1999 4cyl Camry Bouncy Ride - Struts?

[stupenal]

Hi All,

I'm not a regular on this forum, but I'm not new to forums and DIY either as I have a very needy e36 M3 which constantly requires my attention. My mother's extra car that I sometimes borrow for longer trips , a 1999 Camry LE 4cyl with 135k miles, has recently began to exhibit signs that the rear driver side strut is completely blown. On expansion cracks on the freeway, the rear end on the drivers side will be extremely bouncing to the point where I have to keep both hands on the wheel. When there is a passenger sitting in the rear driver's side, the bouncing is even worse. When pushing down on that side with no passengers in the car, the car will bounce very easily.

All the symptoms point to a rear strut problem, but what I'm not sure about is how fast this problem came about. In my experience, when struts start to go, they go gradually to the point where you don't really notice it at all. I drive this car maybe once a month at most, and it sits there untouched for the rest of the time, so it was very surprising that it suddenly began to handle in this manner. Has anyone had this happen before? I haven't had a chance to jack the car up and take a quick peak to see if anything is obviously wrong, but based on the bouncy nature, I can't think of any problems other than the struts. Other ideas?

I plan on picking up Monroe's (good choice??) for both sides in the rear and tackling the DIY myself. The FAQ contains a writeup for the 3rd gen camry, but I've read that the process is similar/the same for the 4th gen. I've done several shocks/strut installs on various cars at this point, so I'm not too worried except for a couple of things:

1. The "tilt" of the upper strut mount - can I get away with just snapping a picture to understand the angle at which the strut mount faces? or does it have to be something very precise?

2. The "strut rod flats" - I assume this is essential to the install so I'll try and take a measurement before and after.

3. What is the size of the center nut that secures the strut hat to the strut rod? Is there enough room around the center nut that I can squeeze in an impact socket? I'd rather use my impact gun to bust the nut (heh heh) off than use vise grips on the strut shaft.

Thanks for all the help guys!

[gyjoe]

You might want to consider Monroe Quick Struts. I recently put them on all 4 and have been pleased. You wouldn't have to worry about questions 1-3. They were something like $125 apiece from Rock Auto, which is a good deal for all the parts you get in the complete, ready-to-bolt-on assembly.