gmoney94

Hi everyone -

My LS is an 06 with 105K and it's been a super car since I bought it two years ago with 59k. Over the past year or so, I have noticed a deterioration in the cars handling, especially over 45mph (curves especially - the car really sways and is harder to control), and the ride does not feel as well-damped over common road features (pot holes, expansion joints, etc.). I had the car inspected by my local mechanic, and they said that everything (springs and struts) was within tolerance and not leaking, and they recommended no service. I was ready to have some suspension work done, but they convinced me that it didn't need it and I was just not used to the softer ride of the LS. I'm not convinced as I've had previous LS' that have (in my memory) been far more controlled and damped.

I'm ready to buy front/rear struts for the car, preferably the Sport models, but I don't want to swap out parts that don't need to be changed either. Could folks recommend a definitive strut test for our vehicles?

Thanks!

05ls430518

iTrader: (1)

There is no tolerance or way to check if struts are bad, if they are leaking oil they are bad.

gmoney94

Thanks - are the symptoms I described (lack of control, etc..) sound like bad struts or something else?

Bocatrip

It's crazy to throw away money on strut replacements unless you know for certain they are bad. I had to replace my front struts at around 120,000 miles mainly because of an annoying noise. If they are not leaking, I'd look for other causes. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

Johnhav430

I would have an indie drive it, and lift it. I know when I got my car, Lexus said I needed new struts, and were willing to do them for only $1,800. I thought well that is a really cheap price, but I also hate to replace them unnecessarily (indie said huh? you don't need them, and I'm being sarcastic on the price, a BMW could get top of the line Bilstein coilovers for that much).

I believe our cars are susceptible to needing sway bar end links, though mine were fine at 86k....

p.s. where I live, PA, leaking shocks/struts is a safety inspection fail, torn boots are not...

Bsavage

gmoney94

Great question, I'd love to know the answer to this as well.

IMXCITD

iTrader: (1)

I was going to suggest checking sway bars, bushings, end links, ball joints etc

bradland

Based on your description I would look at sway bar bushings and end links. In the grand scheme of a 430's rather sophisticated front end design these are also the least expensive and easiest to replace. Next on the list would be lower ball joints, tie rods, and possibly lower control arm bushings. Most ppl don't know these parts exist and know nothing about what they do so when the front end doesn't feel right everyone assumes it's a strut problem...

gmoney94

Thanks a million - I don't have experience replacing the pieces you mentioned, but I'll take it to my guy and have him take a look.

05ls430518

iTrader: (1)

Also another sign of bad struts is tire wear on the outside of the tire. Agree with sway bar bushings and endlinks if they were bad the car would be kinda terrifying to drive.

lorenr

iTrader: (1)

Bradland is correct. There are a lot of bushings, end links, control arm parts and related inserts that can wear. They all can affect driving. Many of the replacement parts are as good or better than OEM.

That said and since I can't stand it unless I do my own work, I do the whole damn thing. I've found that once I get into it, I replace everything. Seems that every time I decide to "cheap out", I don't find the cheap part.

Would love it if someone made a complete bushing and strut kit.

Loren

BCT

If this is my car, I would do these in the following order:
- Replaced front and rear sway bar bushings.
- Replaced front and rear end links.
- Replaced front and rear struts.

The first two are the cheapest and easiest, can be done in couple hours. You can see if that fixed the problem. I think it will fix some, especially handling around the curve. However, your description about handling over pot holes and road irregularities, that points to struts. I have not replace struts in LS but have done it in other cars. It is more involved but doable for DIYer.

I agree with the idea that if the struts are leaking they are definitely bad. Having said that I also know that not all bad struts are leaking. Your car (06 with 105K) I assume still has original struts, is 12 yr and over 100K miles. That is a long time without replacing struts. I have had other cars where the struts is not leaking but when I change the struts the difference is dramatic.

I would also check lower control arm bushings. On mine with 125K miles, the fluid filled bushings are not leaking yet but they have cracks, so they will be replaced this coming weekend. These also should be pretty easy to do.

rkw77080

Your description of the "deterioration" appears to focus on problems with taking curves, such as under-steer (front of car is sliding away from the curve), over-steer (rear of car is sliding away from the curve), body-roll (top of the car is tilting away from the curve), etc. These problems can be addressed by installing stiffer anti-roll sway bar(s). I replaced my front and rear sway bars with the Ultra Racing products (available on eBay). They helped tremendously on keeping the car in control when taking curves fast.

ls430w140

I highly doubt that your struts are bad at this mileage.

I suggest looking at your tires first.

LS430 quality of ride highly depends also on proper wheel alignment, proper torque of all bushings (or retorque after considerable mileage to ensure tight connection), wheel balancing, and making sure LCA bushings dont have cracks in the rubber. These are the first things to consider based on my experience.