by Tony » Mon Mar 24, 2003 12:45 pm
My success story:
I was one of many who has the annoying front strut mount noise which drove me crazy. I have brought my car in to Toyota "under warranty" with the TSB on strut mounts, but the mechanic assured me the noise was a known problem to Toyota and the strut mounts don't really help. They changed my struts under warranty and the problem went away. Temporarily. Six months later the problem gradually resurfaced.
The frustration caused me to begin shopping for another car (Acura), until...
I get home one day, pissed about this noise. I pop the hood and attempt to tighten the strut mount bolt. I was however worried about stripping it if I push too hard. I start to push and it turns ever so slightly. Then I say "fvck it", either I'm gonna strip it or I'm gonna fix it. I push harder and it turns a quarter turn. Cool. Then I push a little further and it spins and half turn. stuff, I must have stripped it. I push a little further and it gets tight again. A little further and it does another half turn very easily. Then it came to the point where I couldn't turn it anymore. That mus be it. The left side didn't budge.
I jump in my car and back out of my driveway (guaranteed noise every morning) and no noise. I go for a drive and look for bumps. Nothing. I have been driving it for the past week and the car feels awesome. Tight, with no noises whatsoever. I love my Solara again.
What I think was happening was, when I turned the bolt, it wasn't turning because of the rubber, then it would release which caused it to turn very easily, then tight again etc...
I'm beginning to question if Toyota even changed my struts or just tightened the strut mount. This explains why the problem is solved then resurfaces after 6 months and gets progressively worse.
ps. sorry for the long post but i'm sure others are frustrated too.