Replaced strut shocks with kyb's from tirerack, and both inner tie rods (which, mind you, I figured out how to replace using only TWO adjustable wrenches). Two shops have said tie rod ends and ball joints are good. STILL getting the "clunk", and steering wheel STILL feels like crap. The only thing I can think of are the strut mounts. Should have replaced them when the struts were in my office... lol In the event the strut mounts aren't it, is it really likely it could be the control/"A" arm bushings??? I mean, I've never heard of control arm bushings wearing out at 120K miles... Of course, there's always a first time. BTW, never leave your car up on front jack stands for a week. I think I've messed up my rear springs, kept them compressed to a degree for so long, they're not going back to where they were (or my rear shocks are so crappy THEY are to blame). I've got to solve the front problem first.
When do you hear the clunk, going over bumps, large or small, acceleration or braking? Is the clunk sound metallic or muffled?
smaller bumps, or road imperfections/cracks that are relatively close together... I'd say the clunk is muffled more than metallic...
It seems reasonable to start by replacing the strut top mounts. Although your rear shocks probably also need to be replaced, I'm very surprised to hear that the rear coil springs suffered just because the car was up on jack stands. There's no difference between that and parking the car on an uphill slope.
I agree that the strut mount is at fault. When the rubber insulator is separated from the casing, there are enough space inside the mount and the rubber is hitting the casing causing the muffled noise.
Yes the top mount needed to be replaced but....how did that bearing feel while you were working on it? Spin it back and forth? Thats where the easy steering new car feel comes from. Or binding steering if toast. 120K miles is time for that bearing replacement, sorry. Hell, 120K is time for everything. Full brake job,cv joints (could be your clunk unfortunately..inner & outer boots still on?) Struts, shocks. Ful motor tune-up. Coolant pump. What did I miss? Man, its a hell of alot of work swapping those springs over to the new struts diy. And dangerous as hell. I've only done one set of struts and never again. I was very interested in how they felt on your car too. High performance struts really help. Usually make a stiffer ride. I replaced the struts on my Nissan 240SX with KYB's and really liked them. You could roll into corners alot faster. But its either the top strut bearings...bj's..or the cv joints are toast. I've never heard those bearings clunk much. They just feel rough when you turn the wheel. You didn't mention if its clunking when your sitting. If its clunking when your sitting and turning the wheel it may be BJ's. If its clunking when you go around a corner and whip it hard its the cv's. But you said 2 shops said it wasn't the ball joints. BJ's clunk. But if the top bearings are so shot they clunk I think you would have ntoiced that as you had to have them in your hands X2 when you replaced the struts. They would have to be almost seized. So thinking its not that. And no control arms don't clunk. With a helper and the Parking brake fully on while the car is in ready and no ac or radio on and the car past its initial ice run on jack up the front of the car a little so you can lay down and look at the front end while helper turns the steering wheel back and forth. While the ice is off. Tires on the ground. Look for articulating at the ball joints if your hearing clunking. If the top mount is clunking you will clearly hear it in the tire wheelwells outside the car if you listen at the top of the tire. If no clunking there but at speed I vote CV joints. Good Luck!
To an extent I may agree. However, the jackstands are about a foot high, and they were placed on the frame rails just behind the cross member. The resultant was the bottom of the rear bumper was probably 6 inches from the ground. In addition, I kept approximately 75lbs of tools in the rear compartment (I don't have a garage, and didn't want to keep lugging my tools in and out). Although, I do wonder if new rear shocks will, effectively, "push" up the spring since it's "downward resistance" will likely be much better. The front struts were worn so much, I could manually move the shock rod up and down without too much trouble (maybe, what 5lbs-10lbs of resistance?). By contract, I could BARELY move the rod up and down on the new struts (maybe 40-50 lbs of resistance).
This is what kills me, I should have replaced it when I had the chance. However, they actually felt fine, and spun with, presumably, the right resistance (it didn't spin freely, nor was it rough or hesitant as I spun it). Yeah, I agree, no component lasts forever... CV joint boots ok, no noise. It's one of those things that you really need to take your time with. Thankfully, the wifey has a Prius, and we live within walking distance of our work location, so there's no real urgency. Yeah, compressing the springs was a little hair raising, but if you take your time, compress each side evenly, it's ok. I'm just looking for a decent ride. It's very hard to judge at this point, because everything still feels relatively loose. I can tell the ride is a bit stiffer than it was, but until that looseness goes away, it sort of obscures the "new" ride feel... Yeah, I'm kicking myself for that, should have done it while I had them off... I'll give that a try, thanks!
Oh, and to add to the fun, my tires were shot to heck. Had toe-in wear on the front, and one of the rear tires actually developed an easy to notice flat spot causing a "whoooom whooom whoooom" from the back on the highway. This is why I've sworn I'm never going to buy no name $40 tires again. Second set I've had, within 40K miles they're trash. Wifey's tires are BFG's with about 25K and still look NEW with ample thread.
Yep, they connect the front sway bar to the tab on the strut. You can get them from advance auto for ~$60 a piece, the Toyota ones are almost double that.
Hi Josh, I'm wondering if you can please identify the most likely front suspension parts to need replacement, and how long (in terms of miles) they typically last. Thanks.
Your welcome! We'll all help you out till you get 'er. I had a little "incident" when I swapped strut springs once. Ah...never again. I thought of you when I worked on my 07 yesterday and looked under there and realized you have to take the cowling and the wipers off to to get to the top bolts. Struts are a very labor intensive job on this car. And what always strikes me when I look at the bottom suspension is how wimpy everything is. Keeps me from rolling into corners hard like its a race car. Good Luck and try my visual on the front while someone turns the wheel. And I hope its the stab links.
Well, I threw in the new end links... It's strange, they definitely helped, but the underlying issue is still there. It's like, it happens less often now, but it's still there. I'd say it reduced the knocking by like 75%. ...but the wifey's steering wheel still feels "tighter" than mine. It's almost like I've replaced everything AROUND the problem! lol
Actually, you only "need" to remove the cowling on the passenger side. Not that it matters, as you're right, it is relatively labor intensive. However, one of the things I like about DIY is finding new creative ways to do thing that seem impossible to get to. For example, I think I mentioned it earlier on in this thread; you can actually replace the inner tie rods using only two adjustable wrenches. Dealership told me I needed a special tool that's really an obscenely large socket. To their credit though, that would have made the job easier, but I didn't feel like searching for it, or paying $50 for it (came across it some months later at some auto shop). Anyway, in order to avoid removing the cowling, I had wifey remove the nut "in the back", as her hands are small and slender, and it worked out!
Did you replace the strut top mounts and the tires yet? Regarding steering effort, the spec per the Toyota repair manual is 49 in.-lb when the wheel is turned 90 degrees from center position. Steering wheel freeplay max spec is 1.17".
I have replaced the tires, haven't gotten around to the strut mounts YET. Thanks for the specs, I'm going to check it out when I have a moment.