This is quite difficult to judge, because struts normally degrade slowly and you don't notice the change. If you look at a strut and it is leaking oil, it is easy to decide it needs replacing.
The most popular test method is to bounce one corner of the car and try to judge if it is too bouncy. It may help to compare this with a new car. That is only a gross test though, and may deceive.
Another way is to simply replace the struts at one end when they are fairly old, say 50 000 mi at the front (the front struts wear out first).
Here is some more info
http://www.ebay.com/gds/When-Should-I-Replace-Shocks-and-Struts-/10000000177404877/g.html
SOURCE: replacing the front struts
you will need a socket set , a pickle fork, a hammer, a spring compressor,and an alignment machine when your done changing the struts
SOURCE: I am trying to replace my rear struts on a 2003
Don't mess with struts unless you have a strut compression tool. You could get seriously injured. The nut is on top of the tower where the strut attaches.
SOURCE: installed rear struts in toyota camry 2000 and abs sign came on
Check to see if you may haved damaged a ABS sensor at the rear hub , and make sure the wires did not get unpluged.
SOURCE: does a toyota camry 98 have shock or struts?
Yes. the struts are the long straight rods inside the shock-absobers. Shock-absober is the whole steel tubing.
SOURCE: How do I remove the struts on my 2003 toyota?
Basically the shock inserts in the struts are what hold the spring in place, and the axle knuckle to the fender.
On a very few cars, they were slick enough to design it so that you don't have to do very much.
On these exceptions, you just remove a plate from the top of the strut, in the engine compartment, and pull the insert up after unscrewing a cap.
But on most cars, you have to first drop the top of the strut down from the fender, then undo the pinch bolts at the bottom, in order to remove the whole strut from the car. Then you put a large spring compressor on it to remove the tension. (this is dangerous) You can rent or buy inexpensive spring compressors, because some are just a pair of threaded rods with hooks on both ends. Then you take the top plate off the strut by removing the nut threaded onto the insert shaft. Then there is a cap on the end of the strut tube, that allows the insert to be removed. The tube may be filled with oil. By accident if leaking, or be design with some cars, for cooling. Then you slip the new intsert in, cap it down, put the compressed spring back on, tighten up the top plate with the nut threaded on the shaft, uncompress the spring, and then place the strut back on the lower knucke, and finally back in the fender.
The difference between the fronts and rear is that the front may have an excentric bolt on the bottom, so that you can adjust the camber. If so, mark it before losening, so that you can put it back at the same angle of rotation. A chisel mark will do. The rear usually does not have alignment.
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