I wonder if loosening the center nuts and raising the front a little would help if something is not seated.

 

no idea. judging by techs tone it should snap into place with wheels on ground as it is when turning the rod by 10mm hex. not sure why his instructions mention only quarter turn, and do not say which way ...

 

I *think* I know why they're saying what they're saying. Look in my rear strut R&R thread here, and scroll down to the part where I'm reassembling the strut, putting the upper mount back on and and talking about aligning the slot on the underside of the mount with the flats on the strut shaft. If that isn't done properly, loosening the nut and rotating the shaft 1/4 to 1/2 a turn would get it to "pop" into position. So if my guess is correct, it wouldn't matter which direction it's rotated... Just rotate it until it snaps into place. Make sense?

BMR

 

Anybody remember my ridiculously masochistic fiasco from '07?

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1...eneration-1992-1996-1997-2001/220927-monroe-struts-30-off-til-11am-morning.html

 

^ so now all makes sense

 

Hopefully something that simple solves the problem. But it's a surprise that Monroe is having all these noise problems caused by poor workmanship.

 

hopefully it helps

I will try that on both cars as both cars' fronts are quick struts. I do not have a terrible rattle (something clunks over there sometimes though), but I remember it being dead silent on both cars before, one had old worn out OEM assemblies and other had Gabriel struts and old OEM mounts (that gave up eventually).

hopefully this is it. will see in a few days. post your feedback people, especially those that can check it faster than me.

 

I have my aunts solara here at the house for the next 4 months, might take it for a spin since it has quick-struts IIRC.

 

I don't have Monroe quick struts, but when I replaced the struts on my Avy a while back (w/ KYB's), I noticed some clunking a few weeks later. When I checked the center nuts, the front two were both loose by about a turn. So I must've misaligned 'em and they found their way home by themselves. After I re-tightened them, no more clunking.

 

I suspect one or two of mine (having 4 fronts here to check) could have a problem with misaligned rod.
can't remember now, but once I found one center nut almost finger tight while all others were below 36ft-lbs specs ... so who knows. will get back to that once the weather warms up.

Monroe sucks for their poor workmanship ... what a lame quick struts they sell nowadays... maybe the ore recent ones (since Tenneco own them now) are different, especially those having OE Spectrum struts, somewhat different design, twin piston or something like that.

However considered the price drop on Autozone's Gabriel ReadyMounts I think I will never consider Monroes again. not worth the $10-20 difference on the assembly (used to be almost $100 in that difference per assembly).

 

I took the solara for a spin(had to since the battery was dead), and it has just the Sensa-Trac replacement struts in the front, not the whole shebang. I don't like how it rides, way too soft and steering is extremely loose(unrelated I know).

 

yeah those sensa-tracs are hard to be liked. kinda stiff when new and at same time they could be too soft - car's nose goes up upon fast acceleration or goes down during hard breaking, new struts shouldn't be like that.
it was the cheapest OE replacement anyways, for what it's worth.

I noticed they get softer generally over time/miles. how old are those on your aunt's solara?

 

I put KYBs on my Avy recently, and I just replaced the rears on my Cam with KYBs also; it had Monroe cheapies on it front & rear... Economatics?? I like the KYBs a lot better. Not a fair comparison, I know, so take it for what it's worth. BTW, the KYBs on my Avy were a bit harsh at first too, like a lotta guys mention. But they broke in nicely.

 

Yeah, same thing happened when I first installed the rear struts, then I went to lowering springs, then back to oem springs. After I did that, the car handles much better and the whole suspension feels much nicer. I got a different perspective sitting in the passenger seat while my brother drove and I really like how the car rides. When I replaced the front struts in our van with KYBs they didn't need any break in time, which was nice, now the rear shocks are due for replacement.

 

Hey fenixus! Still working on your quick-struts? He he...
I gave up trying to fix mine. Still there is a clunking noise, and the struts themselves softened alot (after 1500 miles), front end bounces like crazy when accelerating from a dead stop or stepping on the brake pedal. With these Monroe quick-struts I made a simple conclusion - You get what you pay for. No surprise that Gabriel Ready-Mounts or KYB Strut-Plus were somewhat $100 or even twice more expensive.

