Front Struts
Thread Starter
2nd gear
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: New York
Front Struts
Hello, I have a 2017 RX350 needing Front Struts...I wish to acquire the complete strut unit having the coil spring...I would appreciate brand recommendations and where to acquire the struts...Thank you, Ralph
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2021
Posts: 835
Likes: 408
From: PA
The car care nut recommends KYB struts, but only the ones made for Lexus with the lifetime warranty. They are expensive but worth every penny. KYB makes an economy line of struts which are cheaper. If you purchase Lexus OEM struts they will probably be high quality KYB struts. I don't think the spring comes with it but maybe the old one is OK.
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Driver School Candidate
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 16
Likes: 21
From: WA
Got part #s? Going through a strut nightmare on a 2016 RX350 (base) right now.
Bought 2 struts from Rockauto:
Sachs 317642 (Left)
Sachs 317643 (Right)
As someone pointed out in the 3rd gen forum (here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...tein-b6-4.html ) these Sachs struts appear to be 180 degrees different in terms of spring perch (looks identical in fiasco to what I am staring at with the Sachs).
GREATLY appreciate the p/n of the Bilstein B4's that fit the 2016 RX.
Screw it, just ordered these from Rock Auto:
Bilstein B6's:
22-282873 Front Left
22-282880 Front Right
OEM struts weren't that impressive and other members on this forum seem to love them. Hell, all I care at this point is they actually $@#@ fit!
Bought 2 struts from Rockauto:
Sachs 317642 (Left)
Sachs 317643 (Right)
As someone pointed out in the 3rd gen forum (here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...tein-b6-4.html ) these Sachs struts appear to be 180 degrees different in terms of spring perch (looks identical in fiasco to what I am staring at with the Sachs).
GREATLY appreciate the p/n of the Bilstein B4's that fit the 2016 RX.
Screw it, just ordered these from Rock Auto:
Bilstein B6's:
22-282873 Front Left
22-282880 Front Right
OEM struts weren't that impressive and other members on this forum seem to love them. Hell, all I care at this point is they actually $@#@ fit!
Last edited by freudie1; Aug 10, 2023 at 07:31 PM.
Pit Crew
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 148
Likes: 57
From: ca
Got part #s? Going through a strut nightmare on a 2016 RX350 (base) right now.
Bought 2 struts from Rockauto:
Sachs 317642 (Left)
Sachs 317643 (Right)
As someone pointed out in the 3rd gen forum (here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...tein-b6-4.html ) these Sachs struts appear to be 180 degrees different in terms of spring perch (looks identical in fiasco to what I am staring at with the Sachs).
GREATLY appreciate the p/n of the Bilstein B4's that fit the 2016 RX.
Screw it, just ordered these from Rock Auto:
Bilstein B6's:
22-282873 Front Left
22-282880 Front Right
OEM struts weren't that impressive and other members on this forum seem to love them. Hell, all I care at this point is they actually $@#@ fit!
Bought 2 struts from Rockauto:
Sachs 317642 (Left)
Sachs 317643 (Right)
As someone pointed out in the 3rd gen forum (here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...tein-b6-4.html ) these Sachs struts appear to be 180 degrees different in terms of spring perch (looks identical in fiasco to what I am staring at with the Sachs).
GREATLY appreciate the p/n of the Bilstein B4's that fit the 2016 RX.
Screw it, just ordered these from Rock Auto:
Bilstein B6's:
22-282873 Front Left
22-282880 Front Right
OEM struts weren't that impressive and other members on this forum seem to love them. Hell, all I care at this point is they actually $@#@ fit!
I had a hard time fitting the AutoZone loaner spring compressor over the stock springs, I suggest you take the struts to. Shop once they are off the car, good luck.
Thread Starter
2nd gear
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: New York
Thank you so much for your inputs...I decided to go with KJB"s...I Contacted KJB and although they do not sell directly to consumers, they directed me to Reilly Auto Parts...In any event, the struts will be here soon....
