DIY Replace 3rd Gen Struts

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by pk123, Oct 21, 2019.

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  1. pk123

    pk123 Member

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    Car is 3rd generation Prius (2010) with 150k miles. Mechanic says front and rear struts are shot, which makes sense given how she rides. Rather than paying $1200 for parts plus $1100 for labor (per mechanic's estimate), I ordered a pair of KYB Strut-Plus assemblies for the front (SR4245 and SR4246), and a pair of KYB Excel-G (349035) rear shock absorbers for...$400.

    1AAuto has some pretty detailed how-to videos for DIY front and rear strut replacements, including recommended tools. It looks straightforward enough.

    Questions:

    Any other DIYers pull this one off?

    What's likely to give me the most trouble?

    Given the age and mileage, is there anything else in that part of the car that tends to need replacing at the same time as the struts?

    Big thanks to anyone who can offer tips!!!

    Here's the video instructional for the front struts:

     
    #1 pk123, Oct 21, 2019
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  2. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    Might as well replace the stabilizer bars too
     
    #2 tankyuong, Oct 21, 2019
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  3. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    If the wheel bearings aren’t gone yet, they aren’t too far off;).

    I’ve done the job and if you are buying the ore-assembled front struts, ensure the top nut is torqued properly, otherwise a rattle results :cool:.

    The back ones are easy:).

    Good luck and keep us posted (y).
     
    #3 Raytheeagle, Oct 22, 2019
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  4. Gnarly

    Gnarly Member

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    #4 Gnarly, Oct 25, 2019
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  5. pk123

    pk123 Member

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    Just completed the job with my dad in parents’ driveway. It took about five hours to do the front struts and rear shocks, mostly because we didn’t know what we were doing and kept checking YouTube every 10 minutes. Having two sets of hands helps, as did his 40 years of tinkering experience (I live in a small apartment in a city and don’t have many opportunities to get my hands dirty).

    The lower bolts on the rear were a challenge to get off, requiring substantial leverage (putting a long pipe over the breaker bar to extend it). The car is 10 years old and has lived its entire life in the occasionally snowy Mid-Atlantic, so that may have something to do with it.

    One of the front strut assemblies from KYB was crooked when it came in the mail. It took 10 minutes of panicked Internet research to discover that you can align it with the wheel by installing the top mount, sticking a screwdriver in the bolt holes on the bottom and just twisting it into position.

    Overall it was very straightforward and really not too difficult. The car feels substantially better on the road. Easiest $2000 I ever saved. Thanks for the encouragement, folks!
     
    #5 pk123, Nov 3, 2019
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  6. Gnarly

    Gnarly Member

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    were there any other tools I need besides a breaker bar, torque wrench, cresent wrenches? were there any other parts you replaced besides the struts? Someone was saying something about replacing the wheel bearings too. Not sure how I could tell if they needed to be replaced.
     
    #6 Gnarly, Nov 5, 2019
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  7. elementnomore

    elementnomore Member

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    I’ll bump this thread...98,000 2012 and these Los Angeles roads feel terrible. I was thinking KYB assemblies from rock auto + stabilizer bar links. Anything else I might need besides spark plugs?
     
    #7 elementnomore, Nov 10, 2019
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  8. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

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    Anybody put in stabilizer bar bushings yet?
     
    #8 douglasjre, Nov 10, 2019
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  9. Peter123

    Peter123 Active Member

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    Have you cleaned out the EGR cooler and valve and possibly also the curved pipe from the valve to the intake manifold and manifold itself?
    If you let it plug up, you will eventually have a head gasket failure.
     
    #9 Peter123, Nov 11, 2019
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  10. elementnomore

    elementnomore Member

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    The curved pipe off the intake seems pretty clear thank goodness.
     
    #10 elementnomore, Nov 11, 2019
  11. pk123

    pk123 Member

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    I didn’t replace anything besides the struts. Wheel bearings looked a little more difficult and I can’t tell that they’re bad. See the link above (1AAuto’s instructional) for the list of tools you’ll need...I got by with just those.
     
    #11 pk123, Nov 15, 2019
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  12. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

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    I did them recently. I'm an ASE mechanic who hasn't worked as one in years. I have a shop for my own use. This job was easy. Put in sway bar bushings and links. Got an alignment. Drives likes new car.
     
    #12 douglasjre, Nov 19, 2019
  13. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    The wheel bearings are easy. 4 bolts for the bearing, 1 for the axel.
    2 for the caliper.
    You don't have to remove anything else. The video from 1auto shows taking everything apart,
    if I remember correctly. But I didn't take any of it off.
    Just go slow, and be careful removing and installing the bearing, it's very easy to pinch the cv axel boot,
    then you'll have a messy mess of axel grease.....

     
    #13 ASRDogman, Nov 19, 2019
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  14. elementnomore

    elementnomore Member

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    Hi Douglasjre
    did you buy Toyota parts or Kyb?
     
    #14 elementnomore, Nov 19, 2019
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

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    Who did the alignment? I'm reading about alignment (from Repair Manual) and it talks about "zero calibration", of speed sensor and yaw sensor. There's with and without Techstream methods.

    I'm just wondering, if a generic alignment shop would know about this stuff. Or for that matter how critical it is.

    My terminology above may be a bit off, just on a phone, going from memory.
     
    #15 Mendel Leisk, Nov 19, 2019
  16. NutzAboutBolts

    NutzAboutBolts Senior Member

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    Anytime you replace suspension parts, the car should get an alignment done
     
    #16 NutzAboutBolts, Nov 19, 2019
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  17. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

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    Kyb Amazon $307 for about shocks andn struts, $35 for the bushings. Firestone. It's just an alignment of the steering linkages. Center wheel and spin adjusters is all. They did it in no time
     
    #17 douglasjre, Nov 20, 2019
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  18. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

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    Rock Auto has them cheaper and strut Sox too
     
    #18 douglasjre, Jan 8, 2020
  19. Gnarly

    Gnarly Member

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    I'm doing it now and just to confirm with those that have done this job already. The 4245 is the passenger side?


    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #19 Gnarly, Jan 23, 2020
  20. Gnarly

    Gnarly Member

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    #20 Gnarly, Jan 23, 2020
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