I can't wait to explain to my son how to fix his car someday, and do it exactly as you did, to the point. No more, and not a hair less than exactly what you need to know to get the job done right, and quickly.
This is a fantastic video!! Thank you so much for the expert instructions. I always thought replacing struts was too hard and figured I'd have to pay someone to do it. This is totally in my skillset and and I can't wait to do it on my car. Thanks!!
Thanks a lot Jim! I'm a Lube tech at a Toyota dealership in Cali where they never teach the "newbies" how to do these kind of jobs. Thanks to your instructional video, I'll have some confidence in jumping in and trying it myself.
You mentioned lowering the car back down before removing the 3 nuts on the top of the strut. Ca. You explain why? About to change out struts. Thank you so much for this tutorial.
Just got a 2004 Solara and would like to replace the struts. The fronts still seem OK but the back feels really bouncy over larger bumps. Your video showed that it's only about 15 minutes of labor to change out a strut but my shop will charge 1.5 hours per, and with only 6 bolts plus no tricky alignment issues on the reassembly, it looks like something I can easily do. Thanks for giving me the confidence to take this job on!
Brent Williams I know it took 15 min in the video but in real time it will take about 1 hr each side If I did them in my shop I would also charge 1.5 hr. You should be able to do this job yourself and save the cash. If you need any advice let me know
Thank you so much. I wish I'd recorded myself following your instructions. Next time. Ran into an issue with the bolt on the stabilizer arm. The one on my car wasn't like yours with a hex backup on the other side of the mount near the bushing. Mine had an allen hole in the end of the bolt which promptly stripped out do to the amount of force I had to put on that nut to get it off (should've been replaced years ago). Had to use vice grips on the back side which pinched and tore the sleeve on the joint. Luckily the stabilizer bar was only $25 and in stock locally.
After watching this I decided to try it myself. You gave a good visual on how to accomplish the installation. The only problem I had on my 2004was the stabilizer bar had a nut with a allen wrench screw in the middle. It was much harder to pull off and put on the rod with that nut. Everything else went smooth. Thanks for the information
Jim after i checked for proper torque, i ended up putting old unit back on. Strut is new but damaged. Out of the 4. Fyi Monroe quick strut. I've never had a problem with any of their equipment. I ended up calling them, replacement on its way. Thanks
Well I watched this video, which was great, because I'm getting ready to put front struts on my 2004 Lexus ES330. I can't find a mechanic who is both dependable and trustworthy so I said the hell with it, I'll do it myself. If you get this and can answer a question, one thing I'm worried about is that the one front strut started making a noise, the mechanic said he didn't know what it was. But now as I look at the top where the three bolts are, under the hood, the center one that you and others have said don't touch that one, has evidently been rattling around in there, because there are metal shavings all around the hole, and the bolt or nut itself protrudes about a half-inch up out of the hole! whereas the other one on the other side is flush with the metal of the car. So I guess something went wrong under there and I'll find out about it when I go to take it off, what do you think? Thanks!
I’m looking into replacing my 2004 Camry suspension and the kits I found also include a replacement stabilizer bar, would you recommend also changing that with the suspension?
Hi There! I will browse trough the comments later, i may find an answer, but if its not there, my question is. Can i change the struts by lifting up only one side of the car? It may be an obvious thing, but i am not sure. Thank you for the video and the answer in advance. ;)
Hi, you did a great job on this video. I followed your instruction to replace strut on my Toyota corolla 04 but here is my challenge hoping someone can help. I have problem loosening the 19mm bolts and nuts on the right side. (I replaced left strut perfectly). I applied WD 40 but to no avail. What else should I do, please? Applying what? Cutting the bolt? with what? or what...... You advice would be appreciated. Thanks
Jim I just finished installing quick struts on a99 Toyota Camry front end . The problem is when I started to drive it the driver side started rattling and when I hit slight bumps or potholes it seems to hit hard and you hear a boom as if strut is not absorbing impact. It was doing any of that before I installed them really confused
wrathcc You should check all the bolts to make sure they are tight but most important check the stabilizer link and make sure that is tight.Keep me posted .Jim
Is it the same concept for the rear reason I ask is cause I'm trying to replace all four on my car cause there blown and all the places I've been too are trying to charge me 1200 to fix
Thanks for making the great video. I will be doing this job myself in the near future on my 2004 Solara. Do you favor a particular OEM strut assembly maker? Moog, Sensen, Gabriel, Monroe all seem to be reasonably priced?
