I have a '98 Camry and replaced the struts (but not the mounts) at ~100K. Then the mounts went bad within another 25K. Once they were replaced that annoying low speed rattle went away. But now it's back at 187K. I'm learning to live with it. This answer from a Toyota forum looked like an interesting avenue to pursue, however:
Quote:
Camrys and Avalons may exhibit a rattling or popping noise from the front suspension at low speeds. In most cases these noises have been traced to the upper strut cushion attachment to the strut tower. The upper surface of the tower is covered with a seam sealer prior to painting and becomes compressed when the upper strut mounting nuts are tightened. When the sealer wears away, the upper strut mounting nuts can come loose.Remove the upper strut mounting nuts one at a time. Remove any built up seam sealer on the threads and tower, then reinstall and re-torque the nuts to 59 ft. lbs. or 80 Nm also the center nut should be cheaked also by lossening it a little then re-torque to factory spec 36 ft.lb w/electronic suspemion or 26 ft.lb without fix mine up good no more clunking at low speeds
$670 to replace one strut mount is awfully high. The part itself is maybe something like $100 (I used KYB mounts that cost about $55 -- I'm guessing on the dealer price for OEM mounts). A good mechanic ought to be able to pull the wheel, pull the strut, compress the spring, replace the mount, and put everything back together in at most 1.5 hours. It took me 3 hours but I don't do them every day .
http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=497798&sid=7af60cdb63a28137ba207b13d2521793
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Noisy struts on '97 Camry & '99 Avalon
ReplyDelete--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't have the Avalon, but read this cure somewhere.
Seems they sought to reduce strut noise in the Avalon by inserting a
cushion of sorts under the strut mount in the wtrut tower, which
compresses and creates extra clearance - hence the noise on bumps.
The cure was to loosen - only ONE at a time, the strut mounting bolts
at the strut tower under the hood, and then torque them to the correct
figure. I think for the Carmy it was around 53 ft. lbs. each.
The idea is you only work with one nut at a time to preserve alignment
settings.
Worth a try - if you have a torque wrench, it's free, and was reported
as a common problem for the Avalon.
Unless your struts are shot. Either you or your mechanic re-Torque
ReplyDeleteyour Struct-to-Suspension support (damper shaft) nut to the recommended
torque specificatins while the car is cold (very important). Example:
99' Camry 36 Ft-lbs. I had the same problem (damper shaft nut was over
tightened) and the noise went away.