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Comments
Mike
My friend did said that my Struts are fine, but he argued that at 75,000 miles, my factory struts are approaching the end of its life cycle and that by changing my strut plates, I may as well change the struts too.
Mike
Otherwise, the car has been very reliable and is in good condition otherwise.
I would make sure your exhaust system is not the problem. Maybe the pipe is hitting the underbody somewhere.
Your Camry will last forever, hold on to it. When you out 250k miles on it...give it to a nephew to use for college. I sold my '94 Camry w/165k miles for $3000 last year...first person to look at it bought no questions asked.
Also, the noise on my 93' was still there after I put in the new Monroe struts last year. Later I noticed the noise was actually coming from the lose plastic covering around my steering column. I took a note card folded 5-6 times, jammed into the little space and whooola, the noise was gone. However, the noise and rattle was completely different from that on my 98' Camry. With the 98' it literally felt like the car was coming apart and it differed from time to time. The plastic made the same consistent noise all the time. I hope this helps.
Mike
Thank you
Mark
Using QuickStruts was amazing: it came as one unit INCLUDING new springs, strut mounts, bearings, cover -- everything! I purchased the QuickStruts at Advanced Auto Parts for a total cost of $352.00 and did the work myself. You can also order the parts on the internet or from other parts stores. Other auto firms wanted $600 to $800 just to replace the struts and strut mounts. By using QuickStruts, I did not have to deal with removing the large springs that are attached to the struts – QuickStruts came with their own springs.
I am not a mechanic and have not worked on a car in over 20 years, but changing out these front struts was an absolute piece of cake using this assembly. After installing new struts you will need an alignment job – which is usually around $70 to $100.
Make sure that you purchase a high quality aerosol can of penetrating oil and soak down the lower large bolts located on the bottom of the struts – do this one day BEFORE starting work replacing the struts. Also, spray the bolts about 10 minutes or so before trying to remove them – they can be a bear to remove. The nut size is a 22mm. Use a ½” socket wrench (not 3/8” – I broke mine on these nuts). If the bolts are still frozen – purchase a longer handled socket wrench.
Also soak down with penetrating oil the sway bar link top mounting bolt and brake line bolts – the bolts must be removed from the old struts and move to the new ones.
thanks
Nick
When I bought this car (used) 2 years ago, the mechanic who inspected the car suggested that I change out the suspension system. I did as he advised, and got the suspension changed (both front and back). But the new suspension system that he installed is very stiff. It feels like sports car like suspension. I can feel every bump/hole on the road. My wife is complaining lately about this.
I would like to have a much smoother ride in the car, something you would typically get in luxury cars. I do not care as much for the handling/cornering abilities. I am not a sports car driver. Is there something that can be done?
Does the existing suspension system need to be replaced with another system, or can some "tweaks" be done to the existing suspension to produce a smoother ride?
If I have to replace the system, what kind of suspension (make/model) should I buy?
How much does it cost? Is this something I can do myself with some instructions?
Did they just replace the struts (kept original springs), or something more?
What tires did you put on the car, and what inflation pressure do you run in them?
Just to reset on expectations.....if you want a "smooth ride like a luxury car", you won't get it on 10 year old Camry with 100K+ miles....and you should be asking yourself whether any of these changes are a good financial decision to do. There are things you can do if parts wear out to make it better (for instance tires), but I'm not sure I'd be throwing a bunch of money at a 10 year old car to replace non-defective suspension parts. You'd probably be better off saving the money for a couple years, and use it toward your next replacement vehicle.
Thanks!
Visiting Host
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http://www.trdracing.com/
thx.
I have a 2007 Camry XLE with 40,000 miles on it. The front struts are leaking already. This seems pretty premature. Meeting with the dealer today to see if they'll do anything for me. Has anyone else had this experience? Any suggestions?
Thank you,
smy123
My front end struts were shot. In addition, I added 4, 80,000 mile michelin tires on sale at costco-I love costco warranty, got alignment, changed the oil, transmission fluid and changed the air filter.
I was seeing unusual wear and my car was bottoming out over bumps. Here are a few lessons I learned (I'm not a mechanic):
1) If you have unusual wear on your tires, most likely it's alignment or the shocks.
2) If you need to replace your tires, make sure you get alignment -All 4-especially if you have unusual wear
3) Always check your shocks when you get new tires-ideally, you want your shocks to go out the same time your tires wear out. This is because shocks will definately affect alignment. So if you put on 80,000 miles tires, like me, you ideally want a shock that will last 80,000 miles.
If you wait a long time, not installing shocks can affect other stabilizing components of the car over the long term. Once I got the new tires, shocks and alignment brakes and the fluids.
It's not unusual is you are a city driver for your front shocks to last only half as long as your back. This is because the bumps the city drivers have are generally speed bumps or deep dips in the road and the front shocks take most the load most of the time. If you are careful over those dips and take it easy over the bumps, you can significantly extend the life of the shocks.
Next, as you can imagine all the stuff I did cost about $950.00. I mean everything. My car is 10 years old-Now it looks (inside and out as well as under the hood) and runs like new. If you figure in that I have not had a payment for at least 6 years, this really is worth the money. If I didn't it, I would have to buy another car a lot sooner and spend a lot more money in the future.
Moral of the story is always save money to perform maintenance-expect big outlays ever 60-80 miles because of shocks. I know it's easy to get use to the simple oil and transmission changes/air filter. When you buy tires, think about the cost per mile.
So here is the last word from me. If you have been diligent and been doing your maintenance, then yes, it's absolutely worth it to invest $350-$700 on shocks. I would say the same thing if it was 20 years. If you take care of your car and treat it right, you should get 30 years or 300,000 miles out of it... whatever comes first.
Check the belts, check the bearings, check the joints, check the boots every time you get your oil. You will mitigate most of your major repairs. You want a nice car where you know the history and are confident it will take you there. Look at the prices of cars now. Many of my friends have gone through three cars in the 10 years I owned m Camry. It's a lot of money to toss away just for not planning or budgeting for regular maintenance.
I hope this helps someone :-)
Mine is a 2007, and I bough the extended warranty. This will be my last Toyota.
I change the rear sway bar links and bushings, noise still there.
This started about 6month ago, when going over bumps, like small bumps in the road and manhole cover it sounds like the rear suspension is going to come out from under the car. I'm looking at replacing the Struts, the car has only 91120 miles on it, not abused, regular maintenance done on the car.
Any Ideas on what can be causing this terrible rattle.
Good luck.
Could it be the rear springs are weak or the rear bushing need changed?
That is not true - they should have told you what I will tell you:
I bet you that if you call Toyota directly and nicely explain the situation that they will cover it under warranty. I did this about 5 years ago and they very nicely covered a seat belt button that was sticking down - it was about 3 months past the warranty. Toyota will call the dealer and give them authorization.
Also, how many miles did your car have on it when you took delivery? I bet at least 5, could be more than 13, so that's another good "argument" point.
After you get this covered, I'd have a talk with the Service Manager and/or the General Manger of the dealer.
My '07 struts are not leaking, but I will keep an eye on them.
You can send a thank-you check to me at.... :shades:
And before that, I reported problems with the transmission shifting - also to be told it was "typical" and thanks to this site, have discovered that there is a technical bulletin that I can walk in with and make them fix that problem at least.
Anyone have problems with their passenger seat belts not working properly? In response to this complaint, all they did was lube it...
What exactly is wrong with the front? passenger seat belt?