Good luck to you, hope you fix everything.

 

LOL :lol: yeah, some occasional clunks keep bothering me

I agree with "you get what you pay for" approach, very true. back then it was the only reasonable choice, now I see Gabriel ReadyMounts are at almost same price in a local Autozone :facepalm:

I will try the clunk fix procedure as per conversation with Monroe Tech, if that doesn't help I leave it be and start ignoring it

On my V6 they are much softer now (probably around 5-6k miles since the swap), but on wife's barely driven 4cyl they are still stiff (around 1k miles on them).

both cars now have this Monroe nose up & down problem, I just ignore it. all I can say is that I didn't have it with neither OEM/KYB nor Gabriel struts, it's a Monroe thing.

 

With wheels on ground, loosen the strut rod (center) nut by 3-4 full turns.
Then use a 10mm hex socket to rotate the rod by around quarter turn (his instruction doesn't say which direction) until it locks into place (!). Then tighten the rod nut again to OEM specs (36ft-lbs). Drive the car to confirm issue is gone (or not).

I was going to try this yesterday, But I can not find any tool that will loosen the strut rod nut yet somehow hold the 10mm hex still. Any one know of some secret that I am missing? Or I may just live with the clunking until I need new struts again.

 

I think you can do two things separately, frst loosen the rod nut then turn the rod hex until "something happens in either direction no more by 1/4 turn LOL" then tighten the rod nut

I may try this today myself

 

The rattling was driving me knuts! I pulled the wheels, posted questions in the forum, checked out the front end, everything looked good. Saw this post today and went out to recheck the strut. On the Drivers side, it moved inside the housing went I pressed down on the car. Used a 21 mm socket and tighten it up, it was fairly loose, Squeak and rattle gone, all fixed, Took 5 minutes. Very Happy driver. Thanks for all the info guys and gals.

 

the procedure works magically even if piston was locked properly

I did this on all 4 front struts (v6 and 4cyl models). all pistons rods were properly locked, now I can even tell this just by looking at them, if they are "unlocked" then the top end of rod sits deeper. well, I know because I did a test and forcefully "unlocked" the rod (with rod nut loosened by 4 turns) by forcefully turning 10mm hex socket and it popped off (and went deeper), then quarter turn in either direction and it locks in again.

Picture with normally assembled piston rod and nut:

Picture with rod nut loosened by 4 full turns:

Unfortunately I have not taken picture with the rod "unlocked" (looks like the top end was pressed in deeper by around 1/4'' or 1/8'' maybe).

What I discovered however is that 2 clunky strut mounts out of 4 total, made a terrible ear bleeding noise when I was loosening the rod nut initially (mine are 22mm?). not sure why perhaps it was the rubber beneath misaligned or something? once I got things turning smoothly never had this problem again AND the hollow rattle/clunks seem to be gone now

 

I too have been having a low speed creaking noise coming from the drivers side that has steadily gotten more noticeable over the past six months. With today's warm weather, I washed the car by hand in the driveway and rinsed off the salt as well as may be. I noticed the mounts for the springs while washing the tires, and thought, let's clean them out with a rag and some water and then once clean, put some lithium grease on the springs and where they sit against the bottom of the mount - really anywhere I could get the grease on by reaching up in there. Lo and behold, zee creak is gone! One less thing to worry about.

 

Zee creak is back! in the drivers side front, especially in this colder weather. From my research here on TN, the low speed creak appears to be coming from the front strut/mounts. I assume that means replacing the strut as the fronts are most likely the originals at 175xxx. The rears were replaced by the dealer when I bought the car.

What type of fix and what brand(s) strut do you all recommend? I would replace in pairs.

Stay warm!

 

Yeah, the weird "grooved piston rod" design was the reason why I stayed away from Monroe Sensatracs. However, their new OESpectrum sounds more like Reflex series used on trucks and Nissan Altimas (Monroe is OEM) with good reviews with impact sensors. I'd be willing to give OES a try but not Sensatracs, IMO the "grooved piston rod" is a cheap design.

How about Tokico Blues with stock springs and OEM mounts?

