i think my strut is done...?

[camry3sfe]

tonight i went out for a late night snack and i noticed my car had something seriously wrong, whenever i went over the slightest bump on the road, the car made a loud bumping noise. i also felt the bumps really hard in the car... like as if my strut was completely stiff. i noticed that the driverside rear felt like it was high. so i pulled over to the side of the road, and tried to bounce the car up and down, the passenger side rear bounced like normal, but the rear driver side was completely stiff.

when i got back to my apartment, with the passengers out of the back, the driver side rear does bounce, slightly, but it makes sound like its bottoming out or banging.

i think that this strut has had it... does this sound like it would be this? its like the driverside rear is completely stiff.


thanks- AndyC

[camry3sfe]

the car is obviously not safe for me to drive around, especially at high way speeds, so I am going to need to try to repair the car in order to go home for christmas.... if it is the strut needing replaced, anyone know of a good place to get the strut replaced? I actually would like to do the strut replacement myself but i dont have the tools i need here at college obviously. anyone in morgantown have a garage that wouldnt mind helpin me out with gettin a place to work on this maybe? Next week is finals so I dont know of the practicality of trying to do this work myself if it is what is truly wrong with my car. but I am 90% certain its the strut.

[gtfour77]

Andrew, wish you could make it down to Charleston...I'd love to help you but I don't think I'll be in Morgantown until Xmas... If there is any way you can make it down to Chas let me know. 541-5420...

PS: Sounds like you broke a spring or your strut completelly disintegrated...

[camry3sfe]

well, i got a better look at the situation here this evening... jacked the car up and here's what I saw...

a big messy ball of something, maybe some metal or something wrapped around the strut itself. the spring is fine, completely intact. So it looks like a blown strut!

I dunno what I'm gonna do at this point... but am I correct that this would not be a safe thing to drive on... would it? If this thing had just happened to me at home I'd be able to fix it myself! :x

[gtfour77]

Any pictures??? Is it a "foreign" metal or something that came loose from the strut? I am just really confused at this point Andrew...

This is what got me... :shock:

"a big messy ball of something, maybe some metal or something wrapped around the strut"

Is it the strut that came apar and wrapped itself around itself??? :leave:

[camry3sfe]

http://myspace-270.vo.llnwd.net/01524/07/26/1524766270_l.jpg

what is this stuff in there? looks like it might be a gasket or some sort of seal?

[gtfour77]

Looks like a dust boot to me.... if it's rubber.... if it's meatal like you said then that is a mystery that needs to be solved... :shock:
So is the strut not moving at all or is it loose? My understanding is that the strut is bound up (not moving at all) correct?

[SeanB]

Andy,

PM me your phone number, I will stop by and take a look. (Likely be tomorrow before I can do it.)

Thanks.

Sean

[camry3sfe]

yeah, well i think it might be rubber. looks like rubber. when i orginally looked at it, i was lookin at it as the sun was setting. so i dunno. but yes. the car does not bounce up and down on that wheel when there is passengers in the back. but then when there is nothing in the back, is does bounce a very small amount. but still is clearly not bouncing in the fashion it should be.

[gtfour77]

Well, nothing unexpected...you need a new strut...I would just replace both the rears of course. If Sean thinks it's safe to drive down here I could help you...otherwise you will need to find a shop or someone with a spring compressor to replace it. It's really not a bad job, just a little time cosuming...

[camry3sfe]

hey, I'm getting my car fixed over break... here's what all I'm getting:

intrax lowering springs
KYB gr2 struts (all four wheels)

I'm going to be driving my car back to charlottesville VA... very carefully tomorrow. My dad is coming over from MD to get all my stuff from my dorm and then follow me down so that I wont have a lot of weight in my car.

Anyhow, with the struts that I'm going to be putting in is there anything else i need to get? obviously my broken strut has a dust boot out of place... will i need to get a new dust boot? or do struts normally come with that part? Any advice on how to do this project with the most ease?

Hopefully after all is said and done this xmas break... my car will be a bit less mushy (suspension wise) for next autox season. Just hope i have enough money to get some sticky tires!

[ShortysTRM]

Awesome, congrats! :thumbs:

[gtfour77]

Hopefully all you'll need is a new dust boot....possibly a couple of bolts if yours are rusted or broken...other than that it should be a very straight forward job...;) Congrats on the new goodies, looking forward to seeing all that in action next year! :drive: