Monroe Quick Struts.

[dannyv23]

Hi, I'm a pretty handy guy who knows his way around a tool box. Is replacing the struts on my 97 Camry with some new Monroe Quick Struts something that I can undertake myself? Is there anything I have to worry about like removing the old ones or anything?

[GSS123]

I would start putting some penitrating oil on the big bolts near the base of each strut a few days before you start the project. The replacement goes fairly easy. Rear struts seem to go on faster then the front

[Mike Gerber]

I have been strongly recommending the Monroe Quick Struts since I installed them on the rear of my 98 Camry last Summer. They were an easy repair and everything was now new. I used these to solve a rattle I had in the right rear. I figured the Quick Struts replaced everything that could possibly be causing the rattle. I didn't want to replace just the struts and then find out that the mounts were causing the rattle. If you replace both the struts and the mounts, you are already close to the price of the Quick Struts and are still left with old springs and old rubber parts. I had 100,000 miles on the car when I did this, so new springs also seemed like the way to go. In addition, there is no need to compress the springs to remove and install the new struts. This means less work and eliminates a potentially dangerous step, if you have never done this before.

This is a fairly straight forward job. In addition to spraying the 2 large nuts and bolts as GSS123 suggested, I would spray down everything that has to be removed. Pay particular attention to spray down the sway bar end link bolts as these have a tendancy to break, when trying to remove them from the strut assembly. I did this for a few days prior to my tackling this job and then drove the car to let the penetrating oil work it's way in to everything. Also, remember to get an alignment after the work is completed.

Also, you can download the generation 4 manual stickied at the top of this forum and read the section on the suspension system for a detailed explanation of what is involved in replacing struts.

I can't give you any long term results on the Quick Struts, as my car was totaled 6 weeks after installing these. They did solve my rattle and the car rode so much better it was like night and day. I can say they are a bit firmer than stock Toyota parts.

Mike

[GSS123]

Mike had a good point about spraying penetrating oil on the sway bar bolts. Mine where Allen head type and one side broke. Not the threaded part mind you but one side of the Allen head popped off. Not a fun.

I myself used all OEM parts and reused the old springs. I take my struts to a tire shop and pay them $10 each to do the spring change over. This is just to dangerous with the cheapo tools you find out there for the do it yourself guy.

Also triple check how you have the car supported. Safety first

Let us know how your job turns out.

[dannyv23]

So I don't have to worry about the springs if I'm not going to put them back on the car? Do they just come off without tension or can they still pop out? I've never messed with the suspension of any car so all this will be new to me.

Thanks for all you guys' help.

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by dannyv23

So I don't have to worry about the springs if I'm not going to put them back on the car? Do they just come off without tension or can they still pop out? I've never messed with the suspension of any car so all this will be new to me.

Thanks for all you guys' help.

The whole strut assembly, including the springs, will just unbolt from the car while the rear of the car is supported on jack stands. The springs will not pop out unless you remove the large center nut at the top (inside) of the strut mount. If you use the Quick Struts you will not have to worry about the springs.

You will have a better understanding of the whole procedure if you follow my previous advice and download the generation 4 manual and read through the suspension section. It will give detailed instructions on this job and you will feel better about your ability to sucessfully do this job.

Mike

[WickedNYCowboy]

Thats one thing I regret when I did the KYBs. Should have put in the TRD Lowering Springs in. But I did the front and rear seperately. But would have had the cool raked look.

[xfeejayx]

Hey guys. I have a clunking loud sound coming from the rear right whenever i go over a larger bump. At first I thought the tire was bouncing around or something, that wasn't it. Not I have a more annoying, not so loud but ever-present rattle type of sound coming from the rear left. When I lift the rear left of the car by hand (I can move it about 3 inches or so) it seems to click/clunk.
My mechanic tells me that it is most likely the upper mount, (described as "suspension support" on page 56 of manual for 97-01). He thinks the rubber on the top of it might have worn out, but you can't replace just the rubber. It's about a $230 job for him to do it ($104 part).