hi jim, Great Fast Work! Question does changing the Struts like this affect the Wheel Alignment in Any Way ,Have a 2003 Lexus GS300 RWD ? FYI, A friend of mine did his struts on a Camry a couple of years ago with an impact and snapped one of the Top Shock Studs OFF. It wasn’t a Monroe but some off Brand ,a friend of his (Works in a Heavy Plate Shop) Fixed it for him ,Luckily or else he would have had to buy another Strut ! Thanks Frank
Got to do this replacement on my 2005 Toyota Camry LE this week as soon as the weather will let me. Ordered the same struts as you had installed on this car. I had a question tho. The spring broke on the right hand side. Will this effect the take out process? And I liked the bungy cord tip. Thanks for making this vid. Makes the job easy.
Its a question more than a comment. I hav a 1998 mtsubishi eclips with a non turbo 2.0 with manuel trans. At takeoff it stumbles btween 1k an 15hundred rpm. But is fine after that. Also only on hard acceleration. New plugs wires and coil.throtfld body has been cleaned and airfilter. Injector cleaner also. But car runz perfect othedwise. Any suggeztionz. Tony
Hi Jim, it is a good video. It is helping me in changing quick struts for my 2003 Camry. I am struck in removing strut-to-knuckle bolts on passenger side. Driver side come good. Passenger side is rusted. By any chance, are they left handed threads? Am I tightening instead of loosening? Thanks for your help.
Nice video. Do you know if the 2002 - 2006 Toyota Camry LE and the SE uses the same strut or different ones? My brother has a 2012 Camry SE and when he went to buy some front struts for his car it didn't fit. He had to get the ones specifically for the SE model.
Ran into a big problem in removing the stabilizing bar. The blot holding the bar in place has a hole for an allen key but it has Rusted to the point where it won't allow me to get the bolt off.
@@jimthecarguy I will make a video showing exactly what I'm talking about tomorrow. I did manage to get the bolt off after sweating at it for like 2 hours. Since Didn't.have an air gun. There is another video about it on UA-cam that's how I found out about it. Mine is a 2005 Camry LE. Outside of that allen bolt the job was pretty straight forward.
Hey Jimmy, thanks very much for the video of the strut replacement. What brand of struts are they? I've been looking for a complete set for my 2005 Toyota Avalon XL but all I see are ones I need to compress the springs and either re-use the old springs or new ones that aren't already installed. I see Chinese knock offs that come with the strut and spring already installed but I want to avoid buying/installing those. Thanks very much - Del, Honolulu, Hawaii
+RareDiamond Ching The struts I used are called quick struts and they are made by Monroe.They come as an assembly.I wish i was in Hawaii now. we just got a blizzard today 27 inches of snow. Let me know if you need any other advice.Jim
Sorry to hear about the blizzard. Come on over to Hawaii, we've been having near cloudless days since New Years Eve, low 80's to high 70's. Guess it's time to get those strut spring compressors. recommend any brand? Thanks
Hi Jim, I got my 2007 santa fe 3.3l awd front struts replaced by the dealer. But the suv comes back with vibration when speeding up. I found one of the lug nuts is over torqued. I suspect the driver side rotor could be warped. I reinstalled the tire and it is 50% better below 80kph. Over a long trip, I found the car is very uncomfortable to go over 120 kph. Should I change the rotor first?
lamdafan No don't change anything at this time.Does the vibration happen when stepping on the brake or just when driving?Does the SUV pull to one side or is the steering wheel straight?Does the vibration happen right away from the start ? Keep me posted .Jim
jimthecarguyIs it true if the tire has a huge lead for balance means the tire is not very uniform. (It is 3 inches long) I switch the front driver tire to the back and it seems better. The vibration is there but more obvious when it is 90km and over. I am more leaning towards the wheel balancing now because braking doesn't make too much a difference.
+Finn Green They're great if you don't mind an inexplicable clunk over certain bumps and also don't mind replacing them every year under the lifetime warranty. Other than that, get the KYBs.
