TRD Strut bar install

[touringcamry]

I got the TRD Solara strut bar with no instructions and followed what I could find on this forum about putting it in my 2000 Camry. It fit fine without adjustment despite what some other posts said.

I took the three 14mm nuts on each side off with an impact wrench. Put the bar on and tightened those back with a ratchet and torqued to about 60 lbs (The beam type torque wrench only has 5lb graduations). Then I tightend the 17mm bolt that connects the feet to the center bar using a ratchet and held the 8mm side with another ratchet and 8mm hex key.

How much torque should the 17mm bolt be tightened to? I was using two 3/8" drive ratchets so it couldn't have been more than maybe 20 to 30 lbs. That's as tight I could get the three 14 mm bolts on top of the struts with the ratchet before I used the torque wrench.

Now the 14mm nuts on top stick up a whole bunch. They are torqued to approx 60lbs, but they look like they are up more than the thickness of the strut bar's rings. I got the strut bar to sit as flush as I could get it before I tightened it down. I think this should be ok, no?

I will get picks tomorow morning. Fairly easy to install, took about 40 minutes. Probably a little longer if I didn't have an impact wrench.

Improvements were minimal but I noticed that my tires dont squeal or chirp as much as they used to while making high speed turns. The rest of my suspension is stock. I do not want to lower my car since it will severely limit my already limited off road capabilities. There are lots of unpaved roads, paths, and parking lots in my area.

[skewe]

pics
pics

[touringcamry]

Yeah, the engine bay is really dirty...but that what happens when you own a car in the Mojave desert.




Larger engine bay pic


Larger pic of nut pic

[jhbhatia]

hope this helps (i did a search and this came out) WOOT my thread:
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t36620.html
(from that thread)

Front (all in ft-lbs): 1) strut upper mounts: 59, 2) strut-to-suspension support (damper shaft) nut: 36, 3) strut-to-steering knuckle nuts: 156 for Camry, 162 for Solara, 4) stabilizer bar link to strut: 29
Rear (in the same format as above): 1) 29, 2) 36, 3) 145, both Camry and Solara, 4) 29.

[skewe]

looks nice.