Parts list for 200k tune up; strut mounts, struts, etc...

[beegeezy]

Hi everyone,

I haven't introduced myself yet so let me tell you briefly about me and my car. I am a former car audio installer/part time gear head and now full time student. I have had many cars over the years and have done lots of repair work including timing belts, clutches, and lots of suspension and brake work.

I got a good deal on a cheap car recently that I hope will last me until I finish school. <2 yrs to go. (not counting grad school)
2001 Camry LE 1mzfe one owner car that was dealer maintained. No wrecks, clean car, but it has 202k miles so it does have a few things that need to be addressed.

I plan on replacing:
Speakers. (3 out of 6 jbl originals still working)

Front rotors and pads. (using brembo blanks and akebono ProActs, rebuilding the calipers too)

Front/Rear struts (Gabriel Ultra from AZ), strut mounts, and front bearings.

Valve cover/spark plug gaskets and plugs. (Should be fun from what I gather)

some or all of the engine mounts (dog bone is starting to crack but I can't tell about the other ones) It does clunk a bit when going from park to reverse and drive.


So I have been reading the forums for a while trying to get some idea of what parts to use. I am still unsure of what brand strut mounts to use and which engine/transmission mounts I need.

Are the cheaper Gabriel or Monroe strut mounts ok? Are the slightly more expensive KYB or Raybestos worth the extra money? Gabriel rear strut mounts from AZ for example are only $13.50 each after rebate and KYB/Raybestos ones are $40-50 each online. Front mounts seem to range from the cheaper Gabriel on Amazon (~$40 each), KYB ($49 each), to Raybestos (~$68 each). I'm not considering buying OE Toyota ones because they are more than twice the price...unless the other options are garbage. I am a very casual driver btw so no need for performance parts.

Has anyone replaced the engine mount shock absorber? Does this fail often? Part#15 Absorber Engine mount


Thanks guys

Brian

Oh, btw...for my first mod I scored some es300 lighted sunvisors with homelink for $50 from LKQ in New Braunfels, TX. Highly recommended for those who have broken visors or just want an upgrade over the originals!

[bigbird]

check your transmission fluid and brake fluid as well. if the tranny fluid is not a red/pink color, it may need a change. though a drain and fill would likely suffice, sometimes a full flush with an old automatic can do more harm then good.

[bronzemaxell]

for your suspension, i highly recommend you also look at spring insulator (the one where spring sits on strut seat), strut boots, and swaybar end link if it leaks

[beegeezy]

The trans fluid looks good, light pink. I plan on flushing the brake fluid with some synthetic stuff. Valvoline IIRC...

[beegeezy]

Originally Posted by bronzemaxell

for your suspension, i highly recommend you also look at spring insulator (the one where spring sits on strut seat), strut boots, and swaybar end link if it leaks

If I need to replace the insulator, boots, or anything else rubber on the strut assembly I will probably just get the ready mounts...since they come with everything. I would like to try and save the ~$200-250 and not get the ready mounts. If the difference is closer to $100-150 with extra parts needed to go the cheap route I'll prob just spring for the RM's.

[peshwa]

Basically you are looking at putting in more than $1000 or more into the car at this point i.e. 200K mileage. This is assuming the car is well maintained and well taken care of!
A brand new stock suspension will cost you around $700 in parts alone. New tires is another $300.
Before you pour that much money just answer below questions:

What state is your transmission in? Have a reputed transmission shop check it out.
What are the results of the engine compression test? Basically health check for your engine.
How good is your AC? I see that you live in hot texas....
Its no good if you spend $1.5K now and see the engine or transmission blow up within 5-10K miles. Ouch!
All the best and welcome to TN!

[beegeezy]

Thanks for the warm welcome.

The car is in better condition than you might expect. All four tires were replaced less than a month before I got the car. The engine and transmission work perfectly, no hesitation, and no major issues. (I will do a compression test when I replace the plugs) The a/c is very cold and everything electrical works properly.