Does the strut come with the spring attached? I ordered Monroe front struts for my 2004 Lexus ES330 from PartsGeek but the online photo doesn't show the spring attached. The parts should arrive next week.
An answer to my own question - no it does not. You must have a spring compression tool to remove the spring from the old strut and then install ob the new one.
Jim, do you have a video of rear strut replacement on a Camry? I have a 2005 V6 XLE. I read where if disk brakes are involved that one needs to remove the caliper in order to remove the two bottom bolts on the strut. Can you confirm that? Also, when I push on the rear fender the car bounces just once so I'm not sure if I even need new struts BUT there is a loud squeak that occurs when I do that. Any ideas what could be causing that?
To funny hey everyone no one has this equipment at their house Reality check going to have a floor jack and jackstands and and you won’t have a car up to your chest level laughing my butt off and that’s the lmbo they don’t make jackstands that are almost 6 foot tall reality check has anybody woke up yet myself I’m gonna have to take it to the shop and have them put it on my sturts and my lower control arms and charge me 660 to put them on this guy is stoned
I can't wait to explain to my son how to fix his car someday, and do it exactly as you did, to the point. No more, and not a hair less than exactly what you need to know to get the job done right, and quickly.
This is a fantastic video!! Thank you so much for the expert instructions. I always thought replacing struts was too hard and figured I'd have to pay someone to do it. This is totally in my skillset and and I can't wait to do it on my car. Thanks!!
Thanks for watching
Thanks a lot Jim! I'm a Lube tech at a Toyota dealership in Cali where they never teach the "newbies" how to do these kind of jobs. Thanks to your instructional video, I'll have some confidence in jumping in and trying it myself.
+Michael Landeros If you need any further advice let me know .I will be more than happy to help.
I’ve done this job on my 2004 Toyota Camry. Great job.
You mentioned lowering the car back down before removing the 3 nuts on the top of the strut. Ca. You explain why? About to change out struts. Thank you so much for this tutorial.
I think it was because the car was too high in the air for him to reach them.
Just got a 2004 Solara and would like to replace the struts. The fronts still seem OK but the back feels really bouncy over larger bumps.
Your video showed that it's only about 15 minutes of labor to change out a strut but my shop will charge 1.5 hours per, and with only 6 bolts plus no tricky alignment issues on the reassembly, it looks like something I can easily do. Thanks for giving me the confidence to take this job on!
Brent Williams I know it took 15 min in the video but in real time it will take about 1 hr each side If I did them in my shop I would also charge 1.5 hr. You should be able to do this job yourself and save the cash. If you need any advice let me know
Thanks Jim! I have a 2004 Camry with 150,000 miles that is bottoming out. I'm gonna do this job myself.
Thanks Jim! Very helpful video. I’m planning to dive into doing our Camry’s struts tomorrow. Will follow your process exactly!
Thank you so much. I wish I'd recorded myself following your instructions. Next time. Ran into an issue with the bolt on the stabilizer arm. The one on my car wasn't like yours with a hex backup on the other side of the mount near the bushing. Mine had an allen hole in the end of the bolt which promptly stripped out do to the amount of force I had to put on that nut to get it off (should've been replaced years ago). Had to use vice grips on the back side which pinched and tore the sleeve on the joint. Luckily the stabilizer bar was only $25 and in stock locally.
+Chad Dickerson Ya sometime the stabilizers get very rusty causing that problem with the hex nut.Get job
Thanks Jim,
Great video, very helpful and thorough. Changed my Camry front struts today after watching this video with no issues!
I’m gonna do the same!!
do you need to do an alignment after this job?
After watching this I decided to try it myself. You gave a good visual on how to accomplish the installation. The only problem I had on my 2004was the stabilizer bar had a nut with a allen wrench screw in the middle. It was much harder to pull off and put on the rod with that nut. Everything else went smooth. Thanks for the information
I hope I was helpful.Thanks for stopping by the shop.
Thank you for taking the time to do this. It took some patience. Take Care, Delmar
Delmar829 Thank you for watching and your feedback.Jim
Great tutorial. Systematic explanation in a logical sequence. Thank you.
Great video thanks for taking the time to show your skills I'll be trying this on my Toyota Camry..
