170K Miles....Maybe its time to replace the suspension? I need help figuring this out

Honesty is the best lesson, and you get that on Prius Chat. Look we all like the Prius. But sometimes knowing what is ahead of us prepares us for the inevetable. It has been said before. Just drive the car and enjoy it. Think of it as an old family pet the dog. Great memories but one day you will have to put her down, and that day may be sooner or later. But save a few Benjamins for when it's time to go puppy shopping.

 

i just haven't seen a reason why this is the only part of the car he is fixated on. is it the ride? tire problems? handling? steering? there must be a reason.

 

Ask him?

 

I would do exactly as another poster suggested - bring the car to Sears or Firestone, et al and have them evaluate the suspension for you. Get a few quotes from a few places and go from there.

If you can wrench on cars, replacing struts/shocks isnt that hard. You bring the strut assembly to O'Reilly's or most other parts houses and for $25 labor they compress the strut spring and install the new cylinder and a new seat/hardware. You'd save a crap-ton of money doing the labor yourself on this kind of job. BUT if you arent mechanically inclined, its best left to a professional.

Moving on.

IF you need a new Prius in the future, seeing that your Betsy has 170k miles now, I'd buy a newer model used Prius, not a brand new one from the lot. Why should you eat the depreciation? Ill never buy a brand new car again, learned my lesson.

 

Hi Garron welcome to Priuschat, folks here helped me get my Prius going it was fun and I save a lot on gas.
THERE ARE NO BAD CARS, JUST BAD CAR OWNERS AND MECHANICS.
Many of these cars have gone 300,000 miles with routine maintainence.
If you get rid of your car, it's not going to just disappear, somebody else is going to snap it up cheap and keep it on the road.
So you want to save money with cars and you do some work yourself? Me too. If it's rusty underneath- part it out on Ebay and buy another. If it's not-keep it forever and save your money in an old coffee can or under your mattress. I wouldn't worry about those catastrophic repairs that will or will not come up. Just locate compatible cars in your local junkyards for those expensive parts and when the worst happens you will already know where to go to pull the parts yourself and look up on here for advice. Maybe get the real Prius manual.
About suspension rebuild, if you do it, then drive slow on your 2 mile rough road it will last a long time.
With your miles, if parts were not replaced yet, there is no need to asses them, it's time!
Why not start with the font end, buy your parts on Ebay, put them all in at once yourself and then go get alignment done. (every time you change ONE of these parts you need to realign, so do it all at once)
Here's what I see on Ebay today, delivered prices...front struts with springs on 110/pr strut upper seat-bearing 60/pr. wheel hubs and bearing assy's 110/pr lower control arms with ball joints 100/pr cv axles 100/pr. that's 480 for parts, alignment maybe 50. more. (Ensure tie rod ends are tight before starting)
With this combination of parts, the repair is bolt-in in your back yard with a socket set, no presses or special tools, it will take you an afternoon. I would get all bolts pre-loosened with an air wrench on a lift at a garage first so you don't have to fight them off at home.
Good luck and please post your project with pictures and prices if you do it. Robert

 

Honestly I get what your saying, but Loosing Suspension components somewhere else and then driving the car home sound's nut's?

 

I Hi , I have an 05 with 168500 on it (i think it has 1k more because as i was awaiting the capacitor the odometer was not on and i was driving it for a week or 2 ?) .. anyway , when i got tires done near tampa ..
they check about everything and said the suspension needed replacement .. they had a hi quote and offered a deal on buy 3 get 1 free .. the parts are cheap .. i think u could get the front mcpherson struts for about $100 its the labor and maybe a special compression tool .. i mean unless its really horible leaning to one side
it shouldnt hurt anything ? u haul heavy loads ? does it pull to one side ? i think only the alignment on the front can be done because of solid bar in back .. if your on gravel road. most of those people have a pickup truck/suv, / hummer , etc .. . people dont generally drive cars on dirt roads .. esp long ones ..