Kalo460

Wassup guys!!! New to the club just purchased my first Lexus totally love it but I’m guessing needs new shocks/struts terrible knocking sounds .. can any 1 recommend a set ..nothing crazy expensive

roadfrog

First of, you really should list your model year and options for any useful help and info. Consider adding it to your signature.

It's more likely that your knocking is from the control arms or other component. Regardless, you can buy the KYB's as mentioned (they are the manufacturer of the OEM shocks on the LS). However, a few of us went with aftermarket shocks such as these with good results and a fraction of the price.:https://www.ebay.ca/itm/STAGG-SHS-4-...5Ywghy&vxp=mtr

I put about 40k miles and two years on mine and they were great.

A set of KYB's will cost approximately 5-6 times the price, but some will say it's worth it. As i said, my setup worked as good as the OEM set. Not everyone wants OEM or to spend more if they don't need to.

As already stated, this post assumes you have non-air

colfax

kalo, more likely you may need one or more control arms replaced as the ball joint or bushings can go bad, unlikely a shock as they can last a long time unless start to leak

best maybe is to find a good indy mechanic you trust and have your car put on his lift to look at each control arm and the shocks for leaking

if can see which control arm is moving a lot that is the one making the noise to replace

OR, consider doing what I am about to do on my 07, replace all 8 control arms knowing you will be doing it pretty soon anyway

and buy the arms from like rockauto and have your own mechanic replace them rather than the dealer, thousands more dollars, remember they need to be preloaded and torqued when replaced

JLAWS

If you are around 100K miles then it is about time to change the struts. There are plenty of inexpensive options out there and even an entire strut assembly with springs and mount. I believe all the struts out there are the standard twin tube design. KYB gas ajust is a Monotube design and an upgrade. I changed all of mine to KYB and the ride is phenomenal even with 19 inch wheels. I plan to keep my car for a while and also I did 95% of the labor so I went with KYB.


http://staggshocks.com/Stagg%20About.html

abs

KYB is the OEM manufacturer and they sell an aftermarket shock. I just installed the aftermarket front KYB shocks on my new to me 2008 LS460L. The difference in ride quality is very noticeable, the front end has a lot more control than before. The ride still retains a "floaty" feel over smooth terrain however they stiffen up and control fast wheel action (bumps/potholes) very well without becoming harsh. I hope this helps.

Benjam1n

KYB Gas-a-just

Don't recommend the ebay specials (first-hand experience)... I suggest you go with RockAuto and bring them to your mechanic to install and reuse OEM springs etc.

Caflashbob

Thanks abs as I have the kyb’s here just not installed yet. Glad they helped

Kalo460

Thanks and that thing sticking out is weather strip some reason won’t go back into place ..

its an 08 non air suspension just got back today from mechanic he told me 8 control arms shot !! Sway bar links$ bushings ..and new shocks/struts all around ..please need help with links and best quality parts with out draining the bank .

JLAWS

How much do you love your Lexus now Curious what that the final quote was. I think the mechanic wants you to change everything to eliminate the sound.
Go on Lexusdrivers.com to see the Lexus service history.
Can you do any of the work yourself? Look into the wheel well at the top of the wheel to see how the upper control arm rubber bushing look like. If you see cracks in the rubber then it needs to be changed. I'd start with the upper controls arms and front sway bar links. You would be surprised that a bad sway bar link sounds like a blown strut. One time I purchase a defective sway bar link that went bad after a month. Then I prematurely changed the front struts and the knocking was still there! I took off the bad sway link and drove around without it and the noise was gone. Had no problems getting a replacement from Rockauto.

abs

You can purchase everything you need from www.rockauto.com. The Lexus OEM parts are far too expensive. I just picked up the upper front control arms, I picked Mevotech brand. The install is also relatively straightforward, all of this can be resolved for a relatively low cost.

dfkd

I'll just repeat that you should verify your upper control arms before you replace anything else.

I've gone through several control arms (cross country road trip between) and my front shocks are still great.
The upper rear ball joints seem to go first in mine, followed by the forward arms' bushing.

The noise from a bad control arm ball joint is much louder than you'd expect from the way the part looks.
You'd also feel just a little play in the steering (maybe 1/8" of play if there's a really bad ball joint(s))..

Diagnose properly before you start. The shock replacement is much more labour than the control arms...

abs

I just replaced the rear struts after running the car for about 500 miles with only the front struts replaced. Doing the rears had a tremendously positive effect. I was not sure they would really make much of a difference before doing the work, but now that they are done, there is a dramatic change. The car is far more balanced, and actually, the float and dive I was still experiencing in the front has been further reduced since swapping the rear shocks to the point where now it is very minimal.

Replacing the rear struts was also a real pain, this was the most challenging rear shock replacement I've ever performed due to the complexity of the rear suspension and that the control arms have a "pre-load" which pulls the wheel hub upwards above the mounting location for the bottom of the strut.

For anyone planning to do this work, do yourself a favor and spend $20 or so to purchase a 10' long "black pipe" at Home Depot (the kind used to carry natural gas), and a short block of 2x4 wood, as you will need these tools to use as a lever to push down on the wheel hub to get the strut back into mounting position.

JLAWS

Just did the rear struts as well. Indeed a pain. I stepped on the rotor to get the struts mounted. Getting someone 200+lbs to step on it would have made it easier

abs

With the 10' pipe working as a lever, wedged under the subframe gave me enough leverage to do this on my own. A second person helping would have made it easier though.