Jim after i checked for proper torque, i ended up putting old unit back on. Strut is new but damaged. Out of the 4. Fyi Monroe quick strut. I've never had a problem with any of their equipment. I ended up calling them, replacement on its way. Thanks
Jose Vargas Hi Jose Thank full they have a life time waranty
Yes sir. Thank you my good man
Thanks bro. You are awesome and you have a great way of communicating.
Thanks for the video haven't done a job like this in a while had too refresh my memory. Thanks a million
+mack peoples Thanks for watching
Very informative--thank you for shooting this tutorial!
Well I watched this video, which was great, because I'm getting ready to put front struts on my 2004 Lexus ES330. I can't find a mechanic who is both dependable and trustworthy so I said the hell with it, I'll do it myself. If you get this and can answer a question, one thing I'm worried about is that the one front strut started making a noise, the mechanic said he didn't know what it was. But now as I look at the top where the three bolts are, under the hood, the center one that you and others have said don't touch that one, has evidently been rattling around in there, because there are metal shavings all around the hole, and the bolt or nut itself protrudes about a half-inch up out of the hole! whereas the other one on the other side is flush with the metal of the car. So I guess something went wrong under there and I'll find out about it when I go to take it off, what do you think? Thanks!
Thank you, sensei! I have a Toyota Camry that needs this job.
I’m looking into replacing my 2004 Camry suspension and the kits I found also include a replacement stabilizer bar, would you recommend also changing that with the suspension?
thanx for the video...i have a corolla 2003....i will receive my struts on tuesday.
Great video, should i have the alignment checked after installation?
you make it look easy. is there much advantage to hi dollar to oem style
This video you made is very helpful! Just wondering what MM socket for the two large bottom bolts.
The rears are 19MM. I think the fronts are the same.
Hi There! I will browse trough the comments later, i may find an answer, but if its not there, my question is. Can i change the struts by lifting up only one side of the car? It may be an obvious thing, but i am not sure. Thank you for the video and the answer in advance. ;)
Very good instructions. Thanks!
Hi, you did a great job on this video. I followed your instruction to replace strut on my Toyota corolla 04 but here is my challenge hoping someone can help. I have problem loosening the 19mm bolts and nuts on the right side. (I replaced left strut perfectly). I applied WD 40 but to no avail. What else should I do, please? Applying what? Cutting the bolt? with what? or what...... You advice would be appreciated. Thanks
Emmanuel O - Try Kroil penetrating fluid and wait a while before loosening. Use a breaker bar.
Will the car have to be aligned after strut replacement??
Very helpful video, appreciate the help and I subscribed !
Thank you for watching and welcome to the shop
Jim I just finished installing quick struts on a99 Toyota Camry front end . The problem is when I started to drive it the driver side started rattling and when I hit slight bumps or potholes it seems to hit hard and you hear a boom as if strut is not absorbing impact. It was doing any of that before I installed them really confused
wrathcc You should check all the bolts to make sure they are tight but most important check the stabilizer link and make sure that is tight.Keep me posted .Jim
wrathcc any update ????
Thanks you, very clear and helpful!
Do you need to have it aligned after replacing the struts?
Is it the same concept for the rear reason I ask is cause I'm trying to replace all four on my car cause there blown and all the places I've been too are trying to charge me 1200 to fix
Jim you need a mini microphone. Almost blew my ears with that handgun.
Thanks for making the great video. I will be doing this job myself in the near future on my 2004 Solara. Do you favor a particular OEM strut assembly maker? Moog, Sensen, Gabriel, Monroe all seem to be reasonably priced?
The one that I use in my shop is only Monroe.Good product and a fair price and best of all a very good warranty.
hi jim,
Great Fast Work! Question does changing the Struts like this affect the Wheel Alignment in Any Way ,Have a 2003 Lexus GS300 RWD ?
FYI, A friend of mine did his struts on a Camry a couple of years ago with an impact and snapped one of the Top Shock Studs OFF.
It wasn’t a Monroe but some off Brand ,a friend of his (Works in a Heavy Plate Shop) Fixed it for him ,Luckily or else he would have had to buy another Strut !
Thanks
Frank
Got to do this replacement on my 2005 Toyota Camry LE this week as soon as the weather will let me.
