[Me-j2]

Hello all,
Currently my 2007 Corolla Sport has about 160k miles on it and I think it is time to replace the struts.The car drives great, but I am the second owner and to my knowledge they have never been replaced. I will not be doing the work myself since I don't have the necessary tools, therefore I was planning on buying the KYB strut-plus which are already assembled. I have a friend who is going to do it for me at no cost so I wanted to make his job as easy as possible. I know the top strut mounts aren't good on these for some people they have failed. OEM would be the preferred choice, but would it even be worth unbolting the struts to replace the mount with an oem one? Or would it be better to just buy everything individually and assemble it? I am planning to keep this car for as long as I can, it is a daily driver and during college semesters I rack up alot of miles. With the mileage I don't want to spend a whole lot of money on just struts, oem are out of my price range.
Any inputs will be greatly appreciated.

 

[elitemafia]

Which mount are you referring to? If it's the c ring that bolts to the top of the front strut tower, that is not really a wear part. If it's damaged or excessively rusted, sure, replace it. Otherwise, if you are buying quick strut's, they essentially just bolt in. You shouldn't need to replace anything else.
as far as I am aware the only thing that this does not include is the c ring above the strut tower, that looks like this. These are not likely to be worn out unless damaged or heavily corroded. Are your struts leaking oil? are the boots worn? if it rides fine, why are you replacing them? If you're looking to save money, you would just buy the struts and reuse your spring and strut mount. The only reason to buy a fully assembled strut like this is to speed up your installation and avoid using a spring compressor.

 

[Me-j2]

Which mount are you referring to? If it's the c ring that bolts to the top of the front strut tower, that is not really a wear part. If it's damaged or excessively rusted, sure, replace it. Otherwise, if you are buying quick strut's, they essentially just bolt in. You shouldn't need to replace anything else.
as far as I am aware the only thing that this does not include is the c ring above the strut tower, that looks like this. These are not likely to be worn out unless damaged or heavily corroded. Are your struts leaking oil? are the boots worn? if it rides fine, why are you replacing them? If you're looking to save money, you would just buy the struts and reuse your spring and strut mount. The only reason to buy a fully assembled strut like this is to speed up your installation and avoid using a spring compressor.

View attachment 297900

View attachment 297899

I meant the strut mount that comes with the quickstrut. The boot on my passenger side is completely torn the driver's side looks okay. I wanted to replace them due to mileage. My car does not have a c ring like yours does. I might have to buy the components individually to have oem factory mounts. This is what I wss referring to:

 

[elitemafia]

I meant the strut mount that comes with the quickstrut. The boot on my passenger side is completely torn the driver's side looks okay. I wanted to replace them due to mileage. My car does not have a c ring like yours does. I might have to buy the components individually to have oem factory mounts. This is what I wss referring to: View attachment 297921

If you are going to take that off anyways, then just buy the components separately and re-use your spring. It will be cheaper, and you won't have purchased stuff you don't need. You can purchase new boots as well. I don't understand why you'd want to replace that strut mount though on a brand new strut assembly. Anyways this is the OEM strut mount:

48609-02120 - Strut Mount - 2003-2008 Toyota Corolla | Boch Toyota South

2003-2008 Toyota Corolla - Strut Mount - 4860902120. Genuine Toyota® Parts & Accessories. Manufacturer Warranty. From the Dealership to your Door. Experts standing by.

toyotaparts.bochtoyotasouth.com

If your factory strut mount is bad (they normally only go bad if they rust out), then it may be cheaper to just buy the full assembly. That said, if you are going to replace a brand new strut mount (again, WHY?) with an OEM one, it's cheaper to just buy the strut, new boots, and reuse your old spring.

 

[zippster]

Get the kyb loaded struts. You won't have to worry about trying to find all the parts and dealing with rebuilding. These were the OEM on my 2004 matrix. Don't get the monroes. They are junk.


For the front:
Safely jack up car
Remove front wheels
Remove brake hose holder and carefully set it aside so it does not get pulled on
Undo sway bar from strut (I had to replace mine cause I live in the rust belt)
remove the two lower bolts that mount the strut to the knuckle
Remove the three tower bolts at the top of the strut and it should pull right out.

Reverse and you are done.
Get an alignment.

 

[Me-j2]

Get the kyb loaded struts. You won't have to worry about trying to find all the parts and dealing with rebuilding. These were the OEM on my 2004 matrix. Don't get the monroes. They are junk.


For the front:
Safely jack up car
Remove front wheels
Remove brake hose holder and carefully set it aside so it does not get pulled on
Undo sway bar from strut (I had to replace mine cause I live in the rust belt)
remove the two lower bolts that mount the strut to the knuckle
Remove the three tower bolts at the top of the strut and it should pull right out.

Reverse and you are done.
Get an alignment.

Thank you! I replaced my sway bar links for the same reason as you, that's when I noticed the boot was destroyed on one of them, plus with the milage I think it's time for new ones. I will get the kyb loaded struts, my fear was the KYB mount failing like I've read from other people in this forum but I'll take a chance on them since like you said, I won't have to worry about rebuilding them. Thanks.

 

[lgrape]

After you get the KYBs installed could you please post a quick review here? I have a 2003 that I bought used. It has unidentified aftermarket struts and the ride is too harsh. Could be the wrong spring rate, maybe the damping? I want to find a brand of quick strut that is plusher. I fear buying something that is just as harsh. I can't buy OEM struts only because I have no idea if these springs are too stiff.

 

[zippster]

Can't speak for the corolla, but my awd matrix has never ridden "plush" I replaced my struts because one was almost locked and the other was leaking. Felt factory new again but ride stiffness didn't change. YMMV

 

[JohnGD]

I’m leaning if the NEW mount ain’t broke, don’t replace it.

I prefer Monroe QuickStrut assemblies. KYB to me rides harsh.

 

[bull6791]

JohnGD. Just asking. Did you like the way the factory struts road and felt. If so I would get kyb because they are the closest to factory.
If you did not like factory then I would get Monroe. Monroe rides soft.

 

[JohnGD]

Right, a lot of it is personal preference. If you like the original ride then KYB should be fine. But I’ll say give Monroe a try!