Suspension/Transaxle issue causing vibration.....

Hello people.
My loved white one is now over 210k...
I am having really annoying vibration that shows up its ugly face above 70mph on the freeway. You can feel the steering vibrating and that top part of dash you can see vibrating as well. Also when accelerating with load in the car sometimes you can feel the car shaking left/right even at low speeds, but not always it is really minor but I know it is not normal. So here is the deal..
It is not an issue with the tires. I had them checked twice ! They are perfectly balanced according to the tire shop.

I dropped the car at a car shop that is across my work place. Nice guys. They found bunch a stuff on the suspension..
1. Struts need to be replaced. Passenger one is leaking.This is something new it wasn't leaking 2 weeks ago 100% and I still had the vibrations.

2. Outer tie rods LH + RH( to me they don't look worn/bad) but I don't have the same pray bars as the shop does

3. Sway Bar links LH+RH( to me they don't look worn/bad) but I don't have the same pray bars as the shop does

They drove the car and confirmed the vibration being present above 70mph.
They are not 100% sure those thing swill fix my issue but they need to be replaced anyways.
To them it seems like the drive shafts and axles are OK.

So I would like to know if people here will agree that those components can be the reason for those vibrations.

I have a different theory. I think the issue is coming from the inner axle on one side or both or God forbid from the transmision....
I believe that because the shaking at low speeds happens when there is torque...the way I see it is that the inner axle cup is worn and the 3 bearings are loose in it. Or the other thing is if the actual connection between the axle and the transmision( I am talking about the teeth there, I don't know the exact part name) is worn. I really hope that's not it !

I will order all the parts that the shop mentioned and replace them myself since the shop will charge me a lot .. 2 Front struts from a know brand run for about ~$100, two outer rods are ~$50 and links are ~$25 both sides. I just have to take it for an alignment after that.

I am waiting for your thoughts on that.

Thanks !!

 

I am pretty sure they are. I bought it at ~170. I haven't replaced anything besides putting shorter springs. What do you think about the shaky ride when accelerating at low speeds with load in the car ?

 

No it is not bad.. but it is there.
My case is different. I will be driving with 30-40mph and then hit the gas pedal and it is there for 2 secs and it is gone. It is not there from stop. It is there when I am already moving. And it happens almost always when the car has load in it ( 2 passengers in the back). When I am alone it might not happen.

 

Yes. But If I have time this weekend will do a quick swap with the 17" from my other Prius just to confirm. Because to me tires make the most sense !

 

So the Gas struts/shocks provide smoother rider ? Aren't they stiffer compared to hydraulic ?

 

Yes they are both hydraulic, but different method.. So the original ones are KYB gas charged ?

 

Oh ok. Makes sense why on eBay there are only 2 models of struts/shocks and they are both Gas charged. One is the KYB and the cheaper ones are Sensen. I hope that the shorter springs are not the reason for that strut's leaking.. They are shorter by an inch not that aggressive..