My 1998 Camry LE has a lot of noise from the front end. It sounds like
groaning and creaking. Is this a common problem for the 1997-2001 series or
peculiar to mine. Struts have been changed. I am trying to decide if I
should start changing out everything to see what works (elimination) or if
best to target likely areas (but which one(s)?).

On Jul 17, 2:52*pm, "RD" <dosvader2...@hotmail.com> wrote:
There are a lot of rubber bushings in the front suspension components.
Get some rubber lube and squirt up all the bushings.

Under what driving conditions do you hear the noises? Speed bumps,
driveway, slow speeds, higher speeds etc? Have someone listen to it
driving slow in the parking lot, exercise necessary precautions.

Did you also changed out the strut mounts (and the rubber boots and
spring seats) while at it? That's why some people like to use Monroe
QuickStruts, all new components.

http://www.monroe.com/products/mp_de...il=Quick-Strut

Your generation of Camry do suffer from bad strut mounts, as well as
later Camrys (02-06) generation rear mounts if you check the TSB
(technical service bulletins). Cheap designs if you ask me. So I'd use
Monroe mounts.

There are other rubber parts (stabilizer bar bushings, control arm
bushings etc) and as Wayne mentioned those could be the sources too.
But if the mounts weren't changed then that's the primary suspect.




On Jul 17, 11:52*am, "RD" <dosvader2...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Per your questions:
The groaning occurs during city driving going over bumps and dips.
(Unfortunately we have a lot of them)

The strut mounts were not changed out. The struts installed were Toyota
replacements.

I had noticed at one time the noise disappears when I carry a weight in the
trunk and is prevalent while driving with a passenger. Earlier when I posted
this someone suggest that the solution should be obvious: put the passenger
in the trunk! :)

The other item is the rear suspension is quite soft. 2 or 3 people in the
back seat and I can be bottoming out pulling into the driveway.

Robin

<johngdole@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:50e3277b-66ef-401d-a455-ccc11f91dfd0@z6g2000pre.googlegroups.com...
Under what driving conditions do you hear the noises? Speed bumps,
driveway, slow speeds, higher speeds etc? Have someone listen to it
driving slow in the parking lot, exercise necessary precautions.

Did you also changed out the strut mounts (and the rubber boots and
spring seats) while at it? That's why some people like to use Monroe
QuickStruts, all new components.

http://www.monroe.com/products/mp_de...il=Quick-Strut

Your generation of Camry do suffer from bad strut mounts, as well as
later Camrys (02-06) generation rear mounts if you check the TSB
(technical service bulletins). Cheap designs if you ask me. So I'd use
Monroe mounts.

There are other rubber parts (stabilizer bar bushings, control arm
bushings etc) and as Wayne mentioned those could be the sources too.
But if the mounts weren't changed then that's the primary suspect.




On Jul 17, 11:52 am, "RD" <dosvader2...@hotmail.com> wrote:

What is rubber lube?


<Wayne55dud@aol.com> wrote in message
news:5b6142ed-4caf-405d-9da3-a1fc0bd247b6@f36g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
On Jul 17, 2:52 pm, "RD" <dosvader2...@hotmail.com> wrote:
There are a lot of rubber bushings in the front suspension components.
Get some rubber lube and squirt up all the bushings.

On Jul 22, 11:14*am, "RD" <dosvader2...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Something like RuGlyde, which is commonly used in mounting tires and
is a rubber lubricant. It is very important to use a lube made for
rubber because some products, especially petroleum based, will damage
rubber. Go to any good auto parts store and ask for rubber lube. There
are many brands, all ok. A product in a spray can with a spray nozzle
extension will work good in reaching all parts of the rubber bushings.
Spray it up then bounce the car up and down to make the lube spread.

Do the bushings one at a time, and when (and if) the noise goes away,
you will know which one was causing the problem.

Pay particular attention to the anti-sway bar bushings and
connections. Make sure the rubber bushings are tight with no play.

I know that a wheel alignment place tried squirting brake fluid on them to
quiet them down. Makes me wonder if that would done more harm than good.


<Wayne55dud@aol.com> wrote in message
news:3f089c4d-40cb-40dc-834c-004138dc31ca@34g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
On Jul 22, 11:14 am, "RD" <dosvader2...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Something like RuGlyde, which is commonly used in mounting tires and
is a rubber lubricant. It is very important to use a lube made for
rubber because some products, especially petroleum based, will damage
rubber. Go to any good auto parts store and ask for rubber lube. There
are many brands, all ok. A product in a spray can with a spray nozzle
extension will work good in reaching all parts of the rubber bushings.
Spray it up then bounce the car up and down to make the lube spread.

Do the bushings one at a time, and when (and if) the noise goes away,
you will know which one was causing the problem.

Pay particular attention to the anti-sway bar bushings and
connections. Make sure the rubber bushings are tight with no play.

The defective 97-01 Toyota front mounts would make noises during these
situations. The 02-06 the rears mounts were noisy. That's why some
people suggest Monroe QuickStrut that includes all new components. I
personally don't like the SensaTracs (went with Gabriel Ultras) but
others are fine with them.

Toyota installed cheap springs in the rears on 4 cyls. So these sag by
design. Maybe QuickStruts will fix them.

Your current struts should have lifetime warranty from Toyota if they
are the source of the noise. Besides bad mounts, if suspension
components weren't properly tightened they'll make noises too. This
could happen if the tech took a short cut and did not take the rear
shelf off while installing the rear struts.



On Jul 22, 8:13*am, "RD" <dosvader2...@hotmail.com> wrote: