MY front suspension start to make noise and my mechanic told me my 2001 prius need a new front shock absorber. He also mention that I should replace other suspension parts like springs and the suspension support. I was wondering anybody done that before? Should I listen to him about replace all the parts or just replace the shocks. Since I'm going to order the parts by myself and bring them to my mechanic to replace it, I just discover there are two different setup for the spring: 48131 SPRING, FRONT COIL, RH 48131-47030 NHW11; L=358.5 1 $84.81 48131-47050 NHW11; L=332.0 1 $61.30 48132 SPRING, FRONT COIL, LH 48131-47040 NHW11; L=374.5 1 $84.81 48131-47060 NHW11; L=345.5 1 $68.62 So I was wondering, which setup I should go for (the longer one or the shorter one)?
What's the odometer reading on your car? I had changed the struts/shocks on my 2001 at around 60K miles. At minimum I would say that you need to replace the struts and the rubber pleated covers that keep dirt/water out. There's also a rubber piece at the bottom of the spring which you may want to replace, as the end of the spring will usually wear a hole into the rubber. If you have high miles logged, then it might be appropriate to replace the strut mount with bearing located on top of each strut. I don't know why you should replace the springs unless you see that the car is sagging.
I think that I would double check on the springs. But if you need them, I would use the opportunity to buy gas shocks and the Eibach progressive spring set, about $250.00 list, along with the Eibach front and rear alignment kits. The progressive springs start out just a bit softer than stock linear springs for better highway ride, then get progressively get stiffer when pushed harder, so they provide much better control over potholes, etc. and also resist sway and leaning in turns. They also resist bottoming out a lot more and help prevent wallowing when loaded with passengers or gear. Overall, handling would be greatly improved. Progressive springs also lower the car about an inch, which will increase gas mileage and provide a lower center of gravity, while the progressive qualities of the springs will prevent the car from going lower than stock over bumps, and will actually keep the car higher than stock over bumps. Check with www.eibach.com for the part numbers for Prius and also dealers. An added benefit are the alignment adjustment kits which allow adjustment of alignment, which is severely limited otherwise.
I'm currently have 312500km/194000miles on my 2001 prius. This is the first time I need to replace my strut/spring. About the strut mount bearing, I was thinking about that too due to the high mileage. Thanks for the info, I will check them out.
OK, at that odometer reading I suppose it is possible that the springs are beginning to collapse. The Toyota repair manual should have a spec for height of the body above ground (for example, the 2005 repair manual shows this on p. 26-6.) If your car is below spec then this would be a good reason to replace the springs. However I don't know why you have a choice of two heights. Since your odometer reading is so high I would say that it is quite reasonable to replace the strut mount bearings now. How about the rear shocks? If they haven't been replaced yet it seems that this would be a good time to do them as well. Good luck.
I have no idea too, but according to the parts manual, there are two suspension height to choose from: ToyoDIY.com For the rear shock, I will replace them a bit later since they are still fine with no leaking. But if do change, I will change them along with the rear bearings (just replaced the front bearing last month).
