Weak springs, 99 Camry 4 cyl., 130,000 mi.

[joede]

Well I measured my vehicle height at front and rear per Service manual Vol. 2 (section SA4) and both measurements are off by about an inch. Front is supposed to be 8.35 inches at center of front side lower suspension arm bolt and it is about 7.25 inches. Rear is supposed to be 10.39 inches at center of Strut Rod mounting bolt and is about 9.45 inches.

My questions are: Are my springs so bad that they need replaced? What are the risks of not replacing them?

I have read a lot about Monroe's "Quick Strut assembly", if I need new springs and shocks (I know I also need rear shocks due to excessive bounce, maybe front shocks too), are the Monroe Quick strut assembly the way to go? I am getting prices like $200 each for the rears and more for the fronts.

Finally, if the Monroe's are the way to go with this, does anyone know where I can get them at a reasonable price?

I am going to do the labor myself.

Thanks Guys! Any help or recommendations would be appreciated.

Joe


PS I have read all of the posts and it seems a tie between Tokico, Monroe and KYB-G2 for an OEM ride. Comments?

PSS How long are the springs on a 99 Camry 4cyl supposed to last? My Camry has 130,000 miles on it.

[Kingdom934]

You might just need new struts.

Most times the sag are caused by worn struts. Only real time I heard springs become bad is if they are riding on a set of bad struts for a long time.

The 'recommendation' for strut replacement is every some 40,000~60,000 miles. Again, this depends on your area road conditions and how you drive. My mom replaced her Camry 2001 LE struts recently when she had about 80,000. The new ones are stiff and gave her a slightly higher ride height from the worn ones. Not a huge difference, but I suspect her struts wasn't extremely worn (she isn't a rough driver).

[eurohazard]

While I agree struts alone will likely sure the sagging (it worked for me), I couldn't imagine changing them every 40k miles. That would suck.

[werkit217]

Usually tha deal goes, if u push down on either tha bak or tha front of tha car and it bounces more than once b4 it stops, u need struts replaced. Springs only need to be replaced if ur car looks lowered (very small wheel gap between tire and fender) when u have never installed lowering springs. Springs dont really need to get changed if u got oem equipment, i personally got 170,000 miles on tha body n still stock springs, may change em eventually but in no rush. One piece of advise, DO NOT BUY MONROE SHOCKS, thsoe things will wear out within tha first half year to year, Id stick more to KYB, BILSTEIN, TEIN.

[Kingdom934]

Yea, Even I find the every 40,000 a bit extreme, but some people like the crisp handling. With my Mom's Camry, I'd say she could have gotten 100,000 miles out of the stock struts before they got extreme, but then again most people normally just live and deal with their shocks until something blows with them and then they replace them.

Originally Posted by werkit217

Usually tha deal goes, if u push down on either tha bak or tha front of tha car and it bounces more than once b4 it stops, u need struts replaced. Springs only need to be replaced if ur car looks lowered (very small wheel gap between tire and fender) when u have never installed lowering springs. Springs dont really need to get changed if u got oem equipment, i personally got 170,000 miles on tha body n still stock springs, may change em eventually but in no rush. One piece of advise, DO NOT BUY MONROE SHOCKS, thsoe things will wear out within tha first half year to year, Id stick more to KYB, BILSTEIN, TEIN.

Yea. Thats a pretty good rule. If you can push down and up with it having little resistants in stopping (as in your not struggling to keep making it move), then most likey they need replacing.

My mom got the Monroe shocks from a local repair shop. Heh, We'll see how long they'll last.

[joede]

Thanks for the advice. What I am hearing you all say is that springs are probably OK and buy the KBY-G2 struts. Correct?

Anyone know who sells them at a good price?

By the way, you all are not the only people to say the Monroe's go out quick, but does anybody know why?? Design defect??

Finally I know the rear struts are bad because of excessive bounce but the fronts seem pretty stiff ie after I bounce the front fender up and down it recovers after 2 bounces. Do these need replaces too? Both front and rears are the originals that came with the car new.

What do you think? Do I need new front struts too?

[werkit217]

yea changed tha struts, kyb r reasonably priced n a good dependable brand for daily driving. I personally got mine (all four) brand new off of ebay for like $215 wit shipping. U could also go on tirerack.com and .com i knoe they got some on there as well but lil more expensive. Like i said tha springs u'll have to be tha judge on that, jus follow my lil rule but u really dont need to rite now. Id mos def change out tha rear ones ASAP, tha fronts is up to u, u dont need to rite now, but since u gon be doin some replacing anyway, n they will need replacing soon, id jus replace those as well n get it over wit tha time n money. but tha fronts u be tha judge

[werkit217]

As far as monroes go, they jus a lowend cheap brand simple as taht, it like tires, u cant compare cooper tires wit lets say michelin