Has anyone out their replaced the shocks on their SC300/400? I have a '94 SC400 with 210K miles and I have a couple of torn spring insulators (bellows) and a couple of the shocks leaking. According to the shop manual, the job looks straighforward enough, except for maybe using the spring compressor to actually remove the shock from the assembly. I plan on using KYB GR-2 shocks, as they appear to be the closest match to stock without the really high price. I'd like to know from the DIYers out there if there were any "gotchas" when they did this project as well as any other thoughts ...

Thanks in advance!

 

not too hard, much better with 2 persons, but i would never do it again ever

the front is harder than the rears i think (although other members may say otherwise). the front has a foot long bolt that is a ***** to remove, other than that simple enough

 

a foot long???

I don't recall any that size front or rear...

there is a DIY listed here somewhere... it is quite easy... it can be done in about 2-2.5 hours and I didn't have anything special... spring compressor needed if reusing stock stuff, not needed for aftermarket springs...

 

well maybe i did exaggerate it a bit, but it is pretty long...it's the thing that's holding the upper control arms? don't remember, did this over a year ago and do not want to remember

 

you don't have to remove the upper control arms to replace the shocks...

 

It's not that hard if you know what bolts to take out.

After doing it a few times, you just find shortcuts, if there is any. I use to take 4 hours for a coilover install on a 2nd gen GS when I first started out. Now I can cut it down to just a bit under an hour. No need to remove any control arm at all..

 

Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to check with my Lexus repair shop tomorrow to get prices for the the insulators and bumpers. I found the shocks for just under $60.00 each, which seems like a good price. I'm still looking for the best place to buy OEM parts. Lexuspartsonline.com was where I was looking to get the insulators and bumpers from, depending on the price I get from my local guy ...

 

Well I ordered the KYB GR-2 shocks online and got the spring insulators and bumpers from my local Lexus repair shop. But they said since I've been hearing really loud rattling sounds these days (left side, now both front and rear), more than likely I need to replace the shock mounts. That would be another $460.00 for all 4 using OEM from them. I can get Monroe mounts for about $150.00 total from shockwarehouse. Has anyone used these? I'm sure they're not as good as original, but considering how many miles I have on my car, age, etc, it makes sense to get the aftermarket ones. Any thoughts?

Thanks!!!!!