Ordered the same struts as you had installed on this car. I had a question tho. The spring broke on the right hand side. Will this effect the take out process? And I liked the bungy cord tip. Thanks for making this vid. Makes the job easy.
No it will not affect the removal procedure. I'm happy to help. Thanks for watching.
Its a question more than a comment. I hav a 1998 mtsubishi eclips with a non turbo 2.0 with manuel trans. At takeoff it stumbles btween 1k an 15hundred rpm. But is fine after that. Also only on hard acceleration. New plugs wires and coil.throtfld body has been cleaned and airfilter. Injector cleaner also. But car runz perfect othedwise. Any suggeztionz. Tony
Hi Jim, it is a good video. It is helping me in changing quick struts for my 2003 Camry. I am struck in removing strut-to-knuckle bolts on passenger side. Driver side come good. Passenger side is rusted. By any chance, are they left handed threads? Am I tightening instead of loosening? Thanks for your help.
Srinivas Kotekal - try Kroil penetrating fluid ; let sit and loosen w a breaker bar. Threads are conventional - counter clockwise to loosen.
are these steps the same for a toyota solara 04
Pep boys wants to charge me 3.5 hour labor charge to do what you've done in roughly 12 mins. Ridiculous. Glad I've seen this
3.5 is a little high but it will take around 2.5-3 hr.I'm happy to help.Thank you for watching.
Nice video. Do you know if the 2002 - 2006 Toyota Camry LE and the SE uses the same strut or different ones? My brother has a 2012 Camry SE and when he went to buy some front struts for his car it didn't fit. He had to get the ones specifically for the SE model.
They are different.
Ran into a big problem in removing the stabilizing bar. The blot holding the bar in place has a hole for an allen key but it has Rusted to the point where it won't allow me to get the bolt off.
Are you sure I never saw one that was an allen key?
@@jimthecarguy I will make a video showing exactly what I'm talking about tomorrow. I did manage to get the bolt off after sweating at it for like 2 hours. Since Didn't.have an air gun.
There is another video about it on UA-cam that's how I found out about it.
Mine is a 2005 Camry LE.
Outside of that allen bolt the job was pretty straight forward.
Hey Jimmy, thanks very much for the video of the strut replacement. What brand of struts are they? I've been looking for a complete set for my 2005 Toyota Avalon XL but all I see are ones I need to compress the springs and either re-use the old springs or new ones that aren't already installed. I see Chinese knock offs that come with the strut and spring already installed but I want to avoid buying/installing those. Thanks very much - Del, Honolulu, Hawaii
+RareDiamond Ching The struts I used are called quick struts and they are made by Monroe.They come as an assembly.I wish i was in Hawaii now. we just got a blizzard today 27 inches of snow. Let me know if you need any other advice.Jim
Sorry to hear about the blizzard. Come on over to Hawaii, we've been having near cloudless days since New Years Eve, low 80's to high 70's. Guess it's time to get those strut spring compressors. recommend any brand? Thanks
+RareDiamond Ching I like the Monroe quick strut.Good luck .Keep me posted.Jim
Should you put grease on the bolts to prevent them from rusting?
did you know the average humans has 5 to 20lbs of toxic poop in their body at any given time?
@@lordfarquad8474 Not only is this untrue, but it’s also irrelevant.
Hi Jim,
I got my 2007 santa fe 3.3l awd front struts replaced by the dealer. But the suv comes back with vibration when speeding up. I found one of the lug nuts is over torqued. I suspect the driver side rotor could be warped. I reinstalled the tire and it is 50% better below 80kph. Over a long trip, I found the car is very uncomfortable to go over 120 kph. Should I change the rotor first?
lamdafan No don't change anything at this time.Does the vibration happen when stepping on the brake or just when driving?Does the SUV pull to one side or is the steering wheel straight?Does the vibration happen right away from the start ? Keep me posted .Jim
jimthecarguyIs it true if the tire has a huge lead for balance means the tire is not very uniform. (It is 3 inches long) I switch the front driver tire to the back and it seems better. The vibration is there but more obvious when it is 90km and over. I am more leaning towards the wheel balancing now because braking doesn't make too much a difference.
Just wondering if you need an alignment afterwards.....
