Am hoping someone can suggest a thorough Youtube link for removing all the trim necessary to access the rear shocks for replacement. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated! Thanks and have a Jamtastic day!
I didn't see any videos when I did the rear shocks either... But it's an easy one... Just watch the videos for pulling a hybrid battery and part way into that video you'll see the bolts you need access to for rear shock replacement.
here you go; look up DIY Powell he has 3 videos. very good! youtube keeps making it harder for devers to make plugins to download videos
Thanks very much! Very informative and I was able to remove all necessary trim to access the struts in under an hour. New struts and Springs, much nicer ride! Now, I’m still hearing an annoying knocking from the right rear area. Over bumps. Heard this same noise before replacement as well. I’m wondering if there are replaceable rear sway bar bushings or others that might contribute to this noise? Thanks again!
Settle down... you're driving a Prius... If the car had legit swaybars w/legit bushings it wouldn't sway like a Prius, which is one of many reasons we like to drive kinda slow.
I love our Prius...and I drive slow...never a ticket in 50 years of driving! But, that’s not my problems oblem, nor my question. Something is amiss and I’m trying to solve the issue. There’s a definite knocking on the right rear wheel area. Not a normal sound. Are there bushings that can be replaced or lubed?
I've the same year Prius and have taken rear shocks off and clean and inspected that area on my car and can't imagine what might cause that unless you knocked something loose or bent something when doing the work. Were the shocks a good fit, or did you have to force them a bit. My new shocks were a great price but didn't fit cause angle of mounting plate was off by a few degrees and had to ship 'em back.
Shocks were a perfect fit. As indicated, the noise I am hearing, I also heard before the replacement, maybe a bit more accentuated now. I’ll keep digging. I see on a suspension diagram that there is a rear sway bar, so there must be bushing as attached to the rear end. Surprised no one has investigated this before now.
Have you already ruled out wheel bearing? Also is the noise dependent on the way the car is swaying? Is the noise affected by driving straight at a constant speed when you hit a rough patch of road?
There are only a spare tire and a 12v battery back there that can make those noises. Make sure they are locked down.
The rear axle beam assembly has two bushings where the axle bolts to the body. The rear stabilizer bar does not have removable bushings. Did you replace the top shock mounts when replacing the shocks (or did you buy a preassembled shock/coil spring assembly)? If you did not, the top shock mount might be another source of noise if worn.
as has been said by others check '..spare tire and a 12v battery..' for lock down. the sound might be coming from the front and not the back; you might have (a) bad control arm(s), take it to dealer for inspection $$$(get price first), make sure work order includes that you want mechanic to ride along with you(in dealer lot [they should have speed bumps]) so (s)he can hear it too. it can be a diy job.
Yes, the replacements were preassembled. When the shocks and springs were removed it was noted that both the left and right springs were both broken, at the bottom. Corrosion evident on both broken parts. This has me thinking that undue stresses that would have been absorbed by the springs transferred to some other suspension component, causing wear. These noises just come from the right rear area. Clunking, banging noises continue. Sounds like a metal to metal noise. Not on smooth road surfaces, just on bumpy pavement. We have a lot of these roads here in Vermont. When the rear is loaded the noises are far less than when trunk is empty. When empty, it can be pretty noisy. I’m perplexed.
