Front end loose

[geenowalker]

Have 05' SR5 with 275 on her. Love her. Front end loose as when I go over a. A bump or hit a hole, it doesn't sound tight. Dealer recommends the following.
Replace front struts (590)
Replace worn/loose front stabilizer bushings (190)
Replace upper control arms-torn bushings (400)
Replace front drive axles leaked out (400)
Replace right sway link (230)
Replace rear axles torn boots dry

If I had this stuff done, is there anything they could be missing or I should do while there?
Told if you buy bushings and have replaced on UCAs I instead of buying assembly, the alignment not good. Any truth?
What should I believe and not believe. Thx.
Gene

 

[ZebRuaj]

We can't see what dealer is seeing, but with 275k on the clock, I too would lean on a well worn out suspension.

Dealer is going to make a pretty penny off of you though if you stick with them to do the repairs.

Front struts for $590? Yikes, that's more than the going rate for 4 Bil 5100's.

Anytime suspension is messed with, an alignment is always recommended.

 

[Krayziekid]

Have 05' SR5 with 275 on her. Love her. Front end loose as when I go over a. A bump or hit a hole, it doesn't sound tight. Dealer recommends the following.
Replace front struts (590)
Replace worn/loose front stabilizer bushings (190)
Replace upper control arms-torn bushings (400)
Replace front drive axles leaked out (400)
Replace right sway link (230)
Replace rear axles torn boots dry

If I had this stuff done, is there anything they could be missing or I should do while there?
Told if you buy bushings and have replaced on UCAs I instead of buying assembly, the alignment not good. Any truth?
What should I believe and not believe. Thx.
Gene

Well I can tell you that doing all of that will likely make it have better road manners and feel tighter, but you are likely going to be paying an arm and a leg for all of that from the dealership. If you are mechanically inclined at all or can read some threads and watch some youtube videos, you could save yourself a fair amount of money.

Front Struts - You could easily get yourself some Bilstein 5100s for cheaper and place your factory springs on them. Your springs are likely a bit tired, but if you want to save money and still use them, you can set them on the Bilsteins and not get any lift.

Sway Bar Bushings - That price sounds ABSURD to me. I replaced my front and rear sway bar bushings for i think under 50-60 bucks total. I wouldn't pay close to $200 for that.

Upper Control Arms - That could work, but it seems expensive. You could pay a bit more and get new UCAs, but if you are not offroading, you don't need them. At that point it might not be a bad idea to just do it if there is a lot of play. Other people may want to chime in here because I am not an expert on this.

Front Axle - Depends on the shape of the axle. If its bad I would replace it but if not you could try regreasing and sealing it back up. Again, all depends on the situation.

Sway Bar Link - You can easily make your own if you want to. Or just buy them pre-assembled for way cheaper. One sway bar link for $230 is again ABSURD in my mind. Could be wrong though.

This is all just my general opinion though, so feel free to take it all with a grain of salt. Other people might chime in with other thoughts, but I hope mine help a bit.

 

[luke87gt]

Find a quality independent mechanic and you'll save a lot.

Also, don't even think about doing all of that without replacing the steering rack bushings as that will have a huge effect on the overall feel of the steering after 275K miles.

 

[geenowalker]

Appreciate all the responses...thx....have no time to spend on the car by myself, so I am going to have it done. Definately not from dealer, they just listed items they found during the free inspection. Any particular brand for axles or UCA's? I am NOT off roading....getting me to work and back.

thanks again.

 

[ZebRuaj]

I went with Cardone axles off RockAuto. No problems to report in the 6 mo's they've been on.

Mine's a pavement queen too that has to deal with only snow.

 

[alia176]

Appreciate all the responses...thx....have no time to spend on the car by myself, so I am going to have it done. Definately not from dealer, they just listed items they found during the free inspection. Any particular brand for axles or UCA's? I am NOT off roading....getting me to work and back.

thanks again.

Regarding the axles, if yours are still the Toyota OEM axles, they're by far the best things going. So, if this was me, I'd simply purchase the axle re-boot kit from Toyota for $40 and change out the worn boots. The re-boot kit only works with the OEM axles so be sure that your current axles are indeed OEM axles. Assuming of course, the boots haven't been torn for ages and all kinds of crud/grime snuck in there. Still, i'd clean them out and use the fresh grease that comes with the re-boot kit to rebuild them.

I realize that any indy shops will not want to do this and suggest simply replacing them with aftermarket axles. But, if your current axles are OEM, I think they are worth their weight in gold. OEM axles are superior quality and you can buy certain individual pieces to rebuild them if necessary.

Just my 02 cents!

 

[geenowalker]

UPDATE. took the car to a local independent mechanic. he put it up on the rack said all I needed was the swaybar linkage on both sides. replaced it greased up a few other things. out the door for 425 bucks. I mentioned UCA and struts. He said that the struts were fine and did not see anything with the UCAs. Said wait tho do axles till I do brakes (December sale) as there is a good package to save money on the alignment. Someone's got a new mechanic. FRONT END NO LONGER LOSE.

 

[luke87gt]

UPDATE. took the car to a local independent mechanic. he put it up on the rack said all I needed was the swaybar linkage on both sides. replaced it greased up a few other things. out the door for 425 bucks. I mentioned UCA and struts. He said that the struts were fine and did not see anything with the UCAs. Said wait tho do axles till I do brakes (December sale) as there is a good package to save money on the alignment. Someone's got a new mechanic. FRONT END NO LONGER LOSE.

So you had broken sway bar links? And you were charged $425 to replace those?

Quite a difference from what the dealer said eh?

 

[geenowalker]

links were 108 each.....25.22 in bushings...30 in shop crap and 157 for labor...(replace sway bar frame bushing and end links, clean and lube steering assembly and adjust steering stops for clicking noise)...

stopped by dealer and asked why difference. was told that struts and UCA were recommended based on last time I had them done (never at dealer), but elsewhere about 100k ago. When I asked, they base on their history data, not that they were not oem. I dont get it..