Just replaced torque strut

[islandboy57]

There's a thread over in the gen 5/6 forum about replacing the torque strut so I decided to look at mine (it was fine) and my mom's. Hers had disintegrated. It's original so I guess after 14 years and 85K miles it was overdue for a replacement. I'm not sure if the front and rear motor mounts were ever replaced but the car is still silent and vibration free at idle so I'm guessing they're fine. The only thing is that it seemed to jolt into overdrive if I gunned it while it was shifting.

$73.79 @ Toyota or $29.99 @ Checkers for "Anchor" aftermarket. I decided to just go OEM. Hopefully the price premium was worth it!

Old:


New (installed):



This was a very easy replacement. Just unbolt each end, remove, replace, and screw back in. The bolt attached to the car was on pretty tight so it took some muscle to get it off.

I drove the car tonight and it definitely feels better. My mom will never notice it but eh, I'm sure the strut mount is there for a reason so I figured I'd replace it for her anyway .

[new echo owner]

Good to hear that you took care of your mom's car.

Usually when the bushing tears up like that is because the engine is shifting too much probably due to excess movement of the engine mounts. You can check that by putting the vehicle in gear and power brake it, both in drive and reverse. With the hood open and observe how the engine moves, there should be some movement but not too much. In some worst case, the whole engine will lifts up in 'Drive'.

N.E.O.

[Eye8Pussies]

good choice going with oem actually....the aftermarket ones don't hold up for very long

[Eye8Pussies]

some do, but again, the aftermarket ones don't look so good of quality either (I had one and then sold it)

[islandboy57]

Thanks for the input on OEM vs. aftermarket - I'm glad I forked over a bit extra to go OEM! N.E.O. - I'll have to check that out. I'm afraid to see how much it would cost to get the front and rear motor mounts replaced. Labor on Toyota V6s always costs so much..totally worth it though.

I asked my mom if she noticed her car being slightly smoother to which she replied, "What? No, my car is always smooth" > the car always starts and she hasn't had a car payment in more than 10 years, so she's perfectly happy with it.

[new echo owner]

Often, simply replacing the front mount will take care of majority of the vibration problem. Most of the time the rear mount just 'sits' there; the front mount, on the other hand, is always stretching and compressing while the vehicle is in motion.

N.E.O.