with springs and shocks. I had the whole car converted for around the price of 1 air strut.

 

I would switch to oem springs and shocks if you don't wanna go low.

 

I went with Tanabe springs which lowers 1-1.5 inches. It closes that wheel gap nicely without the rough feeling.

 

Alternative. Buy an used one from someone who swapped out to coilover or another air setup (like HiloDB above).

Most people gives up after one goes bad so there are many that are selling the 3 remaining good ones, or coilover as suggested. Just depends on if you want the factory good or a mod.

 

For $1600... i would wait till the others go out lol...

 

Thanks to everyone for the tips and opinions.

 

Wow that is a major part to go out in under 100k miles!!!