passnu2

iTrader: (33)

Please NOTE if you have a GS430 you will have what looks like covers over all 4 points. You have a servo that is located under. You will need to remove all of these first before starting the process. They just twist off.

this pic will show one of them on the front of my former GS430:


The front of the car:


After you remove the plastic covers there are 3 bolts holding the top of the suspension on. They are 14mm bolts. Loosen these on both sides but leave them in place for now.

Next go to the wheel well and start by removing the bolt & cotter pin that holds the upper suspension together. Notice the cotter pin has a little safety latch that you must pull towards you first then pull it thru the hole in the bolt.



you will notice now that the upper control arm is now lose and will allow you to remove the suspension once you have it full unbolted





You have to be careful with the Speed Sensor wire and the Brake Line so note the pic above you want to push the arm forward and off to the side. Also you will need to hold it or have someone help you hold it as it will fall back down and the speed sensor is not a cheap part to replace.

Remove the 19mm bolt that holds the strut in place then you can go back and fully remove the 3 14mm bolts from under the hood.

This will complete the fronts, will add more pics as members can contribute more accurate and better pics then I have saved from my car and was able to find in other threads.

*AWD will have a different front suspension due to the drive train but the removal process and steps are identical.

The rear of the car:
*you do not need to remove the cargo liners unless you really want to. If you grab the far corners on each side you can pull them down and towards you just enough to access the 3 14mm bolts that you need to removed.

After you have loosen the 3 14mm bolts go to start the lower portion.

The 2 19mm bolts that you need to remove:

first is the one holding the suspension on:


second is the 19mm bolt holding the lower control arm allowing it to free up the tension. I also suggest to remove the third bolt in this pic that is for your rear sway bar. I believe its a 12mm bolt. This will help when removing the OEM set up giving you more play on the lower control arm.

*note on the drive side there is what looks like a dog bone. That is for the AFS for your lights. When you take out the bolt do not mess with anything here and do not touch any of the bolts.



Next remove the 3 10mm bolts that hold the carpet over the upper portion of the strut. You will find 2 14mm bolts behind that need to be removed before you can take out the strut.



note the bolt as reference behind that carpet until we have a better pic: There is one on each side.



You can remove the 3 14mm bolts in the trunk now and you have full access to remove the strut. Careful of the brake lines as you slide it down.

You may need a pry bar to allow room for the strut to come out. You can see this picture of the lower control arm being pulled down.



Just reverse the process and your done

m32

iTrader: (4)

Awesome pics Passnu! Thanks! Btw, what kind of adjustable upper control arm is that? Is that custom or off-the-shelf?

Edwin

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

its not specific to our car but it worked. it was more of a test/trial on one of many of my missions to find us parts for this car. most wont really need it unless you get rather aggressive with offset.

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

I forgot to mention that FIGS, a vendor here, has exactly what you need for the front and rear for camber. I sent him my OEM parts while I had these other parts on my car. Just note our car has the exact same parts as the ISF/IS350/IS250 and some parts from the 2gen GS/IS will also work I sourced this out a long time ago with the help of our vendor Sewell to confirm this was true.

m32

iTrader: (4)

Thanks Passnu! I've been talking to FIGS and he said his prototype adj front arm should be avail in Jan. The one you have is only to increase neg camber right not to correct it?

Edwin

Todd Edge

iTrader: (2)

How hard is it to seperate the ball joint from the spindle? Once the cotter pin and bolt are removed, will it seperate easily or will I need a ball joint seperator? I've seen some use a hammer to tap it out but, wasn't sure if that would work(bolt still on to avoid messing up the threads).

Thanks,
Todd

m32

iTrader: (4)

Good question... is it necessary to disconnect the balljoint? I remember (vaguely) doing my 2GS and don't recall messing with the ball joint

Edwin

Todd Edge

iTrader: (2)

Edwin - I also did a 2GS('02 GS430) a few years ago and am positive I never touched the balljoint.

Todd

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

On the 3rd gen you will need to remove. Even when at the dealer when I first installed springs we had to reeve it. Save yourself the headache and just remove. It's rather easy. No special tool and tap it on both sides with a mallet. You can remove the upper A arm if you want, I tried both ways, and this is much easier.

Todd Edge

iTrader: (2)

I'm guessing a ball joint seperator is required to disconnect that connection?

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

actually not if you just tap on each side (pic below) with a rubber mallet it will come lose with out damaging anything. not the front just each side and take turns go from one side to the next.



You can also remove the upper control as you see its removed in this pic. Its 2 12mm or 14mm bolts but they are rather hard to access, even with small hands, because of where the spring sits. A little more time but this is an option if you dont feel comfortable taking out removing at the ball joint.

m32

iTrader: (4)

Just FYI, when I change out my ball joints on my 2GS (replacing that whole U arm thing), I could not for the life of me get the ball joint loose by knocking on it. I had to get the took and even then, it was not a pretty sight when I was done. The rubber boot was shred to pieces. I guess my point is... take caution while you do it and allow for extra time for any obstacles

Edwin

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

Well I have done this probably 20 or more times between my cars and helping out locals and not once had an issue.

m32

iTrader: (4)

Passnu,

I'm in the middle of installing teh coils and saw these two "things" which I'm assuming is for the AVS.


Front:


Rear:



What do I do with them? I read that I will lose that functionality but do I just leave it hanging off when I install or still put it on top of the coil (with it being null)? thanks!

Edwin

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

Excellent thanks for sharing some pics!

on the rear they just slide up, its 3 rubber gromets that hold them in place to protect the servos for the AVS. The Sensors just turn (twist) off and then unplug. What I did is zip tied the wire to the wire harness close to keep it from getting caught or damaged.

The fronts just take off the 3 bolts, 12mm or 14mm, and the cover will come up, the same process to remove the servos from your suspension. I think you have to pop that rubber gromet out to allow the wire to come out. Same thing just zip tie the wires so they stay out of the way from getting damaged.

I just grabbed a small box and put all the parts in that box in my garage for when I put it back.

After you remove the covers on the front you will have 3 more bolts on each side that hold the front suspension in place. You dont need to put the caps back on with your new coils unless you want to for looks.

PM me if you run into any problems so I get notified.

Mike