rubber issue.. Options

[shegarhuney]

well.. there are pieces of rubber coming out from this opening.. n its making alot of noise when i hit a bump.. was wondering which part do i need from the 2nd pict circled in GREEN?? thanks in advance..

[808celica]

dis-assemble and grease it up good. if the noise keeps coming back then you might have to change the top mount.

[AMCMoe]

The part you have circled is the bearing, insulator, and the seat that holds the spring onto the strut, probably not what you need. The noises are probably due to a worn strut mount like 808 said. You'll get varied opinions on replacements, some have had luck with certain brands, some haven't. I've not had a single problem with KYB oem replacement mounts, but I guess some have. If you want to spend the money on OEM Toyota mounts, they're not a whole lot more each... Two front strut mounts from KYB's are ~$100 + shipping, OEM mounts were about $75 a piece if I remember correctly. When you replace them, open the bearing, soak it in gasoline to remove all the grease, check to make sure the ball bearings aren't damaged, and repack it with new grease.

Toyota part number 4860920401. Supposedly the newer revision is slightly taller than the original revision, which is part number 4860920390.
KYB part number SM5372 (As far as I know, these are also the slightly taller 'newer revision')

This post has been edited by AMCMoe: Aug 18, 2009 - 4:40 PM

[shegarhuney]

okie.. thanks for the advise.. the noise it made's like metal hitting metal.. so is that different?? anyhu.. top mount.. is that the same as a bearing plate?? the part circled in RED??



n since so much rubber's been peeling off.. do i need a upper spring seat??

i mean i understand.. coz its kinda hard describing something compared to actually looking at it.. i guess the safest best's to remove my struts and look at it.. coz when i 1st install the teins.. nothing was wrong.. n i forgot to put in the old bump stops coz they were so worn out!!.. when i hit bump.. it sounded really bad so i went to get new ones n install them like a week later.. then i started to see the rubber pieces coming out from the opening of the bearing plate.. and then the noise started to become louder and louder..

well.. like i said.. i need to remove them and take a good look at them.. coz i dun think the struts are bad.. i had them for less than 6months onli.. well.. we'll see.. anyhu.. thanks for everything guys.. keep up the good work.. peace out

This post has been edited by shegarhuney: Aug 18, 2009 - 11:30 PM

[808celica]

safest and sure fire way to get rid of the noise is buy everything circled.

[AMCMoe]

It's most likely just the strut mount that's bad. There is rubber in the middle of them which is what you're seeing coming out. I would put the bump stops back in there as well when you change the mounts. If you push down on the car (above the strut), does it bounce back to where it should be, or does it bounce a few times? That's the easy way to tell if your struts are still ok.

I highly doubt you need the spring seat....unless you take your Celica off road that's a waste of money, unless it looks damaged for some reason.

You probably don't need a new bearing either, but if you notice your steering is kind of hard when making a turn, then you should replace it. It couldn't hurt (they're about $25 each IIRC), when you're doing the mounts, take the bearing apart like I said and see how it looks, clean it with gasoline and repack it with grease. The bearings can be bought locally (and probably in-stock).

You could buy the spring insulator if yours is torn.

[Keiri]

Just a quick question for you guys; I'm planning on replacing the struts, boots, mounts, and shocks for my GT. Do I need to buy the parts circled in red for the new struts (they're KYB GR-2s)?

[Galcobar]

The part in red is the strut mount.

[Keiri]

The part in red is the strut mount.

Oops, I'm slow. I meant the green.

[Galcobar]

The part with the blue line touching it is the upper spring seat -- you do not have to replace that. The ring below that is the upper spring seat isolator, and being rubber it's a good idea to replace it.