Weird noise

On the front right of my car by my tire I have always had a noise when I drove up my road (dirt). I never really thought anything of it since I live on a dirt road, but now the noise is happening on the pavement too. I know it's not my tire, but when are you supposed to change your shocks and what not? Please help. '99 Camry CE 4 Cyl. Thanks!!

Change your struts when they no longer control the up and down movement of your car. One way to test this is to get a large person to push down repeatedly on the middle of your front or rear bumber, the car should become motionless within one complete bounce. If the struts are weak, the car will keep bouncing.

Is it possible for just one side to go bad? How much does this cost to get fixed and is it something we could do ourselves. Thanks.

One side usually goes bad before the other, but you have to replace them in pairs. The cost is quite variable depending on what quality of struts you buy and who does the work. You can do it yourself if you have access to a good quality spring compressor.

Check your cv joint. could be your boot is broken. and there is dirt on the bearings. leading to the noise.

OK, the question has to be asked... What kind of noise are you hearing?

Check your cv joint. could be your boot is broken. and there is dirt on the bearings. leading to the noise.

if the CV boot are open or broken, how safe is the car to drive and for how long can you still drive it if you don't have it repaired.

Good question. lol. The only way I can really describe it is to say it sounds like something is loose. I know the lugnuts are not loose, so I know it isn't that. Thanks!!

if the CV boot are open or broken, how safe is the car to drive and for how long can you still drive it if you don't have it repaired.

Yes, it's still safe to drive unless they are totally gone. How long? No one can answer that question because there are too many variables involved. The answer is "you will find out". If you are asking how long can you drive it before you have to replace the CV joints, then the answer is "not long". Get them fixed immediately or you will be buying CV joints in addition to the boots.

There was a problem with the strut towers on Camrys in 1997 and perhaps later. Maybe someone who knows the models affected can inform you of the likelyhood of that being your problem.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=220175

Yes, it's still safe to drive unless they are totally gone. How long? No one can answer that question because there are too many variables involved. The answer is "you will find out". If you are asking how long can you drive it before you have to replace the CV joints, then the answer is "not long". Get them fixed immediately or you will be buying CV joints in addition to the boots.

Brian

I had the whole thing replaced, CV joints and boots on the passenger side. Everything is okay except that now when I drive fast past 120 KPH, it vibrates whereas before the repair, I had no vibrations at all at any speed.

so what could be causing that? Any ideas?

I would have your wheels balanced. It happens that balance weights get lost or knocked off when mechanics work on parts requiring wheel removal. That's my best guess.