sway bar and sway bar bushing q's

[lowtech]

Has anyone else experienced problems with the rear sway bar or sway bar bushings on these cars. I think it/they are the source of a noise I get over light bumps. Any advice or opinions would be appreciated.

[kc9vh]

Originally Posted by lowtech

Has anyone else experienced problems with the rear sway bar or sway bar bushings on these cars. I think it/they are the source of a noise I get over light bumps. Any advice or opinions would be appreciated.

I think this is a common problem with Gen 3 Camrys. Mine went out at 100,000 miles. I had to find problem myself as dealer cound not find cause of noise. 314,000 miles now and no more problems sine having them replaced.

[djb2]

I just fixed a rattling noise on the GF's 1993 Camry.

The nuts on the rear struts, the ones holding the strut to the upper mount, were loose. Re-tightening them (they both took well over a full turn even though the sound appeared to be only from one side) to about 60ftlbs eliminated the rattle over bumps.

To access the rear strut mount you have to remove the rear deck cover. Pull up on the rear seat bottom and remove it. Use a 10mm socket to remove the one bolt on each side that retains the side bolsters and lift them up to release them. Lower the seat backs and pop the trim caps off of the two screw covers, removing the screws with a #2 driver. Unclip the cover over the 3rd brake light, remove the two screws and connector, and remove the light assembly from the car. Now the rear deck cover will slide forward, releasing from the clips that hold it around the rear window.

You can easily see the three nuts on each side that hold the strut mounts. Check that they are secure. Pop the rubber cap off of the center (it's easy to replace it later) and check that the 19mm nut is pretty tight. I used a torque wrench set to 60 ftlbs and got a few turns in.

You can do this in about 20 minutes. It took me about 1.5 hours because I took the opportunity to spray on upholstery cleaner, vacuum everything and clean the window.

[toyotaholic]

It could be loose. On my gen 4 i had this problem numerous times. The swaybar was coming loose from the tie rod and had to buy a lock nut so it wont come loose anymore. Also I'd buy some grease for the bushings while you're at it.

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by djb2

I just fixed a rattling noise on the GF's 1993 Camry.

The nuts on the rear struts, the ones holding the strut to the upper mount, were loose. Re-tightening them (they both took well over a full turn even though the sound appeared to be only from one side) to about 60ftlbs eliminated the rattle over bumps.

To access the rear strut mount you have to remove the rear deck cover. Pull up on the rear seat bottom and remove it. Use a 10mm socket to remove the one bolt on each side that retains the side bolsters and lift them up to release them. Lower the seat backs and pop the trim caps off of the two screw covers, removing the screws with a #2 driver. Unclip the cover over the 3rd brake light, remove the two screws and connector, and remove the light assembly from the car. Now the rear deck cover will slide forward, releasing from the clips that hold it around the rear window.

You can easily see the three nuts on each side that hold the strut mounts. Check that they are secure. Pop the rubber cap off of the center (it's easy to replace it later) and check that the 19mm nut is pretty tight. I used a torque wrench set to 60 ftlbs and got a few turns in.

You can do this in about 20 minutes. It took me about 1.5 hours because I took the opportunity to spray on upholstery cleaner, vacuum everything and clean the window.

You don't have to remove the rear deck to access the 3 nuts that hold down the rear strut mounts. You just have to remove the seat bottom and the side bolsters. Then the 3 nuts are reachable, but it's somewhat of a tight fit. You can't get a socket in there, but you can get an open end or boxed wrench in there and turn them a bit with each turn. To me this is still easier and quicker than removing the rear deck, IMHO.

Mike