As far as Capnblinski goes maybe Autozone's Gabriel ReadyMounts at about $150 each. Maybe wait for the buy-3-get-1 free coupon. Today's Gabriel Ultras (not their cheaper lines) are softer than the older ones. Autozone's no nonsense lifetime warranty can be a plus.

 

yeah, I second what JohnGD says. I would never buy again Monroe Sensatrac (or older Quick Struts with them).
I'd rather consider Gabriel ReadyMounts since they come with Gabriel Ultra struts. I used Gabriel Ultras on 5s-fe in past and they were awesome,gave the car of luxury car feel over bumps and when hard braking and accelerating (no nose movement like with Monroe Sensatracs).

but ... if one is willing to play with compressor springs then I'd think about getting Tokico HP (blue) and even for now using them with old stock OEM springs (or even Monroe springs from old Quick Struts if you no longer have the OEM ones) with brand new OEM strut mounts and that should do nicely.

I'm not a fan of OEM struts for gen4 (KYB I think they were), nor KYB aftermarket replacements, but they are still better than Monroe Sensatracs. haven't read any reviews on OE Spectrum struts from Monroe, but maybe those are real good now? I doubt though they use them in Quick Struts, especially those ones on sale somewhere, could be old stock clearance (probably ones I've gotten cheap were like that).

when time comes for front struts on my cars, I will be getting Tokico HP for V6 (still haven't decided if I will be lowering my car or not) and do it my way this time.

for wife's car I will probably give Gabriel ReadyMounts a shot. I liked those old Ultras, felt so good.

waiting for reviews of new batch of Quick Struts (if they make them with OES now) and new OE Spectrum struts

 

Do you still have the old strut assemblies? Because if Monroes carry lifetime warranty then maybe you can claim warranty return. Maybe the new ones come with OESpectrum struts.

When Monroe started making Reflex for the Altimas years ago they had pretty good reviews. Then rumors were all over about phasing out the Sensatracs. But I'm sure the shelves everywhere are full of the old Sensatrac struts. Pep Boys certainly are.

 

nah, I sold old assemblies (with Gabriel Ultra struts) from 5s-fe on ebay
and ones (VERY worn out) from V6 I dumped into dumpster.

My quickstruts seem to be fine as per rattle by now. I hear some slight rattle on wife's car (passenger side), but that could actually be Front Sway Bar bushings and/or loose new Deeza end links (applied have the torque the nuts called for). other than that (plus some "features" of Sensatracs that I don't like) I think I'm good

I'm pretty sure we will still be seeing old models of Quick Struts everywhere for next 5 years or so haha! only way to make sure seems to be buying OES and assembling it on your own

 

I'd also check the LCA rear bushing. That round one is like the one in the dog bone. The rubber cracks too easily. Those can clunk too.

 

Hi guys. Ya the rear struts have about 15,000 on them (dealer replaced when car purchased 4/10) so the fronts - specifically the drivers side - is where I hear the low-speed creaking coming from. Sounds like some replacement jobs use some of the original parts, while others such as the Gabriel ReadyMounts just bolt right in? To my mind, replacing all the parts associated with the assembly would sound like the best way to go. I don't mind spending a little more for quality parts as I want these to last the rest of the cars life. Are the struts the same for the front and rear on a 2000 5sfe?

Found these on Amazon:

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Gabriel-G56930-ReadyMount-Complete-Assembly/dp/B002VJ7GV4/ref=au_pf_pfg_s?ie=UTF8&Model=Camry%7C1011&n=15684181&s=automotive&Make=Toyota%7C76&Year=2000%7C2000&vehicleType=5&carId=001[/ame]

 

each corner is different. fronts have bearings in mounts, rears don't, then you have brackets for sway bar end links and those differ for each corner.

check Gabriel's e-catalog (www.gabriel.com) for part numbers on your model. below link is for '00 camry.
http://gabriel.com/our-products/car...products/car-light-truck-van/pv-search?yr=2000&make=Toyota&model=Camry&engine=1

I think that Gabriel's assembly might be a hella lot better quality than Monroe's for similar price nowadays (there used be a $100 difference between the two of each in past).

