Changing Camry Struts - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

yipal · 09-26-2010, 01:50 AM

Hi all,
I wrote up an article about how to change struts and strut mounts on a gen 4 Camry (1998). I thought it might be helpful for some of the people here.

http://yipal.blogspot.com/2010/09/ho...ut-mounts.html

Cheers, Alex

AliRazoR · 09-26-2010, 07:41 AM

very good.

deadrx7conv · 09-26-2010, 11:14 AM

Should rewrite here and have it made into a sticky.

For those afraid of springs, loaded struts are now available with pre-installed springs.

PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING. I'm still chuckling at this first sentence for the link. Assisting someone else with their maintenance is a good way to learn if you're not in a trade school or apprenticing at the local shop. Any and all maintenance should be supervised if you've never done it.

carsrus · 09-26-2010, 09:49 PM

Awesome write up. Only thing I dont agree with is the need to do an alignment after doing the front struts. Ive never had issues on any car as long as the only bolts you remove are for the knuckle.

I replace tie rods on a normal basis by just screwing them in the same exact position. (Just dont tell my customers that hahahaha)

yipal · 09-26-2010, 11:51 PM

Thanks guys!

During a test drive after changing the struts, I thought the handling was noticeably off, and different from pre-strut-replacement. In the printout for the alignment I got, the specs were pretty far off, and the car handled noticeably better after the alignment. I was happy to spring for the alignment if it was going to preserve the life of my tires.

71Corolla · 09-26-2010, 11:52 PM

Nice write-up, very helpful. Although in my part of the world, the end link nuts are almost always seized due to road salt. I have yet to work on one Toyota where I was able to remove the nut without having to heat it (which destroys the link).

Quote:

Originally Posted by carsrus

Awesome write up. Only thing I dont agree with is the need to do an alignment after doing the front struts.

I'm certain you do indeed need to get the car aligned. You might get lucky, but the alignment will change, even if it's not a lot. When I did the struts on my '93, I had it aligned after and it was out (I got a print out which showed the before and after specs).

It's best to just get it done, otherwise you risk wearing out your tires, not to mention your steering and handling won't be as good as it could be.

***fenixus*** · 09-27-2010, 12:15 AM

great DIY with pics!

thanks!

I suggest too to re-post it all here in initial post of this thread. sticky!