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 16
Likes: 21
From: WA
For anyone that cares here is the key to success with the 4th gen RX's and front struts:
STRUTS:
Bilstein B6's:
22-282873 Front Left
22-282880 Front Right
AWESOME ride. I was worried they would be too stiff (B6s that is), etc. No. Nice and controlled, feels like you would want the RX from the factory if they used higher end struts OEM. These SHOULD be oem in my opinion. Buy them at Rockauto, cheapest I found and they arrived quick. Avoid the temptation to buy "Quick Struts" (preassembled with the spring/mount/bearing/boot/etc) from a parts store. There is a reason the parts a la carte from the dealer are much more expensive. Quick struts are junk. No debate. People THINK they are OK because most wait way too long to replace struts and are used to crap performance. ANY new strut will feel marginally better.....but if you haven't experience the Bilstein B6's in the RX you are missing out.
Spring compressor: Do NOT, repeat DO NOT mess with the Autozone/Harbor Freight spring compressor. It's a disaster with these springs. I tried for 2 days. I gave up and had a local shop with a nice wall mounted spring compressor assemble the struts. Cost me $95 (rip off, but I was tired of calling endless shops to be told NO or worse one shop had my struts/springs for 2 days then lied and said their wall mount compressor can't handle these springs....yeah).
Cowl: You don't need to remove the cowl, just the few clips on each side and you can pull the plastic up enough to get to the mount bolts (3) up top. The drivers side requires you to loosen the wiper arm so you can move it out of the way of the access hole on top (to get to the bolt closest to the windshield). Easy, just a quick tip.
Another tip: The end links that you need to remove to replace the strut....use a small allen wrench in the end of the shaft to keep it from spinning while you use a box wrench to get the nut off. Stupid design as it has not nut at the base to hold...
Final tip: DO NOT buy the Sach's struts listed for this vehicle on Rock Auto. They are wrong, they don't fit, the perch is wrong, Rock Auto is a joke for parts compatibility look ups (this forum was a life saver pointing me in the direction of the Bilsteins from the minivans for this car!!).
Mounts: Buy them from the dealer.
Bearings: Buy them from the dealer....they DO NOT come with the mounts!! Read my notes above. Total fiasco as they are part of the boot assembly and don't have the word "bearing" in the diagram or parts description (wonderful).
Overall this was an easy job, but the logistics with the parts and the spring was a nightmare. Hopefully this saves someone the 2 weeks of disaster I had to endure to finish this what SHOULD be easy job.
Pit Crew
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 148
Likes: 57
From: ca
Indeed! The Autozone strut compressor SUCKS. It works OK for very small springs (I wrench on DSM's for "fun"...yeah that's it). For larger springs such as on the RX? NO. I was able to get ONE spring off with it, but getting it back on the tool gets in the way of the mount or the perch. Disaster.
For anyone that cares here is the key to success with the 4th gen RX's and front struts:
STRUTS:
Bilstein B6's:
22-282873 Front Left
22-282880 Front Right
AWESOME ride. I was worried they would be too stiff (B6s that is), etc. No. Nice and controlled, feels like you would want the RX from the factory if they used higher end struts OEM. These SHOULD be oem in my opinion. Buy them at Rockauto, cheapest I found and they arrived quick. Avoid the temptation to buy "Quick Struts" (preassembled with the spring/mount/bearing/boot/etc) from a parts store. There is a reason the parts a la carte from the dealer are much more expensive. Quick struts are junk. No debate. People THINK they are OK because most wait way too long to replace struts and are used to crap performance. ANY new strut will feel marginally better.....but if you haven't experience the Bilstein B6's in the RX you are missing out.
Spring compressor: Do NOT, repeat DO NOT mess with the Autozone/Harbor Freight spring compressor. It's a disaster with these springs. I tried for 2 days. I gave up and had a local shop with a nice wall mounted spring compressor assemble the struts. Cost me $95 (rip off, but I was tired of calling endless shops to be told NO or worse one shop had my struts/springs for 2 days then lied and said their wall mount compressor can't handle these springs....yeah).
Cowl: You don't need to remove the cowl, just the few clips on each side and you can pull the plastic up enough to get to the mount bolts (3) up top. The drivers side requires you to loosen the wiper arm so you can move it out of the way of the access hole on top (to get to the bolt closest to the windshield). Easy, just a quick tip.
