Rear Strut install directions and questions Options

[moki2001]

Just purchased a 96 convertible with 138,000 miles and ride from the rear is pretty awful (harsh and loud, car jiggles over bumps) so I am thinking of replacing the struts. I have never done this before. What is involved? Do I need a spring compressor? Do I need additional parts other than the struts (which are amazingly cheap Any tutorials out there? Thanks

[MaskedMan]

Just purchased a 96 convertible with 138,000 miles and ride from the rear is pretty awful (harsh and loud, car jiggles over bumps) so I am thinking of replacing the struts. I have never done this before. What is involved? Do I need a spring compressor? Do I need additional parts other than the struts (which are amazingly cheap Any tutorials out there? Thanks

Hi there, welcome to the Celica world. Are you planning on the entire strut assembly, or just the shock? The removal and installation is pretty straight forward if you just buy the entire strut assembly. On the convertible, you are going to need to do some work from the back seat. There is going to be a vinyl type of material in the back where the convertible top folds into when you have the top down. So with the convertible top closed, you want to go back there, and move the vinyl covering out if the way. I believe that there are a few 10mm bolts holding it in place. What you are trying to get to is the top of the strut mounts. They will have 3 bolts each (total of 6). I would remove these bolts last, but would at least make them visible first, because your hands are most likely going to be really really dirty after you do all the work underneath.

So when you get the wheel off, there are 3 main parts you'll need to remove to get the strut out.. Main part is the 2 large bolts at the bottom of the strut, very easy to spot. You will also need to remove the brake line bracket which is a 10mm bolt. One of the potentially hardest parts is removing the swaybar endlinks if you have never done so before. They can rust over time and make things difficult. You are going to need an allen/hex wrench, and a 14mm wrench. You will need to use the allen/hex wrench to hold the center of the endlink still, while you take your 14mm wrench and turn the nut. After that is all done, now would be a good time for someone to hold the strut assembly, keeping it from falling, while another person removes the 3 bolts on top that we discussed earlier. The rear struts should then be able to be removed.

For safety purposes, I can only recommend that you get a spring compressor. Sure you can do it without one, but I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself. So at this point, just swap over the spring, and top mounts or any other parts you don't have on your new struts, and you'll be good to go. Grease any parts that make contact with another, such as the top and bottom of the spring, and the top mounts to help control noise.

When you got your new assembly together, it's just as simple as reversing the steps.