Suspension for 95 Corolla

[jondcoleman]

My suspension makes a lot of noise on my 95 Corolla and I was thinking of improving it. I am going to have some time on my hands this winter and am thinking about doing it myself. I have some technical experience but I would appreciate some guidance as to where to look. For example, what parts should I be looking to replace (i.e. springs, shocks, etc.), what kind to get and where to get them, any specialized tools I might need, etc? Thanks for any advice.

Jon

[GSS123]

Suspension on a Toyota can over a very broad and divers areas of repair. Others on the board will add topics to look at.......I find the most problems centered around worn Struts or worn half axles

First one or two repair manuals

On struts I always buy OEM replacements and I purchase the strut towers and all rubber components at the same time. I usually purchase one pair at time to spread the costs out and not have a bunch of parts lying around waiting to install. If you don't want to pay the price for OEM then buy aftermarket struts. Buyer beware

For Struts no specials tools required except a torque wrench and some type of spring compression tool. Myself, I don't mess with the R&R of the strut spring its very dangerous. I pay one of several local tire shops to change the springs over from the old to the new strut.

If your noise is heard during turning left or right, or wobble in the steering wheel at certain speeds I would look at the half axles up front. Seems the passenger side goes more often then the drivers side (just my experience). Buy a replacement axle and replace the entire unit. Again no special tools required except of a torque wrench.

The hardest part of strut replacement and axle replacement is getting the vehicle high enough off the ground and having it supported in a very safe manor. Use extreme caution and double check everything before you start crawling around under the car.