Toyota carina e mcpherson strut problems

I has front ones and it has rear ones :>) Videos here.

https://www.google.com/search?q=replace+shocks+on+a+1980+el+Camino

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Sorry we do not have that diagram. It should have the federal emission sticker under the hood, it has the vacuum diagram on it.

hi. jerm. before you do anything else check the fuse and relay. they
are on the passenger side under the bonnet. just next to the McPherson strut. hope this helps. good luck

They are stand alone shocks
Here are the part numbers you need.
MOTORCRAFT Part # AST236 Rear Left
MOTORCRAFT Part # AST235 Rear Right
About $100.00 for both parts.

You do need to have a spring compressor. Get the McPherson spring compressor. It is a must. You can rent them at O'reillys auto parts, Kragen, maybe Auto Zone. To get a better understanding on how to change it out, I recommend a chilton 95-97 Camary Manual. Now I can't remember the exact tools you need but the ones I can remember are 22mm socket, 14mm socket, 12mm socket, for the 2 large stubborn bolts I had to impact drill them, and with that 12mm socket don't forget to take the brake line off the strut. When you jack up the car try using its stock jack stand if you dont want to bend the running bars underneath where you jack it up as the car is a unibody jacking it up too high will lift the cars whole side and you only need to jack it enough to take the tire off. The back struts require you to take out your back seat which are also easy to take out.

To remove the rear seat here a link, its on a 2000 but should be generally the same. I learn better with pictures anyway, hope this helps!
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2924042

it uses a simplified strut, but a strut is a shock, it just has a spring on the shock instead of being counted elsewhere, it is called a coil over shock

well there should be a drain plug might look a little flat on the bottom side of the tranny, thats were you drain the trans, to refill there should be a plug on the side of the tranny, your going to have to get creative on filling the trans until the oil starts to slowly trickle out . if you can get to the shifter and pull the shifter out and fill this spot

age does not matter, if ride is bumpy and things are making noise, get it checked out at shop. if you are happy with the comfort of the ride, all is good.

This model doesn't have shocks. It damps bouncing with McPherson struts. The front struts can have a new cartridge installed while in place, but it's an involved process. The rear struts have to be removed to replace the struts -- a more involved process that requires some special tools. The struts last a lot longer than shock absorbers, but are not nearly as easy to change when the time comes.

My answer is not going to help you because not only do you need specialized equipment, but you will need special experience to perform this job.

You would be required to completely remove the entire front strut assembly from the car. It has to be safety set up on jacks. Once you have the strut assembly out of the car, special spring clamps are needed to compress the heavy spring that is part of the strut. These require very special clamps that compress the springs. If this is not done right, it can conceivably kill a person.

Once the spring has been removed, the strut it self must be removed from the strut housing using an impact wrench.

Once both sides are changed, the car must be realigned in the front end, otherwise the car will not steer or track properly.

Over all, this is a major job. These are not shock absorbers, as you would know them, but are called McPherson struts.


If you would like to contact me again about this or other problems, feel free to do so.
Bill
ASE Master Technician