strut replacement - should I do front or rear? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

towanda · 03-18-2010, 11:19 AM

Okay, my 2000 Camry is getting pretty close to 200,000 miles and still has the original struts. I can't afford to replace all 4 at this point. I am thinking of just getting the front or the rear done, and then doing the other end later in the year. If I do it that way, which would be better to replace now, the front or the rear? Or would it be better to just wait and replace them all at once? They are probably all equally worn, so I assume they all need to be replaced, I just can't afford it now. And I can't do the labor myself, I don't have all the tools, and I travel pretty much all the time for my job, and so even if I did have the tools, I couldn't very well do it in a hotel parking lot. Also, I am pretty much a girly-girl, and given that I just started to replace my spark plugs myself a year or so ago, I wouldn't feel all that comfortable doing the struts myself even if I did have the tools and the place to do it. So which would be more important to replace, the front or the rear?

Mike Gerber · 03-18-2010, 11:57 AM

IMHO, If I was only going to replace one pair I would replace the fronts first. That will improve the handling the most. Also, with 200,000 miles on the car I would consider the Monroe Quick Struts. They are a 1 piece strut, spring, strut mount and all the rubber pieces, as a whole assembly. They are a bit more expensive than just the struts themselves, but the labor should be a bit cheaper and then everything will be new. Springs and the rubber peices take a lot of abuse in 200,000 miles.

Mike

Bob800 · 03-18-2010, 12:07 PM

I replaced all four on my 97 camry last year (170K). If I were to just replace two, I would have done the front. I think they bear the bulk of the work stabilizing the car. Job itself was reasonable (my first time doing struts).

towanda · 03-18-2010, 03:20 PM

Thanks guys. I'll go with the front then. I would love to do them myself but I'd have to buy a hydraulic jack, jackstands, a torque wrench, and bigger sockets than I currently have. Also, I'd want to have someone there with me who knew what they were doing so that if I was doing something wrong, they could help me out. When I finally get settled permanently back in Chicago, I plan on getting more tools and starting to do this sort of thing myself. As it is, I have only done the spark plugs and wires myself, and very recently the front fenders and the blower motor resistor. Not anything difficult, but a big step beyond running to the Toyota dealer everytime I need something, lol. Hopefully I will work my way up to more difficult things in the near future. Thanks again for all your help.

hawkeye · 03-18-2010, 08:43 PM

I'll make it unanimous and say fronts unless the rears are doing the annoying clunk and rattle on rough roads. Don't be surprised if you have to replace the Stabilizer Links also. The nuts often rust solid and a shop will just cut them off to save time and make $$ on the replacements.

towanda · 03-19-2010, 09:22 PM

Thanks Hawkeye - and yep, they are doing the annoying clunk and rattle on rough roads, so I decided to replace all 4. A friend of mine from work that is pretty handy with cars volunteered to help out, so I was able to afford all 4. We put them on today, as well as new inner tie-rods. I went with the Monroe Quick Struts. It ended up being about a thousand bucks for the parts and then taking it in for an alignment. It was really pretty easy, but time consuming. I'm a Chicagoan, so there is ten years of rust on everything. Thank God for PB Blaster.

schumionbike · 03-19-2010, 09:36 PM

I'm going to have to something like this pretty soon (car havs 181 K), do, does anyone know how much it would cost at a reasonable shop? Also, is there any long term effects if I don't replace the struts right away beside annoyingness? Thanks guys!

ricamryman · 03-20-2010, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schumionbike

I'm going to have to something like this pretty soon (car havs 181 K), do, does anyone know how much it would cost at a reasonable shop? Also, is there any long term effects if I don't replace the struts right away beside annoyingness? Thanks guys!

Not safe if you have to make a quick evasive mauver to avoid something....

Mike Gerber · 03-20-2010, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schumionbike

I'm going to have to something like this pretty soon (car havs 181 K), do, does anyone know how much it would cost at a reasonable shop? Also, is there any long term effects if I don't replace the struts right away beside annoyingness? Thanks guys!

