Replacement Shocks - Corolland: the Toyota Corolla Forums

Hi all, I have a '99 Corolla in need of new shocks and/or struts.

I found a "Full Set of Shocks Struts" on Amazon, for $122 before shipping, here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007NZ9GYG/ref=s9_simh_gw_p263_d3_i4?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0RBAFZVP2K3VZ8MK5EQM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

However from that picture, what I'll call a "spring" is not included, unlike in this "Full Strut Assembly:"

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008X02LM4/ref=s9_simh_gw_p263_d3_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0RBAFZVP2K3VZ8MK5EQM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

So my question is, is the item pictured in the first link sufficient to replace worn out struts/shocks? Can my car's old existing "springs" be attached in conjunction with the first link? (This would save a lot of money.) Or when shocks/struts wear out, do you need to replace the "full assembly" like pictured in the second link?

Thanks in advance!

It depends if your original coil springs are sagged and gone too soft. Mine are still fine at 170,000 miles on 2nd replacement set of struts... Complete strut assemblies save having to compress the springs to remove and reinstall on new struts, and they come complete with new mount, bellow, and seat. I don't know if DTA are any good though.

If your coil springs are still good, you could just get new struts, and bellows for the front. Bearing in the mounts can be cleaned and greased. Bellows are built-in with the original mounts, but are not very durable. When the bellows rip apart, they fail to protect the strut's shaft, leading to leaks.

I'd go with KYB (GR-2/Excel-G/Strut Plus) or Monroe (OESpectrum/Sensa-Trac/Quick-Strut) for quality and dependability.

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1432911,parttype,7584

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1432911,parttype,7592

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1432911,parttype,15174

Thank you dom. Very helpful info.

I will be having a mechanic do the actual replacement. So I imagine it would entail more labor to compress the springs to remove and reinstall on new struts? Which means they'll probably want more for labor to do this. I'm not sure of the condition of the coil springs, meaning they'd need to examine the car just to make this kind of determination.

My Corolla now has almost 160k miles on it, and doesn't get driven much at all. It has really needed new struts for the past 50k miles, and I'm finally getting around to replacing them.

So, in light of all this, do you think it makes sense to just get full strut assemblies? If I go this route, what do you think would be a fair labor price for the installation?

Add up the parts cost for either option, and check around for labor estimates and rates, then decide.

Does 475 sound ok for labor, for front and rear struts? This is the labor cost I was quoted by my mechanic, regardless of whether he uses the existing coil springs.

I don't know what your local rates may be... Anything over free is too much for me, as I always do it myself.

Yeah. I wish I had the time, expertise, space, and tools to do it myself, but I don't!

How long should it take to do the work? He said it'd take around 4 hours. Which if true means I'm paying over 100/hour for this work? Hmm.