Surfnsun

I'm looking to replace the strut/spring components on my commuter. It's a '99 with 140k on the odometer. I don't care about handling or performance driving. I just want a nice smooth ride since all I use this car for is commuting 60 miles to the Firehouse on the freeway. What's my best option for replacement and do you have a recommended site to order from other than the dealer?

nsghtbrwry

Stockers are the best bet, but expensive...on my Camrys and ES's, I've switched to Moog quick-struts and never looked back. Ride close to stock (ES) or a bit softer than stock (Camry), and are high quality with none of the problems out of the box reported with other brands (see clunking with Monroes).

I've used Monroes, Gabriels, KYBs, and even crappy Chinese struts for one client, and my recommendations are Moogs or KYBs (but KYBs will require assembly, no quick-struts available. Also, they will ride stiff for 3-4k until they soften up).

I buy mine from RockAuto or Amazon. Often the slightly higher price from Amazon is worth it for Prime shipping and returns.

nikovdh

Hi Surf. I recently replaced all of mine with original toyota/lexus struts. It is expensive, not only because the struts themselves are expensive, but because you likely want to replace most of the old components of the strut. Now, you might not always need to replace most of the components.. but you're not going to know about some parts until you take it apart (my spring bumpers were toast, and the boots as well)

My OEM order list was like this:

lower insulator x2 for front and rear (4 total)
upper insulator x2 for fronts (aka boot)
rear suspension support (mount + insulator boot combo) x2
front mounts x2
front bearing x2
spring bumpers x2 for front and rear (4 total)
x4 struts

I happened to get one of the struts on amazon for like 50$. I feel like it was a typo on their part, but it was the last in stock.

The spring upper seat is unlikely to need replacement, since it's a solid piece of equipment. The coil spring is also probably good
unless you can see some issue with it like rust.

My total cost was about 950$.

It was my first time doing this, and now I'm confident I could do it again. I had my step dad with me to help out and to just spend some quality time with. He knew nothing about changing struts, but now he says he would do his Mercedes by himself.
Having the factory service manual was helpful, which I got piece by piece on techinfo.toyota website 2 day subscription for 10$.
I also watched a lot of videos.

It goes without saying, that I love the feel of the original struts and didn't want to risk not liking the way my car feels.

I got the pieces from several locations depending on which had the best overall price:
Amazon
E-Bay (mounts)
bochtoyota south parts
oemgeuineparts.com

The last 2 have the best dealer-based prices I found after browsing through the purchase cart of what must have been almost a hundred toyota parts websites.

If you decide to go with originals and have any other questions, ask away!

My Facebook with some pictures of the project
https://www.facebook.com/nikovdh/posts/10155511713189131
and more...
https://www.facebook.com/nikovdh/posts/10155505737029131

..

Oro

The replacement upper mounts in almost all aftermarket quick struts have a high failure rate. IMO, the safest way to go is to re-use your factory mounts and springs if they are solid and install KYB shocks in the assembly. If you do use a quick strut of some type, keep the upper mounts from the old assemblies in case the new ones give out. Moog makes rear springs that work well and cost about 1/4 of OE if those are worn. I am not sure about the front; they rarely wear out.

check your boots and order new if needed (or just get them). Insulators can often be reused but you won't know until they are out of the car. New ones can be made from scrap material, too. Another tip is to use to borrow two spring compressor sets and use them on each strut. Will make it safer if you are not experienced with this.

Rock auto is a good source, and sometimes ebay.