1994 Ls400 - Pothole And A Broken Spring! :(

[will_uk]

Hi,

I have an August 1994/M LS400 (which I have owned for a couple of months).

Today whilst driving I drove over a bump in the road (which turned out to be a pothole on a main road). As I passed over this, I heard a pretty loud clunk/crack type sound. I thought it sounded pretty strange and as I was less than a mile from home, I gently drove it back. It seemed OK, except that it was making a creaking/cracking type sound. I pulled up, and got out to examine it. I noticed that the front N/S was sitting a little low compared with the driver's side. I got the jack out, lifted it up and took the wheel off. After a minute I noticed that the spring didn't look right and then I could clearly see/feel that it was broken.

This leaves me in an uncomfortable position (I daren't guess how much Lexus would want to change the front springs, as I have always been told to change suspension parts as a pair)

Should I try and ask the council/local authorities to cough up because of the pot hole? Or is this a quite normal occurance (It is a 94/M with 85K miles)

Does anyone know how much the springs cost to buy?

Is it something that could be changed by myself and a competent friend? Anything nasty to watch out for on this particular job?

Failing this, can anyone recommend a good specialist near Surrey/Middlesex etc?

Kind Regards,

William

[maneesh]

William,

You poor sod!

Right, replacing both my front springs at Lexus a few years back incl. 10% discount cost me £500 inc. VAT for both springs. Each spring cost 85+VAT.

The price may have gone up due to rising labour costs.

If you wanna get the parts yourself, you could try the place I used in the USA to get my upper control arms (I saved a bundle). See my link regarding 90-94 car and tired suspension.

Alternatively, you could go Gold here and get the 10-15% discount on Lexus parts through dealers in the UK.

The only independent place I know of that might be able to help you near Surrey is Powerhouse Garage in Camberley. They specialise in Soarers, but will prob have the expertise and most importantly, a low enough labour rate to help you in your situation.

I'm not sure whether this is a DIY job. Anyone else got comments?

Hope this helps.

Maneesh

P.S An article in the paper the other day mentioned how councils are having to fork out lots of money to pay motorists who sue them for damaged suspensions when driving over unrepaired roads (lots of bad roads around). Make sure you take a pic of the pothole and send it to them, along with the estimate for changing the spring. You will have a strong case I reckon.

[chips229]

Im also sorry William,

to here about the broken spring....

I would like maneesh says take some photos of the pothole,putting say a ruler in to show how deep the pothole is...you will find as soon as you take it up with the council,the hole will be repaired so get some pictures..

You should have a good case about the pothole..in fairness they should repair your motor...If the roads were kept up together in the first place...say over the last 15 years theres not been much resurfing around our area....

I remember going to Greese years ago on holiday and thinking how poor there roads were...

then going there again on holiday years later and thinking how much better they were than ares..

Good luck.

[andy haw]

Sorrey to hear about the broken spring.As a ex highway inspector of over 25 years and someone who dealt with insurance claims I would suggest your chance of claiming against the council will be slim.

The council in their defence will say (and have records) that they have carried out regular inspections and that covers them in a court of law in most cases.Are you sure it was a pothole and not a defective trench as that is another case.You could try to claim with photos etc.

[ROYT]

When I got my'94 Ls I found both front springs were broken.

I replaced them myself,cannot remember how much 'cos I bought new front rotors at the same time.

You can do this job with any one who has removed a front suspension leg

before,say a macpherson strut.

The complete leg is easily removed and then you can carefully hold it in a vice

[i put some old lead flashing in the jaws so it was'nt damaged] while you remove/

replace the broken spring,

What you ABSOLUTELY MUST DO is get the most substantial spring compressors

you can get.[hire]?

I use two on each spring, these are strong springs, but are easy to control with

good compressors.

When the leg is in the vice,check before dismantling and reassembling how the spring sits in place.

Don't try to rush the job,make sure the spring is captured securely before

removing the end.

Looks scary but BIG BUTCH COMPRESSORS are the key!!

[will_uk]

Thanks for the replies guys!

After thinking it over I decided it not worth bothering the council/highways agency or whoever. After all, in fairness, although this pothole was the unfortunate last straw I doubt it would have been the entire reason for this failure. It does seem that this is not unusual/unique on an LS400 (as other people on this forum have had broken springs). If it had been a brand new car, then that would be different but I can't point the finger fully at them, nor do I think I would get anywhere anyway!

So, an update. I have phoned Lexus Guildford for a price on the springs. After an initial bit of confusion on their part (ie, they didn't ring back to start with, and then they phoned back with price for shock absorbers instead of coil springs etc) I finally got a price from them. I was quoted £495 inclusive of parts and labour. To be honest I was expecting about £500 so I was not surprised.

When I asked how much of that was the parts and how much was for labour, the assistant said she didn't know. I got a call back and found that the springs are £70+vat each. I know that it's a main dealer, but I thought I would give it a bit of thought first as that is £330 for fitting.

So, later that day I phoned my local garage (They primarily work on Audi/Volkswagen/Mercedes/BMW.) Tthey are a smallish place, perhaps 5 or 6 staff and 3 ramps. I trust them totally and I have all of my MOTs done with them and most of my last cars (mercedes etc) were all serviced and repaired there. I have never had any bad jobs or bulls**t excuses from them, and they are always honest. I asked if he would be able to fit the springs for me, and he asked me to bring the car down. I took the car to him, and he had a look at it and said he would fit them for £60 a side, as long as I bought the springs. They say that they have quite often worked on Lexus before, and was surprised at the broken spring as, (quoting his words) "they are nomally so reliable!".

So, I have ordered and collected the springs (from Lexus Guildford) and it is booked in for next saturday to have them fitted at my local garage.

I am not of the opinion that all garages/dealerships are the same, and that they all use the same tools etc, but at the end of the day, fitting coil springs is not rocket science, and I am not keen to spend £200+ extra just to have it done at Lexus. If it were a more specialised fault (ie, electrical, Lexus-specific etc) then that would be different.

So, fingers crossed all will be well next weekend.

Cheers,

William

[maneesh]

Good to see you managed to save some cash. Hope it works out for you.

[chips229]

Let us know if it drives better with new springs.

Good luck

[will_uk]

Hello Everybody,

A quick update.

Car went in yesterday morning, as arranged, and had both front springs replaced. No complaints, no problems and an excellent job done!

First impressions are that aside from the fact that the car sits about 2 inches higher at the front than it did, it does drive a bit better. Seems to feel less wallowy (is that a word). Well more firm and responsive anyway. I'll see what it's like after a few days so that I can compare better once it's settled down.

Cheers,

William