Sluggish Rear

[nobitanobi]

Hi, I have a 97 camry with 126k miles. A week or two ago the rear of the car started to feel really sluggish compared to before. When I look at both the rear struts/springs I saw this:

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/2...ghtrearcw5.jpg

Is there anything wrong with the picture beside the torn rubber boot/cover?


My front struts/mounts were replaced 1-2 years ago without problem. All my fluids are looking good. Good spark plug/wire, oil changed every 1500 miles. tires are good.

the rear feels "okay" with just me in the car, but if there is another average passenger the car feels like its towing a boat. fustrated and lost.

Thank you.


add: I dont hear any weird sound when going over bump etc.

[xet]

most likely just worn out and need to be replaced. mine are getting like that so im going to replace them soon as well but with performance struts and springs

[bigbird]

sounds like worn shock and springs to me. picture looks normal for a car of that many miles.

[nobitanobi]

thank you both very much. is there a sure way of testing the rear strut/spring on my own?

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by nobitanobi

thank you both very much. is there a sure way of testing the rear strut/spring on my own?

Push down on the rear bumper of the car. Notice if it keeps bouncing more than 1 to 1-1/2 times before completely stabilizing at it's normal ride height. Also notice how easily it pushes down. You might want to compare the ease of pushing down to another generation 4 Camry.

As a side note, my 98's rear strut/spring combo was shot well before 100,000 miles. I also had a clunking noise back there. I replaced them with the Monroe Quick Struts and was very satisfied with the noticable improvement in ride and handling, along with ride height. I highly recommend them since everything is now replaced. I can't tell you how long they will last as my 98 was totaled about 6 weeks later.

Mike

[xet]

ya just push down and notice how bouncing it is and you can kinda just gauge it vs your front and what your rear was like before. but the floaty feeling is typically a sign they are worn out. mine are also getting pretty worn at 134,000 miles and will be replace with tokico, hr combo soon