So if KYB makes the OEM rear shocks/struts for Lexus. Are they the GR-2 or the Excel-G or something else all together? Which shock is closest to OEM?
Thanks
Bix

Almost forgot. I have a '92 Sc300

 

They are the same twin-tube shock built to OE specifications. Just 2 different names that used to be for selling in different regions throughout the world.

 

Okay, I got the struts. KYB GR-2's. Now I've got a question about the strut mounts. I've read that the KYB mounts are crap. Someone here, I think, mentioned Moog. Any other suggestions on an upper mount. I'd like to maintain the compliant ride of stock.
Thanks,
Bix

 

Pretty sure KYB mounts are good. Moog of course are good. Mevotech makes one too. Reuse your dust boots as they have an upper spring isolator built in to cushion the spring against the mount.

 

Yesterday I just put on OEM KYBs on the front with Monroe mounts. So far I'm really happy with the results. Since I had a shop compress the springs and reassemble with the new stuff, I didn't get a good look at the old mounts, so I'm not sure they were even necessary.

 

Its always best to replace the mounts when replacing the struts. They're essentially a bushing for the strut and the rubber inside weakens. You did the right thing so now you'll have some peace of mind knowing you've eliminated one of the causes of the infamous "clunking" sound.

 

Did some research on Mevotech strut mounts
Part numbers are: MP905938 - fronts and MP904902 - rears

 

Hi,
A bit of an unusual problem. My wife has a 2002 ES, with 82K miles that had original struts all around. She was beginning to feel the road bumps, so I figured that would be a good place to start, becasue one of the main reasons she liked the car was of the smooth ride. We had standard OEM KYB's put on a few days ago. Now it rides like a sports car - it's incredibly "stiff" and we feel evey bump in the road. Not at all like it used to be. She's so pissed off at the ride that she says unless we can get it fixed, she wants to trade it in. I've talked to the garage (where we've had all of the work done for years) and they have all the standard answers; she got used to "mushy" ride, these will "break in", these are the same as the OEM brand, these are not adjustable, etc. I'm out of ideas and am beginnning to think that there be something else that is wrong with the suspension and the new struts acentuated the problem? Any ideas?
Thanks,
Maurice

 

I've been wondering this same thing

 

I had a friend recommed that I try contacting KYB so I emailed their tech support / customer service. While they seemed either reluctant or unable to understand my emails (I sent two) it seems that the Lexus struts are made to different specs (as someone on this site mentioned) than a generic "off the shelf - over the counter" KYB strut that your local mechanic would get for you. I've had my mechanic order them directly from Lexus and will have them installed sometime in the next week or so. I'll be back to let you know if my wife is happy :-) Below are the emails that I sent and their response...

1st email to KYB -KYB responds to 1st email -2nd email to KYB -
Hi,
Thanks. Perhaps I didn't ask the correct question. Let me try again. Is the KYB strut you make for the 2002 Lexus ES300 have a different set of specifications than the KYB strut I would buy from the auto parts store?



KYB responds to 2nd email -

 

Sorry to hear about the ride. If you set the tire pressure to around 30-32 psi, that should help give a smooth ride. Any higher and it gets rough quickly on the ES. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks. But that was the first thing I thought of. They were all a bit high, so I lowered them to that range. Maybe a small improvement, but nothing to write home about.

 

The cheapest way to "fix" this may be to purchase OEM from a Toyota dealer at the best discount price, negotiate (ask nicely) for a discount rate at your garage to swap them out and then put the undesirable ones up for sale. They'll sell sooner or later. It's cheaper and smarter than your wife trading in an otherwise perfectly nice car. I don't think that any manufacturer/retailer is going to eat struts that are performing to specs. It's good that you tried though. Hopefully you've saved/will save enough on other repairs by independents over the years to minimize this loss. Best wishes.

 

Hi,
Just a follow up on my strut issue. Last week my mechanic ordered and rec'd new OEM struts from the Lexus dealer. He was kind enough to only charge his wholesale price difference for each strut (apprx $300 total) and about $200 in reduced labor to replace all four of the over-the-counter KYB with the new KYB-OEM Lexus struts. I was a bit nervous that it would be completely OK, but I figured with the helpful comments I got on this forum, plus the KYB tech support comments (previous post) that it was a 90% certainty things would be good...and it was! Even the mechanic who picked me up and dropped off the car was surprised at the difference. I noticed it right away when I drove back from garage and my lovely noticed it right away when I picked her up from work -even while riding in the passenger seat. Moral of the story is 1) from the garage - they need to explain the OTC stuts will cost less, but the ride may be noticeably different; 2) from the customer standpoint - cost should not be the only issue when replacing things.
Thanks again for all the comments, I appreciate it.
Maurice

 

Do you happen to have the part numbers for the new struts you had put on your car that you liked so much?