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I recently replaced all four struts on my 2016 Camry LE. I used Monroe Quick Struts, got new rear tires, and a 4-wheel alignment.
After doing the rear struts, the parts seemed to fit O.K, but I heard some clicks from what sounded like the top mounts. I overtightened one stud, trying to reach the "recommended" torque of 60 ft/lbs, and broke it off. I got a replacement top mount online, (doing the whole gross routine with the coil spring compressors) and this time, I left the bottom unbolted, and finagled/wiggled the strut around until all 3 nuts seemed well seated before installing the bottom bolts. The spec for the bottom bolts is a whopping 200 ft/lbs, but my torque wrench only goes to 100, so I just tightened hard with a breaker bar. Once I let the car back down onto the ground, I checked the top bolts, and they seemed tight except for one, which now showed about 2 mm of stud under the nut. Tightened it carefully.
The top mounts still make a few clicking noises when going over hard bumps.
Monroe Quick Struts used to have a rattle issue. They have a customer support line. Some reports of Monroe suggesting to use 50 ft lbs on the piston rod nut.
What is the torque you are using for the piston rod nut?
Did you align the upper mount with the mark facing the side of the chassis?
Did you align the flat in the rod with the upper mount?
They are Quick Struts. I only had to pay attention to the alignment on the one I disassembled. The studs on the top mounts are unevenly spaced, and will go in one-and-only-one way.
On the one I had to disassemble to replace the top mount, I carefully marked the position of the dust boot in relation to the strut cartridge. The top mounting piece is mounting plate/bearing/and dust boot all-in-one.
Both struts make the same noises.
I never touched the shaft nut on the quick-strut that I didn't break the stud on. When I reassembled the other strut, I torqued the nut to 60 ft/lbs.
I didn't notice, nor was I looking for, any markings on the car for alignment of the top mount, since it doesn't rotate unless the spring is compressed.
When assembling a strut, are you supposed to give the center nut the final torque with the car sitting on the ground?
I looked through the thread on ToyotaNation, especially the fix involving turning the piston shaft. It won't work on mine, because mine don't have the 10mm hex socket in the piston rod. There is also a flat on the piston rod, so I cant rotate the rod to a different position. I could remove the assembly, compress the springs, and rotate the rod, but then the top and bottom mounts won't align.
I'm leaning towards trying another brand, and calling Monroe for a refund. I called my Toyota dealer, and they wanted a ridiculous $500 per strut. KYB? Gabriel?
Does Monroe have a proprietary upper mount design. If not, then one can buy aftermarket upper mounts.
KYB is supposed to be stiffer, and the car may ride higher.
Gabriel gets mixed reviews.
Monroe is love them or hate them.
Everyone has their opinion which you will find out in researching these complete strut units.
Do you still have the original Toyota brand struts and if so, can you just replace just the strut?
My experience is to retain as many of the factory parts as possible even if it means rebuilding a component. This includes rebuilding a factory strut assy rather than going to a quick strut type unit. Toyota sources great parts and it can be challenging to find something of similar quality. I have rebuilt factory struts units but that's me.
I, overconfident, scrapped the original parts. The dust boots were disintegrated, and I didn't want to have to get the top hardware separately. I don't remember if the OE assembly had the top mount and dust boot all-in-one like the Monroe's. I'm not 100% convinced that the problem with the Monroes is a top mount fit issue, it may be the issue mentioned in the ToyotaNation thread, and I can't use the fix mentioned in the thread for the above mentioned reasons. I ordered KYB's. I hope their claim of accurate fit is true.
Ok, watched the video. They advocate torquing ALL the bolts with the weight of the car on them. I don't think I can get to the lower bolts with the car on the ground. I wonder how I can reach those bolts with the wheel on? Now, in a shop you could drive the car onto a drive-on lift, lift the rear with bottle jacks on the ramps, change out the strut, then let the car back onto the ramps and tighten all the bolts. I'll just try putting a floor jack under the knuckle and pumping it up.
Aftermarket Struts