^ In addition to what ricamryman said about the unsafe handling, your tires may become cupped (especially in the rear ) due to all the bouncing they are exposed to with the weak struts.

As far as the cost, maybe towanda could post what she paid for all 4 Monroe Quick Struts. You could also call around to a few generic shops in your area (places like Pep Boys or Firestone or Sears) and ask for a quote.

MIke

bdy0003 · 03-20-2010, 11:51 AM

^^ To reiterate ricamryman, my car almost bought it when i had to turn quickly when someone was going into my lane. My car almost bought it.

^To reiterate Mike, my tires became cupped in the front (i heard rumbling) due to my stock struts being old.

For me, personally, I went with KYB GR-2 because I heard they were better than OEM and they cost me 255. I only replaced the rubber pieces that I couldnt reuse, but other than that, cost me 300 even, but I did it myself. Getting quickstruts would be easier if thats what you want.

schumionbike · 03-20-2010, 01:14 PM

thanks for the info guys!

primo382 · 03-20-2010, 06:00 PM

Personally, I notice you live in Chicago. I'm familiar with the climate in Chicago so unless you plan on having all four stuts done by next winter I would recommend starting with the rears. When your rear end is bouncing all over the place especially in the snow and you are on any slightly curved road, you run a high risk of spinning out. Especially since your rears are to the point where they are clunking and rattiling, I would definitely start with them first. This will also help the front end from almost touching the ground when you brake hard because the backend won't be 3 feet off the ground!

towanda · 03-20-2010, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

^ In addition to what ricamryman said about the unsafe handling, your tires may become cupped (especially in the rear ) due to all the bouncing they are exposed to with the weak struts.

As far as the cost, maybe towanda could post what she paid for all 4 Monroe Quick Struts. You could also call around to a few generic shops in your area (places like Pep Boys or Firestone or Sears) and ask for a quote.

MIke

I got my struts at Pepboys because they were the only place that had them in stock. The fronts were $220 each and the rears were about $180 each. The total for all 4 without tax was $800. I would have preferred to get another brand, but as I needed springs and mounts in addition to struts, it was cheaper to get the Quick Strut, and they were easy to install. Pepboys currently has a coupon for 50% off labor, if you wanted to have them do the installation. When I went in to buy the Quick Struts, they tried to talk me into having them install them, but I wanted to install them myself to save money, and also because I want to know how to do it myself. I am pretty happy with the ride now, so the Quick Struts aren't bad at all.

I can also vouch for the problems that occur with worn struts. My old tires were cupped pretty badly. I just got new tires recently because the old ones were so bad. Also, whomever said you would have problems with evasive maneuvers was right. A year ago, some guy in the lane to my left was going too fast in heavy traffic. The cars in front of him stopped suddenly and in order to keep from rear-ending someone, he came into my lane, and hit my left front fender. I have pretty quick reflexes, and tried to move to the right to avoid him, but my car was not handling very well, and I couldn't get over quickly enough. I would have been much more likely to avoid him if my suspension had not been so bad.

towanda · 03-20-2010, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by primo382

Personally, I notice you live in Chicago. I'm familiar with the climate in Chicago so unless you plan on having all four stuts done by next winter I would recommend starting with the rears. When your rear end is bouncing all over the place especially in the snow and you are on any slightly curved road, you run a high risk of spinning out. Especially since your rears are to the point where they are clunking and rattiling, I would definitely start with them first. This will also help the front end from almost touching the ground when you brake hard because the backend won't be 3 feet off the ground!

Thanks Primo - I got the Monroe Quick Struts yesterday and installed them with the help of a friend. I ended up getting all 4. I travel for my job quite a bit, and am in Dallas now, but going back to Chicago this week. That is one of the reasons I wanted to get them done now. The old struts were really bad, and I didn't want to be driving in Chicago weather with them being so bad. I've been on the road for a year and a half, and have been lucky to be in warmer states. The last time I was in Chicago, my old struts had maybe 165k on them. They were pretty worn then, but much worse at 200k. I can't imagine driving in ice and snow with them that bad, so I really wanted to get them done before I went back home.