Hello fellow RX350 owners!

I've recently purchased a 2014 RX and it appears the previous owner had a quick strut setup on it which is causing the ride to be very firm with no dampening over bumps. I'm looking to switch back to the OEM suspension and I'm having a difficult time trying to determine what parts outside the shock/spring I would need. In reading other suspension threads, it seems I should also change the strut mount (bearing?).

Any recommendations on what else I should be purchasing would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks!

 

Only the front has struts. The rear just has shock absorbers which are 2 bolts to replace.
Did they replace those? Rear shocks being shot often affects your ride more than the front. Look at them to see if they look new or old and leaking/dirty etc. If you want a softer ride get the TRW or Sachs rear shocks from Rockauto. They are also cheaper than Lexus OEM. Any local repair shop can do the replacement of the shocks and struts - they are the same on the Lexus as on 10 million other vehicles.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...+absorber,7556

The strut and spring are the parts that affect your ride. I would just replace the strut itself (it is called a strut, not a shock if it is part of a MacPherson strut - which is what the RX has in front - same as millions of other cars)
the spring and the strut mount bearing. Keeping all the other parts from the quick strut should be fine if they are in good condition. They probably are in good condition as they cannot be that old. Do you know if the quick strut is from a reputable company like Monroe or KYB? Or is it no name junk?
I assume you plan to hire someone to do this work? I hope so because based on your questions you do appear to have enough car repair experience to do this work. It is very dangerous to compress the spring and swap the strut parts. You also have to know how to line up the top of the strut into the correct position (each of the 3 bolts goes into a specific hole in order for you to be able to get a proper alignment)

The shop can find you a good used OEM spring at a local junkyard or eBay or elsewhere online and then a new KYB strut and strut mount bearing. The springs are different on front wheel drive vs all wheel drive vs. RX450h. This will save you money over getting stuff from Lexus.

 

Clutchless, thanks so much for your detailed response! All four corners are not leaking as informed by the Lexus dealer when I took it in to bring it up to date on some maintenance items (coolant, trans fluid, oil change, spark plugs..etc) since the car has 115k miles on it. I will be needing front lower control arms as well per the dealer. I did ask them to advise if the suspension was factory or aftermarket and they failed to do that, so I may have the option to take it back in for that information, but I'd rather not have to make an appt and drive all the way out to the dealer that performed the maintenance work (southern california traffic is brutal).

Judging by the ride, I'm going to say it's probably no name junk that the previous owner installed. I'm unsure if I need to jack the car up to see any branding/stamping on the suspension components, but I definitely can't see anything by just poking my head into the wheel well.

I don't mind saving some money with Sachs or KYB, however what I'm looking for is factory ride quality and components that will last. Folks seem to like KYB, though I've never heard of TRW, but ride quality is my primary goal. If the KYB's are equivalent I can source those along with the springs and mounts as you've recommended. Bell Lexus in AZ seems to be a popular place to get parts at a decent price, but I'm currently searching the forums to see if there are other recommended places to buy OEM parts.

 

FYI the RX is a mechanical twin to the Toyota Highlander, so any Toyota specialist can work on the mechanical stuff. The KYB's are a little stiffer than OEM.

Many here have purchased OEM parts from:
​​​​​​https://www.mylparts.com/
https://www.lexuspartsnow.com/
​​​​​​https://www.lexussouthatlantaparts.com/

You can get good used parts here (and they are in CA) http://www.rancholexusrecycling.com/

You would be better served by going to an independent Toyota-Lexus specialist and can probably find one much closer to home. I know about LA traffic having spent months there for work.

Dealer service writers work on commission and usually oversell repairs that are not really needed, such as your front control arms.
That should have a second opinion as should your front struts. Use this link to find local shops recommended by listeners of the old NPR radio show on car repair advice - Car Talk
​​​​​​https://www.cartalk.com/mechanics-files
Then cross check any shops of interest on Yelp and Google as some of the data may be out of date. Many shops insist on providing the parts in order to warranty their work.

 

Thank you again for this wealth if information! You’ve undoubtedly saved me quite a bit of time, headache and money. Happy 4th to you sir!

 

As mentioned, You'll want to get a pr of used oem springs, as you'll find the ''quick strut'' springs are thicker gauge & ride stiffer as well as a taller ride height even to the point sometimes, side to side. Never cared for ''quick struts''......I was looking for the same, smooth Lexus ride as my wife didn't want a rough ride. I really didn't want to pay $600. + $65. shipping for a pr of front struts, so I went w/ KYB, even thou I've read that the oem struts are by KYB & the aftermarket struts are supposely stiffer. I find the ride is ever so slightly stiffer then the oem worn out seeping/leaking struts. But then, thats the only thing I have to gauge/compare to. My thought KYB vs the Sachs is if I'd need to warranty a strut, as KYB is easier to get. Yea I've ran Sachs dampers w/ Eibach springs on a couple different cars, Mustang/Camaro. I'd pass on KYB's strut mounts & get a pr of oem strut mounts....I find the KYB strut mounts/bearings are not that great.

 

1+ reuse OEM strut bearing, mount and upper metal spring isolator. Cheapo KYB bearing lasted 3 years, I have seen the no-name even cheaper ones fail on the first drive

 

I am not vouching for aftermarket stuff, but some issues can be traced back to poor workmanship (improper installation + torquing). Lot of mechanics and DIYers forget to do the suspension torquing with the weight of the vehicle and wheels facing forward.

Salim