Need some suspension advice for a cross country move

[wackamack]

Well I have been registered for a few months now but havn't posted anything however find myself in need of some advice and was hoping you guys would have some helpful input!

I currently own a 1999 gen4 camry I4 5sfe and its got roughly 303,000k on it. I am aware the struts are all shot since it rides like a boat and bottoms out frequently if im not careful... what I am wondering is this. I am planning a move, cross country, and its about 1,700km. What would be the best suspension for me to get to safely haul my fully loaded camry out west? I would have standard things i will need like clothes, minimal tools, computer+stereo, some dishes etc. I plan to load the car up but want to minimize the risk of me bottoming it out or ruining new suspension if i get it installed. The springs seem to be fine and had the rear ones replaced recently however am looking at full strut assemblies for ease of installation.

im not sure if i can get away with not replacing them or if i would be able to replace just the back and not the front to save money? or would i have to do both? is there heavier duty suspension or just go "like stock"? what name would you recommend between Raybestos, Leacree, Monroe or Pro? I am trying to work with what rock auto has unless you have a better suggestion? Im just trying to keep on a tight budget yet help the car some since it has been so good to me. Im trying to return the favor since she is going to have to put out for me 3-5 days straight depending on how i feel as it gets later

well I hope you guys can give me some advice on that and maybe some other tips before i make such a long trip with an aged car. I just dont want my camry to be like ->

I love my camry!

[Eye8Pussies]

to be honest, running on an aged suspension is not the most comfortable thing in the world, but if you stay on highways and don't try to take on/off ramps like a race car, regardless of the condition of your suspension, you should be able to make the drive just fine

if you're unsure, just replace everything with oem-spec replacements (monroes are usually fairly accessible in canada) and change all four corners. If you're really just worried about carrying stuff, the weight would all be in the back, so you can just go with that.

[Yuko]

It should drive fine. Highway drive isn't too hard on the suspension. If your rear suspension are bottoming out, you can add some rubber spring booster to have stiffen it up and help rise the rear.

If you plan to replace it. A few members here including me were having problems with Monroe Quick-strut clunking. KYB strut is what most recommend. I would also check the sway bar bushing, tie rods, and end links for play.

[wackamack]

thanks for the reply guys

hmm... so if I got spacers now just to give it a little extra lift for the trip and then replaced them there that may be a better option? does the strut help the spring push the and keep the car up? im not exactly sure how it works. I apologize for the stupid questions but i learn more from learning how/why things work that trying to troubleshoot in the dark.

[BMR]

Originally Posted by wackamack

does the strut help the spring push the and keep the car up? im not exactly sure how it works. I apologize for the stupid questions but i learn more from learning how/why things work that trying to troubleshoot in the dark.

They do, a little. They're gas charged, so that pushes the piston out which provides some lifting force, but it's not much. 10 lbs, maybe. I can push 'em back in with my hand.

Mostly, they resist motion. In engineering-speak, they generate force proportional to velocity. So if things are moving, they're providing resistance to that motion.

[wackamack]

well thank you all for the helpful posts! I think im going to replace the rears and save doing the fronts until i see how the car holds up for the rest of the winter.

thanks again guys!