Hi guys. Ya the rear struts have about 15,000 on them (dealer replaced when car purchased 4/10) so the fronts - specifically the drivers side - is where I hear the low-speed creaking coming from. Sounds like some replacement jobs use some of the original parts, while others such as the Gabriel ReadyMounts just bolt right in? To my mind, replacing all the parts associated with the assembly would sound like the best way to go. I don't mind spending a little more for quality parts as I want these to last the rest of the cars life. Are the struts the same for the front and rear on a 2000 5sfe?

Found these on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Gabriel-G56930-ReadyMount-Complete-Assembly/dp/B002VJ7GV4/ref=au_pf_pfg_s?ie=UTF8&Model=Camry%7C1011&n=15684181&s=automotive&Make=Toyota%7C76&Year=2000%7C2000&vehicleType=5&carId=001

 

Great! I used the link and see that each strut model number corresponds to each corner of the car. I think this is the way to go - especially knowing all the pieces that make up the assembly are brand new.

:chug:

 

The three major brands that offer assemblies that I know of (not including all the fleaBay ones) are Monroe, Gabriel and KYB. That said, if you want the KYB ride then they have the Strut Plus as well. Check their catalog and consider all options before buying:

http://www.kyb.com/catalogs/index.php

Gabriel ReadyMounts used to be $220 or so. But their prices dropped to about $150 as Fen pointed out. So it's very competitive with Monroes. KYB Strut Plus dropped to around $180 on Amazon. The direction is down. But KYB gives only 1-year warranty on the Strut Plus and does not cover "normal wear and tear".

KYB Warranty:
http://www.kyb.com/technical/warranty.php
"WHAT IS NOT COVERED BY THIS WARRANTY?
The warranty does not apply to conditions caused by normal wear and tear"

So Gabriel Ultra from Autozone does have its appeal price-wise and given Autozone's no nonsense return policy. (that said ProjektVertx did ran into one AZ that tried to refuse a return, so he had to go to another one which accepted it. The first AZ should have read their own policy).

 

considering that all 3 assemblies are more or less similar (I know they aren't hehe), the last argument is price, but don't judge on it alone, consider TN member reviews for all 3 kinds first:

a) monroe quickstrut from advance auto parts website
with $50 off $150 code VISA comes down to $102+tax for fronts /VISA card required
with $30 off $100 code A123 comes down to $119+tax for rears
good LL warranty with local exchange option always. most likely will have to get it shipped from warehouse as local stores almost always are out of stock on them.

other retailers would include amazon, rockauto.com, partstrain.com and so on.

b) gabriel readymount from autozone
~$150 each + tax, but you get $20 credit for each $100 spent with autozone rewards card, so get that ahead and enjoy $80-120 savings over retail depending on how you buy it (all together or each alone)
good LL warranty.

c) KYB Strut Plus assembly off amazon
~$180/each (tax differs from state to state)

The last and most expensive option is getting Tokico HP sporty blue struts and maybe a set of nice lowering springs like Tein, Eibach or H&R for lowering ride plus other parts from dealer (new integrated mounts, bellows, coil spring insulators, bumpers, etc.).

 

b) gabriel readymount from autozone
~$150 each + tax, but you get $20 credit for each $100 spent with autozone rewards card, so get that ahead and enjoy $80-120 savings over retail depending on how you buy it (all together or each alone)
good LL warranty.

I still have the 4 Gabriel Ready-Mounts in my cart on autozone.com since last year, when I was choosing between all avail. options on market. The price is still the same, just like a year ago $174,99 + tax., free shipping.

 

The three major brands that offer assemblies that I know of (not including all the fleaBay ones) are Monroe, Gabriel and KYB. That said, if you want the KYB ride then they have the Strut Plus as well. Check their catalog and consider all options before buying:

OK there's another brand - the KYB's. I don't like what I've heard about the Monroe's. The KYB's Strut Plus's are $199 and the Gabriel assemblies are $119 on Amazon. Hmmm -- any opinions on the KYB's? Are they worth nearly twice the price as the Gabriel's? This car has always impressed me with the solid feeling from the front end parts and I want to keep it that way. Ya pays yer monies and ya takes yer chances lol.

 

If you can do it. Get KYB struts and buy mounts separately and re-use your oem springs. $60-70/strut, $40-50/mount. Rent a spring compressor from AZ.