Suspension Help - Bumpers, Seats and Bearings

[RedPhoenix]

I searched, read through some things, and want a confimration
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Alright, so some of you know, I just lowered my car. Driving around everything is going okay. Little things im concerned about though.



My strut is worn, soon to be replaced. This will help me with my excess bounciness I have now.

Spring Upper Seat and Lower Insulator. Those are the rubber pieces that go on the spring to help it seat in the assembly. They are old, if I replace them, will my slight (very VERY low) popping sound go away?

Upper insulator does what? mine are weak, 3/4 are together but its 10 years old.

Spring bumper will help fix anything? Anyway to tell if its worn?

Bearing. What will this do if replaced? 10 years old again

Strut support/mount. Replacing this will do what? I read through a few things, got many mixed ideas, so once and for all what does it do.

Some of these I am having a hard time finding, actually all of it but the struts. So where could I get brand new ones, that wont rape me in charges?

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That bar that attaches to the strut does what exactly? All I know is if its loose it goes nuts and makes noises. Its worn, I know it, its loose, but it doenst make noise anymore. What will replacing this do, and where do I get it, brand new.



Yes I know its another supsension question, but its a change atleast this time, woo.

Thank you,
Matt

[RedPhoenix]

bump - actually this is pretty serious. if I dont get this fixed in the next few days ill risk ruining more. sorry to be annoying, its scarying me a little.

[97camryman]

The Spring Upper Seat and Lower Insulator probably will not make any difference in popping noises, that is just the spring finding its way back into the notched section after a hard turn for instance. They would not hurt toreplace though.

Upper insulator protects the spring and the damper shaft from dust if I am thinking of the same thing you are talking about. I left mine as they were but mine were only 7 years old.

The spring bumper just keeps the strut from hitting the upper mount when you completely bottom out. Sometimes people cut them down a bit when they lower their car. I left mine as they were and never have any problems with a 1.7 inch drop.

The bearing is a candidate for replacement if it does not freely spin. Always grease it back up when reinstalling. It allows the front wheels to turn with the strut still attached. Without a bearing the spring would tear up the mounts and insulators. If the bearing is sticking, the spring may slip on the insulators anyways tearing up the rubber insulators.

Strut support/mount gets worn over time and makes a banging noise. Replacements at Toyota are around $70.

That bar that attaches to the strut is the swaybar link. It reduces body roll in turns. Basically, in a turn, the strut on the inside of the turn is extended and the one on the outside is compressed. The car rolls to the side. A sway bar links one strut to the other so when the outside strut is compressed, the bar puts force on the inside strut to compress it as well. Thus the car rolls less. Make sure the bar is on good!

[RedPhoenix]

bump thanks for this info. Now where can I get the insulator and such cheap?

[BlueFusion6851]

Originally Posted by 97camryman

The Spring Upper Seat and Lower Insulator probably will not make any difference in popping noises, that is just the spring finding its way back into the notched section after a hard turn for instance. They would not hurt toreplace though.

Upper insulator protects the spring and the damper shaft from dust if I am thinking of the same thing you are talking about. I left mine as they were but mine were only 7 years old.

The spring bumper just keeps the strut from hitting the upper mount when you completely bottom out. Sometimes people cut them down a bit when they lower their car. I left mine as they were and never have any problems with a 1.7 inch drop.

The bearing is a candidate for replacement if it does not freely spin. Always grease it back up when reinstalling. It allows the front wheels to turn with the strut still attached. Without a bearing the spring would tear up the mounts and insulators. If the bearing is sticking, the spring may slip on the insulators anyways tearing up the rubber insulators.

Strut support/mount gets worn over time and makes a banging noise. Replacements at Toyota are around $70.

That bar that attaches to the strut is the swaybar link. It reduces body roll in turns. Basically, in a turn, the strut on the inside of the turn is extended and the one on the outside is compressed. The car rolls to the side. A sway bar links one strut to the other so when the outside strut is compressed, the bar puts force on the inside strut to compress it as well. Thus the car rolls less. Make sure the bar is on good!

is this information also good for the people here with older camry's and older vehicles too?
b/c i think we still have all the origional suspension equipment on ours. I'm thinkin this is something that we have to take a look at before it bites me in the ass.

[RedPhoenix]

Yes its generally the same. My pic was from my Haynes. Just scanned it

Im just trying to see where to buy these parts now.

[88 LE]

Originally Posted by RedPhoenix

Spring Upper Seat and Lower Insulator. Those are the rubber pieces that go on the spring to help it seat in the assembly.

The spring upper seat is metal, not rubber.

Upper insulator does what? mine are weak, 3/4 are together but its 10 years old.

It isolates the top of the spring from the spring upper seat.

Its also part of the dust boot. The dust boot covers the piston shaft (the shiny metal rod on the strut that moves in/out).

Spring bumper will help fix anything? Anyway to tell if its worn?

Spring bumper prevents the strut from bottoming out. IE: piston rod traveling to far into the strut.

Bearing. What will this do if replaced? 10 years old again

If its worn out, replace it.

Strut support/mount. Replacing this will do what?

You shouldn't have to replace the suspension upper support.

Its not like on the gen 4 Camrys with the clunking noises.

That bar that attaches to the strut does what exactly? All I know is if its loose it goes nuts and makes noises.

Thats the swaybar endlink. It attaches the end of the swaybar to the strut.

[powderblue91]

Originally Posted by 88 LE

The spring upper seat is metal, not rubber.



It isolates the top of the spring from the spring upper seat.

I used to design strut mounts, spring seats and such. I'd say most of the spring seats are metal with rubber bonded to them. I"m not sure about the camry.

Many strut mounts also come with the bearing included with them. Check at autozone, they shouldn't be too expensive. Check to see if the rubber has any cracks. Most likely they're fine though.

Make sure your dust shields aren't broken. If you get dirt on your strut shaft it'll get into the strut and mess it up.

While you're down there check your end link bushings too.

[RedPhoenix]

Thanks, sorruy above the got those 2 peices mixed up. I meant both insualtors the rubber and the seat is metal.

Now question. Clunking can come from what though? I know its when I turn the wheel ( I searched too, didnt do anything) but i guess the spring is moving as its not clamped in good in the rubber or something? Couldnt I just add some black silicone rubber to help stengthen the older rubber pieces. I have a feeling Toyota will rape me in charges for those

[RedPhoenix]

bump