Struts

[Jarf]

Shaggy -
2in is a lot, something should be obviously toasted or seriously bent.
I would be looking at the strut tower bushings or a broken spring but first and foremost would be a full check of the front end in in order to ascertain what is damaged, but given that amount of play, shouldn't be too hard to spot.

[dlb]

shaggy, there's info on what springs you can use in the struts in multiple threads on here, just search using "strut" and "spring" and you should find lots. it seems the most common spring being used up front right now are from any 4-cylinder camry from 82-90, or somewhere thereabouts. don't use anything from a 6-cylinder as they are bigger, and too stiff for the little terc. several board members here are using the camry springs and report far superior handling. i'll be doing the same mod myself in the coming months.

if anyone knows the exact years of camry that have applicable springs, could they post it here?

[Shaggymoon]

i managed to get the front struts off an 86 Camry from Pull-A-Part junkyard for $41 total. I am going to buy the new strut insert shocks and take it to my uncle who owns a tire shop because I don't have a spring compressor. I took the car to his shop and had it up on the rack. They tugged on every part of the front end and everything checked out even though i have the shaking. I took one of the guys for a ride to show him what it was doing and of course it didn't shake any with him in the car. Thus when i have the springs and shocks replaced i want them to see if something is busted.
I read the thread about the mystery clunking, it just unnerves me when i get a shake while driving my 141 mile commute from city to city. I did read all the posts about the suspension after i posted my first reply on struts. need to read before i type.
I hope to have the suspension replaced within the week and then replace the rear. my car, Scooby, sits lowest at drivers front and i know that all the shocks and springs are original with the OD just about to roll past 200k. I am getting approx. 30 mpg and desire to drive Scooby for years. Having a forum of so many seasoned mechanics and tercel4wd owners is great. thanks again.

[Shaggymoon]

i have been driving scooby with the lifted suspension for over a month now. I am going to put the rear swaybar back on because of body roll and the tendency for the inside front tire to come off the ground on any tight turns. The ride is way better and it is nice to not have to worry about bottoming out like so many new cars do. I drove on a dirt road recently and it was delightful. My concern came when i put it in 4wd. the car refuses to go straight. it either pulls to the right or left. I checked the steering rack and it seemed to be good. That is how this car has been, everything "checks out fine" when on the rack and such but while driving it has character. That mysterious rattle is gone, must have been the 200k on the struts.

thus, if anyone has experienced their tercel4wd refusing to track straight on a dirt road, please let me know what the fix is.

[ohcanada_00]

i would up going to ToyotaOEMparts.com and buying new struts...lol. By the time this project is done I'll pretty much have a brand new sterring and suspension set up for the Terc!

[takza]

i have been driving scooby with the lifted suspension for over a month now. I am going to put the rear swaybar back on because of body roll and the tendency for the inside front tire to come off the ground on any tight turns. The ride is way better and it is nice to not have to worry about bottoming out like so many new cars do. I drove on a dirt road recently and it was delightful. My concern came when i put it in 4wd. the car refuses to go straight. it either pulls to the right or left. I checked the steering rack and it seemed to be good. That is how this car has been, everything "checks out fine" when on the rack and such but while driving it has character. That mysterious rattle is gone, must have been the 200k on the struts.

thus, if anyone has experienced their tercel4wd refusing to track straight on a dirt road, please let me know what the fix is.

Doesn't make sense unless one tire is low in pressure or a different size? Could be your front toe or other alignment being off...and it shows up when you are in 4WD? You put the car out of spec when you raise it...??? The caster will change some if you raise the front due to the swaybar running down at an angle? Could have some binding going on?

[Petros]

I would also guess that the caster is off, or near zero due to the new ride height. When near zero and you hit a bump, it could cause it swerve to one side or the other. Check the alignment and have them set the caster to the max allowed, that will keep it straight, but will increase your steering effort. You will likely need to have the camber reset too, which is not helping your steering, so get that set as well.

Toe-out can act like this too. IF you raised the car and added the spacer under the cross member it could have toe-out. If you did not lower the cross member it might have too much toe-in, which will wear the tires.

[Shaggymoon]

in replacing the springs and shocks i did not use any spacers above the struts or cross member. The CV axles look "happy" enough since they are nearly parallel to the ground.

The time i drove in 4wd on a dirt road i had all same size tires, 195/70/13, with tire psi a few below "MAX LOAD PSI", aka about 32 psi in all tires. Right now my car either swerves left or swerves right in 4wd. I turned around on the same road, put the car in 2wd, it drove straight and i could seem my tire tracks snaking back and forth from the trip in 4wd. The car didn't track straight before i lifted it but it was far less prevalent.

on pavement the car seems to almost have a dead spot in the steering, but when i check it, NONE. jack the car up, grab the steering wheel, have a friend pull on a front tire to the left and right, seems to have no play. I was almost hoping to see slop in something i could easily replace, but i didn't see it. The car also has a slight pull to the left. It doesn't pull hard but takes about 15 degrees of turn on the wheel to stay straight. All this points to something being bent or worn out but i can't determine what that something is.

as for toe in and camber, when i replaced the springs i had the car aligned at my uncles shop. They set everything to the normal settings. Is there a setting i should have them put the camber and toe-in that is not "normal"? And is there a possibility that when the tires are under load they change the toe-in? that would mean some part is busted correct?

thanks again for all the tips and advice, it makes owning such a unique vehicle far less frustrating.

[Petros]

check the front bearings. I have found that sometimes they can slop in and out but will not make any noise. It is like the retainer is giving out but the bearing surface is still smooth. You have to jack the wheel up and pull strait in and out on the hub. Also check obvious stuff like rubber bushings and tie-rod ends.

Also if those large rubber doughnuts are mushy, the ones at the sway bar ends, where it passes through the lateral strut (or lower arm), it can act like this. An easy test is to make a larger rubber washer out of a piece of tire or 1/4" thick piece of sheet rubber, and add it to the back of the swap bar stack up. It will pull up any slop in the bushings.

Good luck.

[ARCHINSTL]

To add to Petros' post - if your car came from a salt state...check the swaybar ends where they enter the control arm. These are susceptible to necking-down from rust.
Tom M.