Another tip: The end links that you need to remove to replace the strut....use a small allen wrench in the end of the shaft to keep it from spinning while you use a box wrench to get the nut off. Stupid design as it has not nut at the base to hold...
Final tip: DO NOT buy the Sach's struts listed for this vehicle on Rock Auto. They are wrong, they don't fit, the perch is wrong, Rock Auto is a joke for parts compatibility look ups (this forum was a life saver pointing me in the direction of the Bilsteins from the minivans for this car!!).
Mounts: Buy them from the dealer.
Bearings: Buy them from the dealer....they DO NOT come with the mounts!! Read my notes above. Total fiasco as they are part of the boot assembly and don't have the word "bearing" in the diagram or parts description (wonderful).
Overall this was an easy job, but the logistics with the parts and the spring was a nightmare. Hopefully this saves someone the 2 weeks of disaster I had to endure to finish this what SHOULD be easy job.
For anyone that cares here is the key to success with the 4th gen RX's and front struts:
STRUTS:
Bilstein B6's:
22-282873 Front Left
22-282880 Front Right
AWESOME ride. I was worried they would be too stiff (B6s that is), etc. No. Nice and controlled, feels like you would want the RX from the factory if they used higher end struts OEM. These SHOULD be oem in my opinion. Buy them at Rockauto, cheapest I found and they arrived quick. Avoid the temptation to buy "Quick Struts" (preassembled with the spring/mount/bearing/boot/etc) from a parts store. There is a reason the parts a la carte from the dealer are much more expensive. Quick struts are junk. No debate. People THINK they are OK because most wait way too long to replace struts and are used to crap performance. ANY new strut will feel marginally better.....but if you haven't experience the Bilstein B6's in the RX you are missing out.
Spring compressor: Do NOT, repeat DO NOT mess with the Autozone/Harbor Freight spring compressor. It's a disaster with these springs. I tried for 2 days. I gave up and had a local shop with a nice wall mounted spring compressor assemble the struts. Cost me $95 (rip off, but I was tired of calling endless shops to be told NO or worse one shop had my struts/springs for 2 days then lied and said their wall mount compressor can't handle these springs....yeah).
Cowl: You don't need to remove the cowl, just the few clips on each side and you can pull the plastic up enough to get to the mount bolts (3) up top. The drivers side requires you to loosen the wiper arm so you can move it out of the way of the access hole on top (to get to the bolt closest to the windshield). Easy, just a quick tip.
Another tip: The end links that you need to remove to replace the strut....use a small allen wrench in the end of the shaft to keep it from spinning while you use a box wrench to get the nut off. Stupid design as it has not nut at the base to hold...
Final tip: DO NOT buy the Sach's struts listed for this vehicle on Rock Auto. They are wrong, they don't fit, the perch is wrong, Rock Auto is a joke for parts compatibility look ups (this forum was a life saver pointing me in the direction of the Bilsteins from the minivans for this car!!).
Mounts: Buy them from the dealer.
Bearings: Buy them from the dealer....they DO NOT come with the mounts!! Read my notes above. Total fiasco as they are part of the boot assembly and don't have the word "bearing" in the diagram or parts description (wonderful).
Overall this was an easy job, but the logistics with the parts and the spring was a nightmare. Hopefully this saves someone the 2 weeks of disaster I had to endure to finish this what SHOULD be easy job.
Indeed! The Autozone strut compressor SUCKS. It works OK for very small springs (I wrench on DSM's for "fun"...yeah that's it). For larger springs such as on the RX? NO. I was able to get ONE spring off with it, but getting it back on the tool gets in the way of the mount or the perch. Disaster.
For anyone that cares here is the key to success with the 4th gen RX's and front struts:
STRUTS:
Bilstein B6's:
22-282873 Front Left
22-282880 Front Right
AWESOME ride. I was worried they would be too stiff (B6s that is), etc. No. Nice and controlled, feels like you would want the RX from the factory if they used higher end struts OEM. These SHOULD be oem in my opinion. Buy them at Rockauto, cheapest I found and they arrived quick. Avoid the temptation to buy "Quick Struts" (preassembled with the spring/mount/bearing/boot/etc) from a parts store. There is a reason the parts a la carte from the dealer are much more expensive. Quick struts are junk. No debate. People THINK they are OK because most wait way too long to replace struts and are used to crap performance. ANY new strut will feel marginally better.....but if you haven't experience the Bilstein B6's in the RX you are missing out.