The rotors and pads I'm installing were given to me. I have to buy everything else but by my calculations I'm looking at closer to $700 in parts and I'm doing all the labor. True, putting this much money in a car with this many miles may seem risky. If the car lasts me 50k more miles I will be very happy for how much I've spent. Plus...I kind of like getting every ounce of life outta the car, it's liking riding the old horse off into the sunset! ;-p

[93celicaconv]

I just put new rear struts in my Celica, and the word I got from other forums was to go with KYB, since they were the OEM struts on Toyota Celicas. I went with them and they are working just fine, much less noise when driving now, and feels so much better. My springs were good, so I just put the KYB struts, strut mounts, boots and insulators on. I reused the rubber insulator between the spring and the strut spring carriage. My strut mounts were shot though (my Celica is a 91 with 210,000 miles on it). Most places won't work on struts unless you put new mounts in. If you have to replace your springs also, Monroe makes a Quick Strut package in the Sensa-Trac model that is priced fairly good, and you don't have to worry about disassembling the old and reassembling the new this way. Saves a little bit of time.

[bronzemaxell]

Originally Posted by 93celicaconv

I just put new rear struts in my Celica, and the word I got from other forums was to go with KYB, since they were the OEM struts on Toyota Celicas. I went with them and they are working just fine, much less noise when driving now, and feels so much better. My springs were good, so I just put the KYB struts, strut mounts, boots and insulators on. I reused the rubber insulator between the spring and the strut spring carriage. My strut mounts were shot though (my Celica is a 91 with 210,000 miles on it). Most places won't work on struts unless you put new mounts in. If you have to replace your springs also, Monroe makes a Quick Strut package in the Sensa-Trac model that is priced fairly good, and you don't have to worry about disassembling the old and reassembling the new this way. Saves a little bit of time.

i was silly enough to change strut on my 93 camry with almost 300k miles, i bought the tokico strut inserts only, around $230, and then bought lower strut insulators($15-$20 each oem), strut boots ($10 each oem), reused strut mount, strut housing, spring, strut stopper. i ruin one of the swaybar endlink, bought a replacement, $23 for a pair, a word of advice, since swaybar end link is connected to strut, you have to take off all four swaybar endlink to change strut, use a 14mm socket, or wrench, spray wd40/pblaster or Liquid wrench on it, loose the nut holding the bolt first, make sure it can free spin, then use the 5mm hex key to hold bolt while turning the nut, if the nut becomes harder to spin loose, rocket the wrench back and forth motion until it is free spin again.

if you buy the monroe whole assembly, then you have to worry about reusing strut mount, boots, insulator, and compressing the spring. i have no experience with monroe strut, not sure how long it can last, or how it perform.

the tokico is quite impressive, it tighten my ride, less body roll, not harsh ride, other people might also recommend tokico spring, i did it on my last setup, regret since first day installed, it has good corner turn, i was able to feel every bump.

my cousin has a 2002 camry V6 SE, i also did his setup with kyb gr2 ($315), new oem strut mount, strut boots, lower strut insulator, new strut stopper ($400-$500 from www.toyotaoemparts.com), no more clunking noise, the old lower strut insulator was worn and torn, in his case, the clunking noise was from spring knocking the strut seat, now the ride feel like a new car, only hear noise of tires hitting the road, not metal to metal noise.

i bought those $20 strut compressor, but they are junk, now i have the sear $52 spring/strut compressor, a lot better built, i was able to use impact wrench on the sears spring compressor, autozone has the best free tool loaner program, you pay a deposit, no time limit, when you done, bring the tool back, they give full deposit back, no question ask.

[93celicaconv]

Bronzemaxell, when you buy the complete Monroe Quick Strut Assembly, it already includes the mount, boots, insulators and spring, so you DON'T have to worry about all of these, and they are all assembled for you. That is the point of the Quick Strut.