Yes whenever you do any front end work you should check the alignment Thanks for watching.
Excelente! gracias yo tengo la herramienta yo puedo hacerlo!
Thank you for watching
Awesome 👍
Nice job
Do you have to do an alignment after replacing the front and rear struts?
curious to know this as well
If camber kit is used or tire wear previously was problem
jim
what is you opinion of these quick struts???
would you use them on your cars ???
thanks
Finn Green When you have an older car it is a great product.
+Finn Green They're great if you don't mind an inexplicable clunk over certain bumps and also don't mind replacing them every year under the lifetime warranty. Other than that, get the KYBs.
OK thanks for your input
on a 1997 Avalon strut is there any specific order that the upper bolts line up on
The strut mount only goes on one way
Awesome vid as always jim! Btw did u re-use the strut mounts or replaced them too?
+Roderick Torres Good question,On this car I replace the strut mount.
+jimthecarguy is it a must to replace the mount? ...thanks a bunch jim!
+Roderick Torres No not all the time but it depends on the condition of the old one.Also if you are getting any noise from it you should replace it.
Thank you!
Does the strut come with the spring attached? I ordered Monroe front struts for my 2004 Lexus ES330 from PartsGeek but the online photo doesn't show the spring attached. The parts should arrive next week.
An answer to my own question - no it does not. You must have a spring compression tool to remove the spring from the old strut and then install ob the new one.
Thanks for this!
rapture jazz I hope my video was helpful
Are the steps same for a 2004 Toyota Corolla?
Yes it should be the same.
Is it necessary to get an alignment when replacing struts on a 2005 Camry?
flyboy7588 Whenever work on the front end is done it's a good idea to check the alignment.
Jim, do you have a video of rear strut replacement on a Camry? I have a 2005 V6 XLE. I read where if disk brakes are involved that one needs to remove the caliper in order to remove the two bottom bolts on the strut. Can you confirm that? Also, when I push on the rear fender the car bounces just once so I'm not sure if I even need new struts BUT there is a loud squeak that occurs when I do that. Any ideas what could be causing that?
Sorry I don't but I have one on a 2008 Toyota highlander it is ua-cam.com/video/Usx43Z0qIkU/v-deo.html
Hi Jim,
If I were to get this done in at the shop, what can I expect to pay?
+John Brown It should be around $600.00-$700.00 installed.If you need an exact price email me at work tomorrow I will check
+drewt1976 Wow thats a great price
Auto center just quoted me $558 Labor and $499 on parts. North Atlanta, Ga. 04/11/2018
Is my v6 solara convertible the same
Yes it is the same procedure.
Nice thanks
wilfredo perez Happy to help
you need a torque wrench mister
is it the same for a 2003 le?
Yes it should be the exact same
What a Risk, Not to use a Torque Wrench to Torque the Knuckle, Top Strut, and Strut Stabilizer Bolts To Factory Specs.
THANKS
I'm happy to help
Just did this on wife car , but not steering wheel isnt stright and pulls to the right ?? Why is this ??
After the replacement you will need to have the wheel alignment reset. Thanks for watching.
i accidentaly unscrewed that bolt in the middle of the shock. yikes
Hi Jim, do you receice PMs? I have sent you a couple and never gotten a reply.
eldoradony Sorry I never got them.This may be a foolish question but what is PMs?
PM is private message. It should come through as a notification. Look at the bell icon next to the upload button.
Everything is good but you forget the safety frist. Where is your safety glasses
I accidently ordered the shocks for 2003. does anyone know if they will fit a 2004 Camry. ? thanks
👍
Looks easy, why the mechanic charges so much $1,400.
Thanks for watching.
I hate air guns. Final torque on them is prob not consistent.
I would say that for me too but this guy (Jim) seems like he can do it in his sleep and torque it right because of his experience.
hot
thank you I think
To funny hey everyone no one has this equipment at their house Reality check going to have a floor jack and jackstands and and you won’t have a car up to your chest level laughing my butt off and that’s the lmbo they don’t make jackstands that are almost 6 foot tall reality check has anybody woke up yet myself I’m gonna have to take it to the shop and have them put it on my sturts and my lower control arms and charge me 660 to put them on this guy is stoned