Spring compressor: Do NOT, repeat DO NOT mess with the Autozone/Harbor Freight spring compressor. It's a disaster with these springs. I tried for 2 days. I gave up and had a local shop with a nice wall mounted spring compressor assemble the struts. Cost me $95 (rip off, but I was tired of calling endless shops to be told NO or worse one shop had my struts/springs for 2 days then lied and said their wall mount compressor can't handle these springs....yeah).
Cowl: You don't need to remove the cowl, just the few clips on each side and you can pull the plastic up enough to get to the mount bolts (3) up top. The drivers side requires you to loosen the wiper arm so you can move it out of the way of the access hole on top (to get to the bolt closest to the windshield). Easy, just a quick tip.
Another tip: The end links that you need to remove to replace the strut....use a small allen wrench in the end of the shaft to keep it from spinning while you use a box wrench to get the nut off. Stupid design as it has not nut at the base to hold...
Final tip: DO NOT buy the Sach's struts listed for this vehicle on Rock Auto. They are wrong, they don't fit, the perch is wrong, Rock Auto is a joke for parts compatibility look ups (this forum was a life saver pointing me in the direction of the Bilsteins from the minivans for this car!!).
Mounts: Buy them from the dealer.
Bearings: Buy them from the dealer....they DO NOT come with the mounts!! Read my notes above. Total fiasco as they are part of the boot assembly and don't have the word "bearing" in the diagram or parts description (wonderful).
Overall this was an easy job, but the logistics with the parts and the spring was a nightmare. Hopefully this saves someone the 2 weeks of disaster I had to endure to finish this what SHOULD be easy job.
For anyone that cares here is the key to success with the 4th gen RX's and front struts:
STRUTS:
Bilstein B6's:
22-282873 Front Left
22-282880 Front Right
AWESOME ride. I was worried they would be too stiff (B6s that is), etc. No. Nice and controlled, feels like you would want the RX from the factory if they used higher end struts OEM. These SHOULD be oem in my opinion. Buy them at Rockauto, cheapest I found and they arrived quick. Avoid the temptation to buy "Quick Struts" (preassembled with the spring/mount/bearing/boot/etc) from a parts store. There is a reason the parts a la carte from the dealer are much more expensive. Quick struts are junk. No debate. People THINK they are OK because most wait way too long to replace struts and are used to crap performance. ANY new strut will feel marginally better.....but if you haven't experience the Bilstein B6's in the RX you are missing out.
Spring compressor: Do NOT, repeat DO NOT mess with the Autozone/Harbor Freight spring compressor. It's a disaster with these springs. I tried for 2 days. I gave up and had a local shop with a nice wall mounted spring compressor assemble the struts. Cost me $95 (rip off, but I was tired of calling endless shops to be told NO or worse one shop had my struts/springs for 2 days then lied and said their wall mount compressor can't handle these springs....yeah).
Cowl: You don't need to remove the cowl, just the few clips on each side and you can pull the plastic up enough to get to the mount bolts (3) up top. The drivers side requires you to loosen the wiper arm so you can move it out of the way of the access hole on top (to get to the bolt closest to the windshield). Easy, just a quick tip.
Another tip: The end links that you need to remove to replace the strut....use a small allen wrench in the end of the shaft to keep it from spinning while you use a box wrench to get the nut off. Stupid design as it has not nut at the base to hold...
Final tip: DO NOT buy the Sach's struts listed for this vehicle on Rock Auto. They are wrong, they don't fit, the perch is wrong, Rock Auto is a joke for parts compatibility look ups (this forum was a life saver pointing me in the direction of the Bilsteins from the minivans for this car!!).
Mounts: Buy them from the dealer.
Bearings: Buy them from the dealer....they DO NOT come with the mounts!! Read my notes above. Total fiasco as they are part of the boot assembly and don't have the word "bearing" in the diagram or parts description (wonderful).
Overall this was an easy job, but the logistics with the parts and the spring was a nightmare. Hopefully this saves someone the 2 weeks of disaster I had to endure to finish this what SHOULD be easy job.