How to replace rear struts...

[supraman7mgte]

Without going insane?
I've gotten ONE done on the drivers side and it took me WAAAAY to long just to get it done.
Is there a write-up on here on how to do it efficiently and still be sane?
I've searched and found nothing really helpful.
The TSRM says to remove the upper 3 bolts,disconnect the TEMS,and remove the bottom bolt and then remove strut assembly........yeah right!!!
ALSO,will the TEMS system still work even if the front 2 motors are disconnected? I plan on replacing the rear 2 with Illumina II's and am curious if it will still be functionable.:aigo:

 

[Supraboy89]

the back shouldnt be hard at all. the front ones are a pain

 

[Poodles]

Only thing not covered is that the bottom mount has a slide that has to be pushed back out to reinstall. I read about people grinding it all the time :3d_frown:

 

[SUPERIUM]

The rears only take about 30mins to do IF you didnt have the Tems. Stupid Toyota didnt make the access large enough to pull the actuator covers off so you have to pull the entire rear panels sections off to get to them. Leave the covers off when you put everything together so its easy next time. Heres how you properly reinstall the tems actuators to properly work: http://www.cygnusx1.net/Supra/Library/TSRM/MK3/manual.aspx?S=FA&P=37

 

[Jimbo]

remove the sway link as well and everything should just drop when you remove the lower strut bolt, leaving you with enough room to easily pull the whole assembly out.

 

[JDMMA70]

i dont know if other people would suggest this, but when removing put some weight on the hub of the rotor and slide the shock out. to put back in line up the shock to go back in, once youve got the three studs through the holes, put your foot on the hub of the rotor and put a little weight on it. line the end of the shock up and take your foot off slowly to slide it in place. Put the bottom bolt in and done.

 

[Jimbo]

i dont know if other people would suggest this, but when removing put some weight on the hub of the rotor and slide the shock out. to put back in line up the shock to go back in, once youve got the three studs through the holes, put your foot on the hub of the rotor and put a little weight on it. line the end of the shock up and take your foot off slowly to slide it in place. Put the bottom bolt in and done.

there would be no need for the added weight if he removes the sway link.

 

[Kevin]

took me and a friend 2 hours to do.. mostly because it was sooo hard to get it to line up and fit in...

not sure what poodles was talking about.. but thats probably why it was soo hard for me lol.. i didnt grind anything though.. just used force

 

[hvyman]

there would be no need for the added weight if he removes the sway link.

Thats more things to remove than simply putting your foot on the hub and pulling the shock out.

The manufacture of the shock i have learned also plays a part in how hard it is. Monroes are a tad bit longer than tokico/kyb and are harder to get the rear on.
Took a lot of grunt work to get the rear monroes on my friends car and then kyb/tokicos slid right in on my car/friends car.

 

[SupraMario]

I've changed mine from TEMS -> TIEN SS -> TIEN HAs
Never had an issue or took really long.

Only thing that gave me issue the first time was the stupid windshield washer bottle on the front passenger fender well.

 

[dsm_tuner260]

rears were easy for me it was just a matter of moving the slideback. the fronts were a pain only cause the upper control arm bolt didnt want to slide on the drivers. rear you shouldnt have to take the sway bar link off as long as you got the whole rear end off the ground. i think i had all 4 done in 3 hours mainly because of the drivers front.

didnt have the washer bottle problem thats still sitting on my bench waiting for me to put back in if i decide to

 

[YoungGunSupra]

i thought our cars were shocks all around?? we can use struts too?

 

[Jimbo]

Thats more things to remove than simply putting your foot on the hub and pulling the shock out.

it's only 1 more nut and the link slides right off.
also makes putting a strut back in a hell of a lot easier because you dont have to force anything down as you try to align it and push it back in...standing on one leg.

 

[gelboy1015]

i dont know if other people would suggest this, but when removing put some weight on the hub of the rotor and slide the shock out. to put back in line up the shock to go back in, once youve got the three studs through the holes, put your foot on the hub of the rotor and put a little weight on it. line the end of the shock up and take your foot off slowly to slide it in place. Put the bottom bolt in and done.

Lol, thats how i do it and passed it on to you

 

[supraman7mgte]

I had a blown drivers side strut that was a beast to get out.I had to remove the rear lower suspension arm just to pull it out from below.The passenger side was a little bit easier to do and took about an hour.

 

[Poodles]

Yeah, if you have upgraded swaybars, that trick of pressing the hub down doesn't work