Two questions:
1. Do you agree with the diagnosis? He's an honest guy, and I trust him. It just seems like a hard thing to diagnose to me.
2. If I get the quick struts, do those come with the mounts I need? It's almost time to change shocks/struts anyway, might as well tackle it myself if the mount is included and I don't have to pull the springs.

98 auto 5sfe with 155k

as always, thanks!

[Mike Gerber]

1. I can't say without examining the car and even then there is no way to be sure until you start changing things. That's why I went with the Quick Struts. It changes verything in the strut assembly that could possibly be making the clunking noise.

2. Yes, they come with the mounts.

Mike

[xfeejayx]

I just replaced the rear struts on my 98. The old ones probably had about 70k on them. The difference is unbelievable. I just had my dad drive it and he said the car drives better than when he bought it (used). Here are some tips for guys like me that are doing this for the first time.

you need
1/4" drive
10mm 12mm (3/8" drive can work for this)

3/8" drive
12mm 14mm

1/2"
14mm (in case of stabilizer link nut trouble like I had), 19mm

14mm wrench

5mm allen key (might end up being useless)

vice grip pliers (might save you a$$ when the 5mm turns out useless)

two jackstands, a jack, and whatever you have to get the wheels off


0. Read the manual! The are stickied at the top of the forum. Get familiar with them ahead of time.

1. I ordered from Strutmasters.com. They had the lowest prices, and delivered in under a week to the Chicago area.

2. Listen to GSS and spray everything with penetrating oil. Do this for at least a couple days before you replace. Some of these nuts need an insane amount of torque initially. You add on rust, and things get ugly. The first couple nuts I broke loose came loose so violently I thought I broke my 1/2" drive ratchet. It had only turned maybe 1/16 of a turn and it clicked very loudly, enough to shake rust and dirt off of the bottom of the car. Good ol' Craftsman was just fine, gave me a scare though. You will probably need an extension bar also. I had a steel tube that fit over the ratchet. Total length was about 20", and it was just enough.

3. Make sure you support the brake/hub assembly after you loosen the bottom two bolts and stabilizer link. I know the manual says this, but I ignored for a few minutes till I saw what it was hanging on.

4. By FAR (and I mean by really really far) the biggest problem I had was the nut on the stabilizer links (took 3 hour of the total 6 hours for the job). As soon as I started cranking, the ball joint inside the link started turning. The 5mm hex on the end of the bolt was absolutely worthless. It was rusted and rounded with what felt like no more than 10 ftlbs. After trying different things for an hour or two (even sawing a slot on the end of it to no avail) I bought some vice grips, put them on the the other side of the mount from where the nut is, clamp down as hard as I could, and then turned the nut. As if the first side wasn't bad enough, it did it again on the second side, and then the pliers started to loose grip too!! Finally got it off, and then had the same problem getting them back on. I know that the pliers were slipping and the nut wasn't tight because I started to develop a rattle in the rear a day or two after that was getting worse and worse. Finally diagnosed it last night. The nut was coming loose, even though I know I had put well over 30 ftlbs into it. I put the vice grips back on, tightened them so much that I had to use another pair of pliers to close them, and then cranked the nut.

5. When you put the strut back in, align it to the bottom first and stick those big bolts in. then lift the whole assembly, and it'll slide into place up top with a little bit of convincing.

6. the bolts that were on the strut mount are longer than the old ones I pulled out, so I couldn't use a ratchet. 14mm wrench was all that would fit, good luck torquing.

I didn't have a torque wrench for any of this, but I build enough stuff to know about how much torque I'm putting into things. I'm probably within 20% on all the bolts, but with all the rust that's on everything, I don't think a torque wrench would get any closer at all. Don't be shy about cranking on the big lower bolts. Those bolts are in shear, and you won't hurt anything unless you put a 3' extension on, and there isn't room for that. Be a little more careful with the stabilizer link bolts, but like I said, so much rust you don't know where all the torque is going anyway. Careful with the upper nuts too, They feel like they might yield pretty easy.

Sorry no pics, I can't get them to upload of my phone for some reason.

hope it all helps