I just finished this project replacing Front and Back suspension for my Lexus RX 350 2011 so I would like to report a bit here. I used only KYB suspensions. Front: KYB Full strut SR4452 and SR4453. Back two 349203 parts. I took me about 1 hour to replace 1 front suspension, of course, with the help of a second hand to replace the bolts while I am holding the shocks from the bottom. They are HEAVYYY. The ones in the back are easy and took me only 20 to 30 minutes each. I also replaced the sway bar links as well since I am halfway there. They are cheap anyway. Below are some of my takeaways for your reference:

1. You better have some Impact Driver on hand because the bolts are tight after years of driving. Mine was replaced at 108000k miles and after 9 years. Also some bolts you do not have room to put any breaker bar on. For example, lower sway bar link nut.
2. You better have a ratchet wrench 17mm and a good 6mm (If I remember correctly) allen key with socket adapter to help open the nut on the sway bar. You should have on hand a big plastic tube to put it over your wrench for leverage. I used the shop vac tube section and it worked like a charm.
3. Make sure you have a 22mm deep socket for your impact driver or wrench. Whatever works for you. If you use ratchet wrench, you absolutely need a long handle. The torque of those bolts are about 150 ft-lbs. I used the Milwaukee M18 Impact Driver with 1/2 socket adapter so it was easy. I gunned the bolts and screw evenly and they came right out easily. The only problem was the 1/2 socket adapter of mine broke while I was working on my last rear suspension But I have Life Time Warranty from Home Depot so it was a good thing
   
   
   
   
4. Make sure you research the bolt torque before doing the job. I forgot them the moment I finished the job so I could not advise you but I found it here on this forum.
5. You should have a pair of sway bar links and a grease gun just in case you decide to replace them. I would recommend to do so because the boots on them are usually torn or brittle already. It is hard to avoid breaking pieces of it while wrenching it out and also your are already half way there already since you need to remove at least the upper bolt of your sway bar link to remove the front shocks.
6. Make sure you have a Free jack on hand while working on the suspension. After putting a new front suspension on, my front shocks are off with the sway bar upper bolt about 1 to 2 inches. I need to put a jack underneath the control arm and jack it up. The spring then compressed and I could easily put the bolt on without a sweat.
7. My sway bar link upper bolt was stuck to the old suspension even though its screw was out. The weight of the suspension was putting stress on the bolt at an angle and it was impossible to remove the bolt. I freed the three screws holding the suspension to the car body and pushed the suspension up a bit. That way I could remove the stuck bolt easily.
8. I used a baby step stool to put it under the rotor and camper to catch it from falling after removing the two big bolts holding it and the suspension. If you dont, you can easily break the break line or pull the CV Axle out two much.
9. Be mindful of the angle you are removing and replacing the suspension because you can damage the CV Axle boot fairly easily. The last thing on Earth you would like to damage is gonna be your CV Axle boot because the CV Axle is not cheap and easy to replace.

 

hows the ride?

I only replaced the back so far so it didn’t make much difference.

 

My wife confirmed it fixed her dizziness problems on our own car Before the replacement, there were a lot of swings when cornering and a lot more bouncing over the tough road surfaces. It was loud and disturbing. Also, I had passenger noise when turning the steering the wheel all the way to the right. The shop said the shock mount was bad causing the noise. He was right. So far below are the things that have been improved tremendously. I only feel the differences when I changed out all the shocks.

1. Improving braking distance. I no longer feel the car is diving to the front when braking.
2. Improving cornering. No more swaying to the side. It might also be because I replaced the sway bar links as well. My had the boots torn and I no longer feel any grease in there. They are factory ones and still holding up nicely.
3. Improving the road noises. I do not feel much of the road condition now compared to before the replacement.
4. Improving my wife and daughter's dizziness in car This is my main motive to get it fixed My wife said "whatever it takes, just do it". I said "Yes Ma'am" with a big smile
5. Get rid of steering noises
6. Steering is a lot more stable. It is just my gut feeling but it steers a lot easier and reliable. My wife said the same thing but I had no idea if I was right.

 

Got a 2010 AWD 106K miles front struts are leaking. Per alignment place this is what is causing the light clunking that I hear when I go over uneven road at low speeds. They said other components are fine/solid. I'm doubtful but normally they want to make money so they would point out everything that they can find. Per my research could be LCA bushings or bar links.Comments?

I also need advice/feedback on what struts or pre-loaded strut assembly to get. I have 19" wheels and I've always thought that the ride could be plushier so I don't want a stiffer ride. Heard that pre-loaded strut assemblies (even the KYB SR4452/3) give a stiffer ride and nothing is better than the OEM springs even at 100K. I've done spring replacements before so it's not a big deal but if the assemblies are good enough and the difference is minimal then I'd rather save time and use a pre-loaded assembly.

What's your opinion?


So either the KYB SE4452/3 assembly or just plain KYB Excel-G struts 339281/2 ?

Or is another brand preferred for our cars to maintain the original ride as much as possible?

Thanks!

 

Do not get the pre-loaded struts. If you want to keep your nice ride, just get new struts. KYB Excel-G struts 339281/2 are a good choice.
Replace the strut mount bearings at the same time. Get OEM if you can, they are built better. I think 2 will cost under $50.
They are on top and it only takes a few seconds to swap the bearings once the strut is off the spring.
As discussed above have a new set of front sway bar links available as you will probably have to cut off your old rusted ones.

