Front struts with spring perch?

[Jarf]

ARCHINSTL -
Sorry to confuse things. As for the 'rears' I did indeed mean rear shocks.
Should have clarified that in the first place, but as we were talking about front shocks I assumed that "rears" would imply same.

I was actually pleasantly surprised to get the fr shocks with the tube/perch complete.
I had priced A/M and almost went that way but am not a fan of KYB stuff, glad I went the extra mile.

It was my plan to replace the springs same time but was also advised there was no stock in north america.
Being impatient at the best of times, I wasn't willing to wait 3 months.

[4wdchico]

ARCHINSTL -
Sorry to confuse things. As for the 'rears' I did indeed mean rear shocks.
Should have clarified that in the first place, but as we were talking about front shocks I assumed that "rears" would imply same.

I was actually pleasantly surprised to get the fr shocks with the tube/perch complete.
I had priced A/M and almost went that way but am not a fan of KYB stuff, glad I went the extra mile.

It was my plan to replace the springs same time but was also advised there was no stock in north america.
Being impatient at the best of times, I wasn't willing to wait 3 months.

The odds are very high that your OEM struts have KYB cartridges in them.

[ARCHINSTL]

Jarf -
So - the front shock, encased in the strut (perch), without the spring or upper mount, was OE $208 CAD each, for a total of $416 CDN (not what you paid, I know)?
Butler's site shows, with that part number:
4851016690 $150.10 $0.00 $112.58 EACH - - TOTAL FOR TWO $225 USD - app. $286 CAD
Front suspension - Front suspension - Suspension components - Strut
Strut, 4wd - tercel, w/transmission 1984 - 1988

I got KYB shock inserts, bellows, top mounts for $211 USD and AutoZone springs for $79 USD - total $290 USD/app $368 CAD. This was in late 2007.

Not to diss' your purchase - but in the future it might be advantageous to buy from a US dealer, even if you had to drive/take a bus - or maybe you have a US friend near the border?
Tom M.

[Jarf]

I suppose it is possible that the OEM struts have KYB's within, in the olden days, they were all Tokico, loved those things.
I could have bought the stuff out of the US, but with an 80 cent dollar, freight and customs brokerage fees, it doesn't work out as sweet as it should.
There is also the issue of warranty if there ever is a problem.
I did price the a/m stuff and could have cut my costs in 1/2. Then again, on my last car I put a/m shocks and strut top mounts in, after 2 yrs and 30k they were all trashed and ready for replacement again. Seems every time I try to go inexpensive, it always bites me in the butt.
Nothing worse than doing the same job twice, unless of course it is 3 or 4x more. Been there, done that with axles, used the t-shirt as a rag.
I suppose if it was as rusty as my last one, I would be doing that, but my plan is to keep it running for as long as possible, like at least another 10 years at least. I'll use factory parts as long as I can get them. May be expensive, but still cheaper than buying something newer and less capable.
But thanks for the advise.

[toughtercel]

one time i had to replace my wife FWD station wagon rear right side shock strut and i had spare one from my hatch back rear shock , all that time took out old one from S.W. finding that S.W. is few inches taller , man was it hard to find FWD S.W. in auto wreck , all day looking finally found rear left , then auto wreck worker argueing with me i can't swap from left side struct to right side struct over and over , shut up i explain two reason , at the bottom of shock strut it has front and back connection for flexible brake hose to amount on (clip) second on the top it called 'Suspension Support" you can rotate 180 degree turn so it can become right side instead left side , of course you have to compress the spring before loose the "support nut " but the front shock can it change 180 degree turn become either w/o PS or w/PS and 4WD ???

[takza]

So if you look here...you find that SOME '83s-'84s did have a non-cartridge type front strut. Looks like the '85s did too.

http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/p_U_1983_T ... _4803.html

[Krunk]

Nothing in this thread answered any of my questions. So once again which hat and spring is a direct swap into my 83 tercel? can I buy new struts for my 83? and then swap springs and hats in to get lift? I am seriously wondering exactly which springs and hats to get to achieve the lift barto got but without the spacers he put on top of the strut.

[NWMO]

Digging up an oldie here,

Did anyone ever try the front corolla strut assembly? The 7th gen corolla assemblies are still available if they would fit (obviously have to change the top mount or adapt/space with part of old mount).

Chris

[jimcrazy]

will have a look this weekend, may have a couple of old struts from my old all-trac wagons kicken around, see how they match up

[dlb]

synthdesign did the all-trac front spring swap. i think it's mentioned in the FAQ, #11.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7442

[Petros]

I have a set I have been meaning to rebuild and try out, the lower mounting bolts are 10 mm shank rather than the Tercel 8 mm. There are hat washers you can buy to use the 8mm bolts in the 10mm holes, or you can drill out the tercel steerign knuckles to use the 10 mm dia bolt shank.

and yes, you have to swap out the upper mount. It is larger dia strut, and stiffer spring with approx same travel. It should give you a bit of lift. i was going to try it when I do my 4age engine swap since that engine weights more. You will also want to match it with stiffer springs in the back as well, or you may get heavy understeer. I am going to try the Pathfinder rear springs, with perhaps a coil cut off so it will not ride too high. Or I might try air shocks to get an adjustable height and stiffer rear end.

[lannvouivre]

The only issue I have run in to with the all-trac struts is I can't get the springs to fit on the Tercel strut spring perches, as the bottom coils are about half an inch too wide in diameter. The FWD shock cartridges are also about 1.5" shorter in the shock rod portion than the original ones, and I can't get the springs compressed enough on the shop compressor to get the mount and nut on. It falls just short of compressing far enough, as the machine is not very...adaptable for this type of coil, I guess. I may have to take them somewhere with an even fancier setup. My point is that it would be hard to get it to work out.

I think you could work around it if you got a bit of pipe with threads on each end so that you could extend the length of the housing, and then AW11 inserts would fit and maybe you'd get the length you need. I can't find a place willing to weld extensions to the housings, as it's a little dangerous.

[jimcrazy]

you a couple of these

[NWMO]

Hey fellas,

Thanks for the responses. The all trac angle is interesting, but will be or may already be more difficult to find and/or expensive. Hard to believe nobody has tried the Corolla set up. With the similar specs, it seems it may be a good, economical solution/upgrade. I've got an old set of struts w/o springs from my 95' Prizm, will take a look.

Thanks again,
Chris

[lannvouivre]

you a couple of these

Exactly those!