Hints Regarding Replacement of 2G Front Struts

I replaced struts and shocks on my Gen III around 100K. My advice would be to get the bump stops and dust boots along with the shocks and struts of course but skip the support sub assembly or upper spring seats (the things that turn). When I replace the shocks and struts again at 200K maybe they would need replacing. That's when my Volvo's started to fail. They looked brand new on the Prius at 100K.

 

I have been getting my regular service done at a Monroe. Does anyone have an opinion on replacing my shocks and struts there or would I be better off going to a Toyota dealership? 2006 Model 6. Also, does anyone know what my fuel capacity is in winter?? Add fuel light comes on and I usually can just barely add 9 gallons.

 

Used the VFAQ for front & rear strut replacement.
Made it easy on myself and did the Complete Struts dot Com complete struts so I wouldn't have to do spring compressors.
Concise and easy to follow write up.
Thanks!

 

how can i tell that my struts needs replacing??

 

If they are leaking oil or car bounces if you push the suspension down you need new struts. If they aren’t they will just degrade at accelerating rate. Where’s your odometer at?

 

I just bought my 2010 used this week and currently my odometer is at 235,914 miles

 

Probably could use new struts if it still has originals. What has the previous owner used it for, since it has already gathered that much of miles?

P.S. 2010 is gen 3 so you should have posted this on gen 3 forum.

 

my bad. i just noticed i was in gen 2 forum. i do not know what he used it for. I got the car of IAAI. find attached mycarfax maintenance history. not too detailed so its making me worried. do you think its not a good buy??

 

No I didn’t mean anything like that. I don’t have any idea of the condition of the car or price you paid for it so I can’t possibly have any idea about was it good purchase or not.

 

ooh I did not mean you saying anything bad about the car. I just wanted to get your two cents. I paid roughly $5,000 for it. I am yet to inspect the shocks and batteries.

 

Again I really can’t answer to that because I’m not in USA. Here it would have costed more than twice that. Cheapest I could find from statics was 11900e or 13000 US dollars…

 

Replaced the front struts on my 2008 Prius Touring last weekend. The information in this thread was a big help. Few suggestions I would add are:

1. If you are on the original struts at 90K miles, they need to be changed. I have driven mostly on well paved roads and the struts were in bad shape. It took them more than a minute to go from full compression to full extension. The new ones took around 7 seconds.

2. I agree with freemandp. The upper strut assembly was is good shape and you can skip replacing it at 100K. Along with the struts I replaced the spring mount (48158-47010) and boots (48157-02070).

3. Use a sharpie when loosening the strut nut by 1/4 turn. This way I was sure I did loosen it but not by a lot.


4. Replace the front struts, spark plugs and PCV valve at the same time. I had replaced the spark plugs a few weeks back and it was not easy. I had decided to skip the PCV valve at that time. After I had removed the cowl bracket for installing the new struts, replacing the PCV valve was a relatively easy job.

5. Make sure you have all the correct parts before you start he job. I realized I has two right (passenger side) struts instead of one left and one right after I had disassembled the left strut. I had to put the car back together with the old struts, return one of the struts and wait for the left strut to arrive before starting againg .

Overall it was worth the effort. The ride is a lot more comfortable and I feel the car is handling a lot better while turning. Next I plan to work on the rear struts.

 

thanks for the informative post! I'm wondering if it's always necessary to replace the Support Subassemblys seeing that they are quite pricey?
TIA, Troels

 

110K, are you referring to the the Support Sub Assembly? There is a lot of noise when driving over bumps, makes me think the insulators are worn out. Thanks!

 

Thanks for the detailed info! I'm having a hard time getting the Sears Craftsman MacPherson strut spring compressor to compress the spring enough to replace the shock comfortably. The spring has so few windings that the only way to attach the compressors is with one spanning 3 coils and the other 2, if they are to be positioned 180 degrees apart. When I proceed to compress the spring, applying equal compression on each compressor, I reach a point where the compressor spanning 2 coils can't go any further, but at this point the spring has not cleared the shock.....If I keep compressing the compressor spanning 3 coils, I can get enough compression to uninstall the shock from the spring, but the spring is now so uneven that it's hard to get it seated correctly in the upper insulator when decompressing....Any tips?
Thanks, Troels

 

Pardon my ignorance, but if a new strut comes with the spring already mounted why all this business about removing the spring? Can't you just remove the old strut with the spring still on it and install the new strut with the spring already on it as it was shipped?