However, if you want a better ride than the KYBs get the Bilsteins front struts that are listed for the 2010-2013 Highlander as it has the same front suspension as the 3rd gen. RX350. The B4 model is the same as your OEM. Part numbers 22282675 and 22282668
If you decide to replace the rear shocks with Bilsteins, you want the ones listed for the 2014 Highlander as it has the same rear suspension with shocks as the RX. The 2010-13 Highlander is different in that it has struts in the back.
Part No. Bilstein 19-282862

​​​​​​https://www.shockwarehouse.com/index...2&mode=results

 

So in what way does the Billies give a better ride? They are less $$ than the KYBs so it's looking more attractive. The rears have recently been replaced (for the 2nd time) at the dealership at about 10K miles ago. I know the diff. shocks have diff. designs, valving, etc... and you are supposed to replace front and back at the same time but I'd rather leave the rears alone at this time, so does it really matter for our non-performance RX350s. Hopefully the mis-match won't affect the emergency handling much. I bet most of the vehicles on the road these days have mis-matched shocks and springs.

Talking about the bearings, the reason why I did a new post instead of posting it in this thread is because of the clunking sound I described in the OP but my post got moved here. I really need more feedback on that issue so hopefully I will have all the parts I need when I tear the front end apart. Could it be the culprit? I guess since the alignment shop said the other components were fine the bearings could be the issue since its a problem that you can't see. Additional info, I drove it last weekend and I do hear a pretty bad clunk now when I hit a pothole. Steering seems pretty smooth and no grinding when i turn the steering wheel.

Thanks for tip on the sway bar links, yeah I've seen videos when they ended up removing the link from the other end so no need to cut off anything. I heard the aftermarket ones are better since they have nut instead of the allen. I haven't looked into what brand to get.

 

I have used Bilsteins in a few different vehicles and they always improved the ride and handling at the same time. I don't know how those crafty brilliant German engineers manage such a feat, but recommend them over OEM or KYB based on experience. I had F sport rear shocks and replaced them with Bilstein B6 rear shocks and the car rode much much better while still having better handling than with the original shocks.

It won't negatively affect your handling etc to have 2 different brands of struts & shocks. I am running that right now because the Bilstein struts were no released when I did my suspension work, but the B6 rear shocks were available. However the Sachs F-Sport front shocks were available, and I got them as they are German too. They work fine, being stiffer but not destroying the ride. However, they appear to be no longer available.

Your noise could be strut mount bearings. Place your hand on top of the strut while another person turns the steering wheel back and forth. You may be able to feel grinding on one of them.
It could also be a damaged strut mount itself. They do sometimes wear out.

 

Are you saying the KYB preloaded (strut plus) are no good? I'm looking at changing my struts and I'm looking at doing it myself - I'd prefer to go with the kit and I'm not looking for anything other than a factory ride on my 2013 RX350 (base). Can you elaborate a bit on your statement? Thanks

 

I haven’t done my suspension upgrade yet but this is what’s mostly agreed upon. The KYB preloaded kit is convenient because you won’t have to use the compression tool but there’s a trade off. The KYB spring itself is not as good as the used oem one. Essentially you will be downgrading the spring even though your upgrading the strut. After reading all of the suspension threads i could find it seems the best oem ride upgrade is the Bilstein B4. The ideal setup for up front is to reuse your oem spring, Bilstein B4, and new oem Lexus strut mounts bearings. They also recommend that you have a new set of front sway bar links available as you will probably have to cut off your old rusted ones. In the rear seems like B4 with new bottom bolt/nut as they will probably get wrecked during removal. The B6 Bilstein ride like the F sport, which have been reported as smooth but sportier. I’m still on the fence myself as to which I’m going to use the B4 or the B6. If I missed something someone please correct me as this is the intel I’ve gathered for my future upgrade after reading through a ton of threads.

 

That is an excellent summary regarding advice to maintain and improve the suspension.
You will be happier with the ride if you keep your original springs.
If you remove the front struts yourself you can have a local independent shop do the spring compression and parts swap for a reasonable price. Call around to learn who will do it and how much. Prices vary.
I did this on a vehicle on which I could not fit my spring compressor on the struts.

 

I have purchased front and rear Bilstein B6s for my 2014 F-Sport. Was getting tired of the floaty handling, and the rear shocks feel terrible and have a small leak. Clutchless is correct - the 3rd gen RX has the inverted front passenger side spring like the facelift 2nd gen Highlander. Therefore it shares the same front suspension (struts, isolators, strut mount, spring perch, etc).

Coming soon are 2010-2013 Highlander F & R struts and 2014-2019 Highlander rear shocks. Should be arriving in a week or two, then I will be installing them and updating the post with pics and how I feel about them. I’m sure they’ll be great, I put some in my friend’s Charger a few months back and I’m extremely impressed with them. Curious to see if this will be enough to make this thing handle as well as my Highlander. I doubt it, but then again we shall see!


- Stay tuned!

 

Good luck with the Bilstein install and keep us posted. I believe the B6 series is indeed the way to go.

 

Where did you find them, I’m having a hard time finding them. Rockauto has had one front and one rear ever since I started looking for them.

 

I got them from Rockauto. I believe the front passenger side is sold out (I got the last one). I had to get the rears from eBay because there was only one rear left.

 

Try shockwarehouse, & summit racing & tire rack & car id