Clutchless

It would be prudent to replace the front strut mount bearings at the same time as they are a wear item and relatively inexpensive and easy to replace when doing the struts.

These are item 10 in this link https://www.mylparts.com/auto-parts/...omponents-scat

XF40FSPORT

Clutchless...once again, thank you for the tip!

I cancelled order & added front strut bearings.

MellonC00

do spring bumpers wear out also?

Clutchless

I have not seen it but if you have a lot of mileage it may be a good idea to replace the spring insulators seen as part 3 in the link. I do not think the strut bumpers seen as part 7 in the link will wear out, they are not in use that much. If any of these parts appear damaged during the strut removal they should be replaced.


. https://www.mylparts.com/auto-parts/...omponents-scat

XF40FSPORT

Quick update...

Sachs sports struts are backordered until the end of next month.

According to the parts rep, they're made to order.

I'll update in a month when everything is installed.

paperthin

In my search I could NOT locate a distributor up here in Canada. So I went with KYB all around.

XF40FSPORT

How many km did your struts & shocks have when you changed them?

Also, do you notice a considerable difference in ride quality?

paperthin

212k kms.....way too long. huge difference and improvement in the rears audibly and performance. On the front the left front was busted so it was obviously no performing well, but it stiffended up nicely.

XF40FSPORT

I have about the same mileage too, but my struts & shocks are still functional. I've also never had to replace rear shocks due to a leak, or any malfunction for that matter.

Rock auto recently received a small batch of Sachs sport struts, so I quickly placed an order. Hopefully they are in fact in stock. Fingers crossed.

XF40FSPORT

I completed the front struts, rear shocks & tire change about a month ago now & i'm content w/ my decision.

Here's what I went with:

Front Struts: Sachs Sport Struts
Front Strut Mount Bearings: OEM
Rear Shocks: OEM Sport Shocks
Yokohama YK740 GTX: 245/55/19

I had around 122,000 original miles when I changed out the equipment. I could tell the suspension was a little "floaty", but still functional. Given the amount of miles, and factoring in that I'll keep my RX for another 4-5 years, I decided to make everything fresh again.

Prior to acquiring my RX from the wife, my background in vehicles for the prior 16 yrs was import tuning. Both my Civic & TL was manual transmission w/ lowered suspension.

WIth that said, the ride on my RX is definitely more firm, but still comfortable. I personally like getting the feedback from the road when driving. It makes me feel more in control, in the event of sudden turns.

The most notable difference I felt is in the braking. New suspension coupled w/ new tires does wonders for braking! The new struts virtually eliminated the nose dive of the front end during hard braking...I love it!

Here's the breakdown on cost:

Sachs sport struts: $255.77 shipped from rockauto.com

OEM sport shocks & front strut mount bearings: $155.43 shipped from lexuspartsnow.com

Installation labor & alignment: $420.00

Yokohama YK740 GTX: $900( w/ $160 labor day rebate) installed at americastire.

Excluding the cost of tires, $831.20 is a helluva deal!

I called around numerous places, and they were charging $900-$1000 for LABOR ONLY. I paid my mechanic half the price for labor, an he's open minded about me bringing in my own parts.

All-in-all, if you want to tighten up your suspension, while still maintaining comfort on smooth surfaced roads, go the "sport" route, however, if you like the cushy floaty feeling that Lexus is known for, stick w/ the regular suspension.

Cheers

Gampa

I installed Monroe OESpectrum shocks on my 2010 RX450H.

Just removing the upper and lower bolts was not working. I had to remove the three bolted upper bracket and then the installation was a breeze. There is what appears to reinforcement in the upper bracket but that was not a factor once the bracket was removed.
Installation was hand tighten the shock with the bracket, hand tighten the lower bolt, then leverage the remaining bolts, tighten with wrench then torqued each bolt to 65 lbs. ( If this is not correct, please advise.)

The shocks I removed appeared to be heavy duty, which was probably the reason the ride was so rough. They appeared to be still functional but I was happy to see them gone.

The ride was surprisingly “better”. The jarring road bumps, pot holes, and seam upheavals, we’re actually tolerant. After work last night I didn’t think “I cannot drive this car anymore”. Instead I thought yes I can now drive this car for a few more years. In cornering the ride was stable and firm where the old shocks had more sway. I’m wondering whether new Monroe struts on the front would make much difference.

For the winter, I am currently riding on Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 on 18 in wheels. My summers are Michelin LTX on 19 OEM Alloys. The Michelin made the car tolerant with the old shocks and I am looking forward to how they will ride on the Monroe’s. I’m thinking with more miles the ride should be even more tolerant... we’ll see!

XF40FSPORT

Gampa: Were the old shocks OEM?

Gampa

Yes they were Original equipment.

Clutchless

How many miles were on the old shocks?
I had read good reviews of the OESpectrum struts/shocks on other forums. Apparently they are a step up from prior Monroe products and were geared more toward the Euro vehicle market.

Gampa

There is 63,000 on the RX450h. The road noise/ impact from rear shocks is now equal to or less then the original front struts. This is something I can work with.