Camry Strut Replacement-- Dealers Won't do it!

[dirtydragon]

I have a '93 Camry V6 with 142,000 miles and I'm running the original struts.

My ride quality is poor-- suspension is harsh over bumps, steering feels sloppy, and ride is floaty. My tires have worn unevenly.

The rest of the steering/ suspension is in good shape (tie rod ends, ball joints...)

Just considering mileage and the fact the struts are 12 yrs. old, I think they should be replaced.

The problem is the 4 dealers that I have taken the car to refuse to replace the struts. Every one of them has said, "if they're not leaking, there's nothing wrong with them." They do the "bounce test" on the bumper and they say they're OK.

How can I convince them to do the work?

After much persistance, one shop said, "I'd be happy to take your money for work your car doesn't need. The labor would be 10 hours." Isn't this too much? I thought shops got 1.5 hours per side. (1.5 X 4 wheels= 6 hours).

What do you think?

[atobe]

you can just do the work yourself. might take you longer than 6 yrs but it beats paying for that. it is a simple job

[toylover]

Agreed, diy.

[BenG]

Originally posted by atobe
you can just do the work yourself. might take you longer than 6 yrs but it beats paying for that. it is a simple job

I should sure hope it doesn't take 6 years! But why are you going to a dealer anyways? If you don't want to do the work yourself, go to an independant mechanic... or find a buddy to do it for you.

[The Wolf]

You can do this job in a weekend.... took me and my dad 14 hours to change all 4 (we work slowly, and without air tools)

[dna59]

it's not hard to do it yourself. i did it. only special tool i used was the spring tensioner. took me and my dad about 3 hours to change 2 without air tools.

[cam2Xrunner]

The labor at a regular shop would be one hour per corner. Figure at most 260 dollars. Buy some struts off ebay. Tokico are good, even for reg. replacement, or KYB GR-2. I'd also rec. changing the front strut mounts and strut mount bearings. The tokico struts are like 300-350 off ebay. The strut mounts are 60-70 bucks each and the bearings are around 25 bucks each.

[ryuji16]

dont waste your time going to dealers. ask around for a reputable independent shop. id trust those over a dealer any day when it comes to service (providing that it is an honest shop - thats why u gotta ask around).

[CamNub]

Might as well get springs with the struts to add to the performance. It'll handle way better and look cooler.

It'll prolly be like 230 (at most) for springs. And those are the best springs you can get, Eibach. And like 360 for struts.

[emb257toy]

Guys, any suggestions on how to do it yourself for Camry 97?

[deekay140]

Where u live in Illinois?

[nort0188]

You don't need to remove the brakes to do the struts... maybe on your gen4, but not on a gen3. When you're removing the assembly from the car, make sure that the last thing you undo is the top three strut mount nuts. If you don't, the assembly will move around on you more, and make it much more difficult.

[zoni]

easy shit... i can change springs and struts in 2 hours by myself. i have air tools, but maybe that would add an extra hour without them... you can rent or buy spring compressors at autozone.

[Mikey21]

Originally posted by dirtydragon
The problem is the 4 dealers that I have taken the car to refuse to replace the struts. Every one of them has said, "if they're not leaking, there's nothing wrong with them." They do the "bounce test" on the bumper and they say they're OK.

I think you should keep the names of those dealer shops handy. Because most would have already had your money in their pocket without blinking. If those mechanics feel that your struts don't need to be replaced that's a good thing, because it shows that they're honest. But you are the customer and they will do what ever you tell them you want done.