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Strut replacement and squeak issue

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by sciencekit, Jan 4, 2012.

  1. sciencekit

    sciencekit Junior Member

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    I need to replace the front struts on my 2004 Prius (195,000 miles). Any suggestions on which hardware to best replace them with?

    Also, I have noticed when parking, the car tends to slightly sway forward and back with a squeaking sound after it comes to a stop. Doesn't happen when I brake, but rather when I let off the bake after parking. I assume (yup, know what that means) this is somehow due to the worn struts. Anyone else had this problem?
     
    #1 sciencekit, Jan 4, 2012
  2. sciencekit

    sciencekit Junior Member

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    No one? Dang. On my own. lol
     
    #2 sciencekit, Jan 5, 2012
  3. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Use KYB.
     
    #3 seilerts, Jan 5, 2012
  4. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    The other forum I frequent is saying that the KYB replacement struts fail early due to poor quality and instead recommended Monroe sensatrac.

    MB860 ?
     
    #4 The Critic, Jan 5, 2012
  5. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    On the Prius? I hadn't heard that before. My own experiences with KYB have been excellent.
     
    #5 seilerts, Jan 5, 2012
  6. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    In general. I would expect the Prius to be similar to most passenger cars.

    MB860 ?
     
    #6 The Critic, Jan 5, 2012
  7. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    Truthfully, I went with Toyota OEM at a dealer. 195k miles is a LONG time if you're on original struts. Mine were "done" at 110k.

    ABSORBER ASSY, SHOCK (FL) 4851049505 1
    ABSORBER ASSY, SHOCK (FR) 4852049585 1
    ABSORBER ASSY, SHOCK (Rear) 4853049385 2

    If I'm not mistaken, KYB OE's the Toyota struts.

    At a particular Toyota parts website, the fronts are $96.71 each, the rears $61.35 each. This didn't include replacing dust covers (which should have been done), and will require a 4 wheel alignment as part of the installation.
     
    #7 HTMLSpinnr, Jan 5, 2012
  8. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    True, but remembrr KYB OE and KYB aftermarket are different.

    MB860 ?
     
    #8 The Critic, Jan 5, 2012
  9. sciencekit

    sciencekit Junior Member

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    Yeah, 195K miles is a bit long but up until now they seemed just fine. Any idea on what the squeak could be?
     
    #9 sciencekit, Jan 5, 2012
  10. bstephens

    bstephens Junior Member

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    My original struts started leaking at 150,000 miles, and I replaced them with Monroe sensa-tracs. Used Monroes mostly because a mechanic I know said Monroes were better than KYBs. I really do not notice any difference, and now have 50,000 miles on the new struts. Another 100,000 miles and I will see if these new ones are leaking!
     
    #10 bstephens, Jan 10, 2012
  11. sciencekit

    sciencekit Junior Member

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    IS there a difference between KYB GR-2/ Excel-G and the OEM versions I can order from Champion Toyota? Besides the OEM versions higher cost?
     
    #11 sciencekit, Jan 11, 2012
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